Description
‘Hooper Swan’
Collect from gallery £188
Including UK delivery £200
H 15.7 x W 29.2 x D 2.3 cm
Carved from the wood of a lime tree which was felled in the grounds of The Bishops Palace at Hereford Cathedral.
Kathryn studied at Wolverhampton Polytechnic (1984-87) and Mid Cheshire College of Art and Design (1983-84). She now lives and works in Worcestershire. Her carved relief panels in English lime make use of traditional hand-carving techniques to depict mainly birds. She occasionally depicts other animals or fish but birds are clearly her passion and are beautifully observed. Often images are cropped and only glimpses of the bird are seen, as if in passing. Colour is achieved with watered down acrylic paints, layered and rubbed back.
Kathryn has been making woodcarvings for over 30 years, initially three-dimensional and then moving on to the relief carvings she makes today. This change came from a love of drawing, where she enjoyed exploring composition, colour and texture, using the gouges and chisels as well as paint.
Birds have always fascinated her, there were bird watching books on her childhood bookshelves and they’re still on her shelves today. Kathryn only needs to look out of her shed window when working and her inspiration is flying past, circling overhead or resting on the woodshed.
She finds the methodical process of transforming a rough cut plank, usually English lime, into a finished piece meditative and incredibly satisfying. The painting can be more time consuming than the carving, with paint being applied, sanded and re-applied until she is happy with the piece.
Kathryn tends to begin with an idea, such as the species of a bird, its landscape and a colour and the carving then develops organically from there. She says that she is never entirely sure what she wants to make until it is made. Similarly, knowing when a piece is finished is down to pure instinct. It is possible to overwork a carving, in which case it is re-carved and re-coloured until Kathryn feels it is complete.
“I’m never entirely sure what I want to make until it is made. The initial idea may be : species of bird, its’ landscape, a colour and the resulting carving develops organically from there.
Knowing when a piece is finished is pure instinct. Sometimes I can overwork a carving and then I need to re-carve it and re-colour it until I can look at it and say “Yes, that’s better”. Then I’m happy.”
