Bench: Sycamore

Furniture in concept and essence is straightforward and clear cut. It needs to function for a particular requirement. Bench in sycamore fulfills the exact criteria the maker intended. The criteria was to make a seat, also to be used as a table. It is simple and uncomplicated. Sit down. Relax.

The wood this piece is made from was found at Croydon dump, green and wet, identified as Sycamore. Amid the excitement and fervour of imagining the possibilities of the newly discovered log, it needed to be remembered that the tree section first has to dry out completely, which takes considerable time. It then can be used, but will continue to twist and bend and split until it is fully seasoned. Patience was employed, and some years of seasoning later the wood was processed to become this bench. With illustration like detail created by the action of spalting, its surfaces are alike to painted landscapes and the flow of water. Knots and gnarls remain, barely altered.