I have used found pieces of old oak in my sculptures for many years.See under ‘Old Oak’. Recently I have been making coloured inserts in ‘post & rail’ fencing where wooden rails were once inserted into the post. When these are abandoned the soft wood rots, but this can be scraped away leaving fascinating shapes in the remaining hard wood. I began by making these with transparent polyester resin but in the present one I am using epoxy resin which has become popular in making ‘river’ tables. It has the big advantage of not smelling in the construction and is incredible strong. These posts are rare finds.

 JAZZ IN OAK shown here at the National Trust property Standen.

UKRAINE

A wooden post with coloured inserts illustrating Smetana's Ma Vlast.
A restored post installed in an iron clamp and named LIFE AFTER DEATH and claimed to be a sculpture.

The post on the left illustrates Smetana’s Ma Vlast and the QR code brings up this beautiful music. The one on the right is an old conifer post which needed a major restoration including treatment with wood hardener and three discreet dowels. When it was inserted into its clamp it became clear it told its own story and needed no colour. From the front its reflection of the view is sufficient. From the other side, with the light behind the viewer the details of the tree skeleton showing the development and death of branches makes a fascinating study.