ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [3 August 2007]

I hope to chart the development of this project here, posting my thoughts on what I am doing and some of the work I will hopefully produce. Questioning the relationship between Marquetry and Art may also create a space for discussion within the work.  Asking questions will be as important as attempting to find answers.

But What is Marquetry?

Marquetry is the practice of inlaying wood veneers. It is a craft more commonly associated with traditional furniture making where designs are cut into veneer and applied to objects.

Marquetry is sometimes referred to as painting with wood, where typically an image is created using different types of veneer, the artist exploiting different colours and textures in the material in the same way a traditional painter would.

 These are the basic definitions which I hope to expand upon and think about more as I progress. In general though Marquetry seems to be something that is less well known of or documented than other crafts. I find this interesting considering the obvious relationship that it has with painting, certainly in the traditional sense. I wonder why this is?

In recent years there seems to have been a boom of interest in updating and reimagining various forms of craft. Perhaps I will discover that Marquetry has been a part of this or maybe it is yet to be rediscovered.

# 2 [9 August 2007]

One of the things that attracts me to Marquetry is the material itself. Working in wood has so many possibilities and connotations. I like the idea of connecting with nature through its use. As a starting point this seems more appropriate for me than beginning by trying to simply apply techniques to my work without considering just what Marquetry is conceptually. 

The aesthetic appeal of a Marquetry picture is something I personally find difficult and the types of images produced in the main by Marquetarians would certainly not to be everyones taste. There is a kitsch quality to much of the work I have experienced in the past but I think this has more to do with subject matter than anything. Inevitably questions of taste and indeed fashion are part of this and considering the history and traditional uses of Marquetry how this sits with a more modern aesthetic can be a challenge. I will try to think more about this as I progress.

What I don't want to do in this project is to criticise the use of the craft in the world of Marquetry; which is incidently a very thriving global community. The UK Marquetry Society was founded in 1952, affiliated to it are many local groups throughout the country. The Staffordshire group, whom I am connecting with during this project are one of these and can lay claim some very talented members. The group also has an excellent website. Links below

http://www.marquetry.org/

http://www.staffsmarq.freeserve.co.uk/

If anyone would like to contact me regarding the project please get in contact helen_thompstone@hotmail.com

# 3 [10 August 2007]

Marquetry is a very precise activity. Getting a slice of veneer to fit perfectly within another is harder than it sounds.

There are a variety of techniques for doing this, most commonly a scalpel is used to cut a window in the first sheet, the second veneer to be inlaid is then placed behind this first window. After fixing the two in place the scalpel can then be run along the edge of the window tracing the shape onto the veneer below. After careful cutting the shape can be fitted into the gap and secured with adhesive.

Having developed an Art practice that alot of the time could be deemed to lack precision and even skill, attempting something requiring so much patience might be hard. Despite this not all aspects of Marquetry require you to squint over a cutting board for hours on end; at least I don't think they do. Creating some more immediate work will be good to try alongside more ambitious ideas.

I think perhaps this is one of the differences between the  craftsman and the Artist in this particular project anyway. Developing the skills and techniques and being able to use these seamlessly I imagine far outweighs the need to use Marquetry conceptually for most hobbyist Marquetarians. Not to say the subject means nothing in this sense, or is irrelevant because I don't believe that is the case. Having a project and completing it to the best standard is something I would hope for too. Having the discipline to perfect the techique above all other concerns however is something I don't necessarily feel I am aiming for.

# 4 [18 August 2007]

Notes on veneer

 I have been thinking about the qualities of veneer. As a metaphor it signifies a surface, a cover up, hidden depth under a fine layer. I like these associations and find it is interesting to think about them relation to how the material is used. The very flatness of veneer could be exploited more in Marquetry rather than being applied to another surface.

Traditionally being an alternative to inlay into a solid surface, Marquetry as a cover up acts as a playful 'trick' being easier to execute than inlaying itself. The use of Trompe-l'oeil seems to have grown from this- effectively being used in Marquetry a lot. The play between 2 and 3 dimensions seems a natural way to work with the technique because there is such a fine line between the two in this case.

I have been drawn to working in a playful way with some of my initial experiments. 

I find I am looking toward wood in general in my process, connecting the solid form to veneer. Refering to wood in the broadest sense seems important to begin to understand the material and how something so solid and imposing as a tree is reduced to such fragile sheets; and similarly how this then returns to be a 3D 'covering' after being worked.

# 5 [6 September 2007]

I think veneer can make you think about trees in a different way, the patterns, deformaties, bug holes and knots. These qualities aren't just potential things of beauty but say alot more about the lives of the trees they came from. How the marks in the wood tell a tale about the growth and specifics of the situation in which the tree grew is quite incredible. Every inch growing in a different way with variable factors becoming literally ingrained within.

Taking these peculiarities for granted, looking at shapes and pattern not just for their potential as pieces of an unmade picture emphasises the life cycle of wood. How the material has a diversity beyond other materials becomes apparent the more a leaf of veneer is studied.

I'm not sure I like veneers being referred to as a palette though, I think because it seems too closely related to painting and seems a bit limiting. Nevertheless this 'palette' is full of endless possibilities and surprises which I find exciting.

# 6 [9 September 2007]

Notes about the woodworker

I've been trying in my mind to get to grips with wood and began to read 'Woodland Crafts in Britain' by Herbert Eldin. Putting into context the cultural importance wood Eldin outlines how many industries have unquestionably relied on wood and woodworkers over the centuries. This is sort of aside from a central discussion of marquetry but something I think is really important. As links to the countryside are imprtant to me anyway it made sense to see the connections made with rural life in this book. Tools, fuel and construction simply could not have existed without wood for so many traditional industries and rural operations. Everything began with the woodsman.

Only the day before photographing a tumble-down old farm cart this became more significant when looking at the relationship of woodman to wheelwright to farmer etc and similar chains all dependent on a source of wood. It seemsed quite apt to have been drawn to this relic of a woodworking age for this project.

It seems the old 'craft/ Art' debate re appears here again. Marquetry doesn't immediately sit easily as a 'woodland craft' owing to its less functional applications and associations with cabinet making and 'fine applied Arts'. Eldins book avoids these crafts and concentrates on those linked more to forestry, trade and agriculture and particularly woodworking that has been practiced in Britain but has now died out.

Eldins exploration however has a lot that I find I can link to Marquetry and which is both relevant and interesting. Primarily appreciating the versatility and rewards to be found in working with wood.

# 7 [20 September 2007]

Play with Parquetry

Parquetry is the use of geometric design in marquetry. Games boards and furniture typically finding use for the technique. I like the simplicity of making up chequered sheets. Slicing straight edges and worrying less about the holes in between joins.

I've tried to play about with this considering geometry in nature, using the monkey puzzle branch which is a beautiful object in itself.

# 8 [24 September 2007]

Paper Cuts

One of the things Marquetry seems more akin to at the moment is the Art of paper cuts. This seems to have become quite trendy recently with Artists like Peter Callesen, Richard Sweeney and Jen Stark. The fragility of the material and the actual 'cut' itself as the critical action. Both techniques require precision and a slip of the blade could cause an irreversible error.

Peter Callesen particularly makes some interesting work both pictorial and sculptural. The varying scale in this work jumps from the standard A4 sheet to massive installations, the material proving no obstacle for the ideas. I saw the fairytale castle that the artist made in the 'Art and Enchanment' exhibition that toured to Walsall earlier this year. There wasn't much I found enchanting about the exhibition but I did enjoy the castle, cut and constructed from an enourmous sheet of paper, the cuts and holes exposed revealing the process of its construction.

Infact discarded pieces of veneer that have had pieces removed for pictures are fascinating to me. Perfect shapes hover in the middle of a carefully selected sheet, having provided a piece for a picture these incomplete sheets lie in wait for the next time they may be of use.

There are endless connections between paper and veneer- obviously products of wood. Also historically and culturally both among the most accessible and familiar of primitive art materials. Papercutting has its origins in East Asia- China and Japan where the craft is still very important- and reading of it's rural origins is interesting- like work with wood it has developed within the countryside and developed in a more sophisticated manner, transferred to the workshop as a higher form of art.

# 9 [29 September 2007]

Collection of woody vocabulary and a literary reference

Lots of wonderful words and phrases jump out of thinking around wood. I mentioned the veneer metaphor before but more than this many words connect to trees and wood in their origins. i'll compile a little list...

Snedding, Barking, Snigged

Tug, Twigged, branching out, borker, janker, stumped,

Apparently Evelyn Waughs writing can be linked to marquetry, his interest in the craft being reflected in his intricately inlaid sub plots!

# 10 [30 September 2007]

Folk Art

I've been thinking about this a bit as I came across this link http://www.tramp-art.com/folk_marquetry.htm . I'm not really sure whether there is a difference between Outsider art, folk art, tramp art or other definitions. I do think marquetry and this project have a relationship to it on several levels. Any amatuer craft could be deemed 'folk Art' I suppose although I wouldn't necessarily want to attach this label here. I do think a lack of artistic training can be used legitimately to differentiate artists but again that isn't that important really? How one approaches the craft and why is.

If a surge in craft movements was borne out of increasing Urbanisation and industrialisation this reaction is interesting. Artistic rules, academic traditions and aesthetics, would be progressing at an equally rapid rate, a rejection of which would automatically leave makers 'outside' of the progressive arts. A return to nature on the face of it denys the urban and the mechanisation of the industrial age.

There are inconsistencies though. Marquetry really draws on a global resource with materials originating from all over the world. Global development can be see to expand upon the craft with the introduction of all kinds of exotic materials for the artist to work with. In a way more than other art forms marquetry makes global connections in a way others don't. An accessible craft which potentially allows anyone the privilege of working with an enormous range of natural yet unfamiliar materials. I think this is worth thinking about.

Another thing that the lack of a formal training allows is more creative freedom. In understanding how those involved with marquetry work it is a lot of the time about the discovery of new techniques and methods. These can be shared and developed by others and I think it is this is what makes something like marquetry so interesting for those involved. There is a gentleman in the Staffordshire group who converted a sewing machine to cut veneer- a sort of concocted fret saw- this demonstrates wonderful creativity and invention which is what for me essentially defines so called 'folk Art'