Following on from my last post, it was now time to start rebuilding the bench.
The first part I made was the back. I chose a lovely piece of oak, which I had in store for about 3 years since buying it at the Ickworth wood fair. It was felled from the estate, so has provenance, and I have the reassurance that it was part of an active RHS woodland management process.
The design is based on the script we made for our wedding party invitations, with added ribbons curling to the ends. Having cut the plank to the basic shape to fit the cast ends, I blew up the design, then stuck it to the wood before carving through it.
As an added touch I also decided to carve the back of this piece. Hardly anyone will ever see it, but that’s not the point.
I chose a sunflower design. It starts with a simple relief in a plate sized piece before carving out the detail:
