In Aberfeldy we were on the northern edge of the severe weather brought by the Beast From The East.  The amount of snow was typical for March but the quality of the snow was very different.  Our weather usually comes with the prevailing wind from the West. Normally the snow has soft wet flakes, large enough to see the crystalline structure of each flake, which can be felt on eyelashes. The weather feels raw. This snow from the East was fine like icing sugar and blown in to distinctive drifting patterns whether against an individual stalk of grass or trees or whipped into stringy candy floss mounds. The weather felt bitter.

Our new Quercus Pods lighting vessels are on their way to COLLECT at London’s Saatchi Gallery, 22 – 25 February 2018.

“Collect brings together 40 galleries from four continents for a celebration of making, extraordinary in both scale and scope. Museum-quality works and installations from hundreds of the most talented makers in the UK, USA, South Korea, Japan, France, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden will offer visitors and collectors a multidisciplinary overview of the people, processes, materials and ideas defining international craft in 2018.”

For more information and tickets please visit

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/collect

Angus will be speaking at COLLECT TALKS:  featuring “leading voices from the worlds of craft, design, fashion, architecture and art and aims to inspire visitors and encourage debate.

TRADITIONS REIMAGINED.  A panel of international makers and gallerists delve into how traditions from across the globe influence and enrich their practices.  British Council’s Programme Manager for Design, Gian Luca Amadei is in discussion with gallerists, makers and curators, Bev Gibson, Piet Stockmans, Peter Ting and Angus Ross.Talks Space, second floor, 23 February 2018, 16:00 – 17:00

See the full programme of talks here.”

The Quercus Pods can be seen at

Scotland: Craft & Design : a collection of exquisitely crafted statement pieces from Scottish-based makers. Ground Floor, Gallery 3:4 on the right.

Craft Scotland https://www.craftscotland.org/about/projects/collect-2018/makers

Angus is making three new Quercus Pods for COLLECT. These vessels with lighting are made in Scottish oak (Quercus robur) and combine two signature techniques previously shown by Angus at Collect. Steam-bending as seen in the Forth Bench  and building a curved cabinet with slats and beads of solid wood as seen in the Whisky Collectors Cabinet.   This time both these techniques are combined with computer aided design added to the mix.

The oval Whisky Collectors Cabinet was constructed by slicing solid wood into narrow slats and connecting them with a bead slat (like tongue and groove) which allows the wood to expand and contract. Cabinets are usually constructed from a stable substrate such as ply which can be veneered (a thin layer of wood glued on top). Angus prefers to work in solid wood and is always pushing against the boundaries of traditional wood work practise. Creating an oval cabinet in solid wood was one test. In the Forth Bench the challenge was to steam bending a spiral from a single length of wood and then fixing it into position using hand turned spindles. It was challenging to glue this up and required lot’s of head scratching, manipulating the components on the bench and building up in stages.

 

Lovely article by our friends at Homes and Interiors Scotland magazine about the craft makers going to COLLECT with Craft Scotland in February. COLLECT is the premier British craft event organised by the Crafts Council (UK). Selected galleries from across the globe present museum quality craft.

read the article link

Angus has previously exhibited at Collect,
in 2015 with Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery London when he showcased the Whisky Collectors Cabinet and the Forth Bench. COLLECT is a fantastic opportunity for makers to show new innovative, speculative work to the world’s most discerning craft collectors, curators and commentators.
images of both

COLLECT
22 – 25 February 2018
Saatchi Gallery,

see film

We are particularly looking forward to seeing;

Sarah Myerscough Gallery who specialises in wood and they will be showing John Makepeace, Gareth Neal and David Gates.

Japanpage/Craftmeet who will be presenting traditional Japanese crafts including exquisite lacquerwork by “National Living Treasure” artist Toshiaki Tateno

Ting Ying Gallery who present traditional and contemporary Blanc de Chine porcelain, being made in Dehua, Fujian Province, China, where it has been made since the Ming Dynasty. Some of the makers are fourth generation Blanc de Chine sculptors.
Ting-Ying was established in 2016 by ceramic designer Peter Ting and writer Ying Jian.

Craftscotland are showcasing makers across wide range of disciplines including glass, jewellery, textiles, ceramics, silversmithing, wood and furniture. Angus will be presenting some lighting vessels combining two craft techniques. The bead and slat detail found in the Whisky Collectors Cabinet (shown below) is developed with steam-bending and computer aided design to create gorgeous curvaceous vessels.