A NEW exhibition of wooden art opens at the Gracefield Arts Centre on Saturday.
The Scottish Furniture Makers Association, in partnership with Scottish Forestry and the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers, present Ash Rise, an exhibition of new work from 20 of Scotland’s leading and emerging makers using wood from Scottish ash trees.
Accompanied by documentary film, the exhibition was launched in September last year, at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh to tell the story of this beautiful tree, its historic and contemporary brilliance as a material and the challenges of ash die-back. The exhibition showcases new pieces of furniture and works of art and craft specially commissioned for Ash Rise.
All the pieces are either made using timber from ash trees or have in some way been inspired by the trees themselves or the environment in which they grew. The ash trees for the project were sourced from Killearn Home Farm in Stirlingshire and were all felled as a result of being affected by the dieback disease.
Exhibition project coordinator and furniture maker Tom Addy said: “Ash Rise is a culmination of a three-year project which started with the idea of highlighting how precious this resource is in Scotland whilst also showcasing the skills and creativity of the furniture making and design community.
“We’re delighted to be able to tour this exhibition to Edinburgh, Dumfries and Inverness to bring the story of Scottish Ash to as wide an audience as possible. Education is a key part of this project which is why the Ash Rise film was commissioned to reach even more people educating the viewer in the historical and cultural importance of the material and the skills used to turn a tree into a finished piece.”
