Gudrun came to green woodwork via qualifications in teaching and fine furniture making. A change of heart led to a blissful year restoring a wooden schooner, learning to work by hand and eye in green timber.
She moved to Herefordshire as a founder member of Clissett Wood, having secured the contract for pole lathe turning 500 balusters for the rebuilding of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. For the next 20 years Gudrun concentrated on teaching green wood skills and making to commission while continuing to explore her interests in traditional crafts and vernacular architecture.
Eventually life events led her to developing the skills of sustainably managing a beautiful 150-year-old oak woodland as a mainstay of her present work. When time and energy allow she selects curved or branching forms from this rich resource, which she cleaves into adventurous shapes to work into sculptural seating that combines pleasure with function.
Statement
It has been a joy to work again with the curves, flaws and challenges of the home grown sections of oak and sweet chestnut selected for my free-form work. Timber chosen for its intricate history and character leads me into a collaboration in which I listen and guide, reshape and celebrate the essence of the once living tree. It is a deeply respectful way of working, the use of hand tools allowing me to cherish the peace of the woods and my workshop and the slower pace of working and being this encourages.
Website: www.greenwoodwork.co.uk