Woodturning by Stuart King

This photoset has 68 pictures

My interest in woodturning is wide-ranging, from the traditional to the artistic. Woodturning has been a good servant to mankind, providing him with many utilitarian objects for everyday living, as well as beautiful objets d'art to please the eye and tactile senses. With 'wood-art' the important thing is to encourage the wood to express itself with the aid of one's imagination, artistry and the dexterity of the craftsman's hands.

Marquetry

This photoset has 50 pictures

Marquetry, often referred to as inlay, has a long history. This set of pictures illustrates the history and technique and gives examples of completed marquetry. I left school at age 15 to enter the furniture trade as a marquetry cutter. www.stuartking.co.uk

Carved Wooden Spoons

This photoset has 49 pictures

Carved wooden spoons from around the world. From the time that man could carve wood and bone, spoons have played a significant part in our domestic and ritulistic life. Here are just a few examples of the usage of the spoon, both in every-day life and cerlibratory events

English Lace Bobbins

This photoset has 22 pictures

The earliest records of ‘bone’ (pillow or bobbin) lace are from the mid-16th Century. Charles I of England is said to have used 994 yards for twelve collars and 24 pairs of cuffs. The two main areas of production in the UK were Honiton in Devon and the East Midlands counties of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. By 1770 the industry was in decline and in 1880 William Cowper wrote ‘I am an eye witness to their poverty’. After a brief revival in the early 19th century machine-made lace put to rest for ever the ‘romantic’ image of the lacemaker sat at her rose-covered cottage door.

Holmer Green Village, Buckinghamshire, England

This photoset has 136 pictures

The village of Holmer Green had only 600 inhabitants in 1851; today there are about 3,000. Holmer Green is a a hill-top village 700 feet above sea level. It is still surounded by beech woodland and farm land on three sides. Farming, fruit growing, sheep rearing and woodland crafts played a large part in the village econonmy in times past.

Beech woodland and Landscape of the Chiltern Hills

This photoset has 144 pictures

The beech woods help give the Chiltern hills their distinctive character. They provide probably the most diverse eco-system in Europe and in the past have been a source of raw material to the local furniture industry. Dried beech leaves were used for the stuffing of pillows and the pollarded branches of the beeches of Burnham kept the local inhabitants warm in winter.

Morocco, Marrakech

This photoset has 110 pictures

Marrakech is a microcosm of pre-industrial revolution technology, it’s all there; metal bashing, tanning, ceramics, textiles and all the wood-working trades. I wanted to find traditional woodturners using medieval-type bow lathes and was successful. The imposing tower of the Koutoubia mosque, resplendant in it’s rather refined Moorish style, leads to the old walled city (Medina). In the Place Djemaa el–Fna, the main square, entertainers vie to extract some loose change from pockets, usually in exchange for a ‘photo opportunity’.

Model flying in High Wycombe

This photoset has 44 pictures

High Wycombe Club is one of the longest established and largest in the South of England, with 135 members including myself. They have two flying sites which cater for all aspects of Radio Control flying at Flackwell heath and Chinnor.

English Morris Dancing

This photoset has 22 pictures

A morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. There are claimed to be English records mentioning the morris dance dating back to 1448. Music was traditionally provided by either a pipe and tabor or a fiddle. These are still used today, but the most common instrument is the melodeon. Accordions and concertinas are also common, and other instruments are sometimes used. Often drums are employed.