In an Orderly Fashion

 

So this follows on from yesterdays post (if you haven't seen it please take a look).

I really love the orderliness of the workshop, with all the tools neatly stored in their proper places.

I think the setting really suits black and white images, which is how they were shot. It adds to the sense of age or history. But when I edited the first image in colour I was really struck by the richness and warmth of the wood and that is possibly my favourite image for today.

I love the detail in the cabinets, the marquetry patterns are simple but beautiful, and all that just to store chisels. Marquetry is something I have done in the past (and will do more when I retire) and I know that even for a simple pattern like this it will have taken time and skill and it shows that the craftsman has taken care not just over his tools but how they are displayed.

Many years ago I had a holiday on the Norfolk Broads and I went into a photo studio in Stalham where I bought a black and white print of tools silhouetted against a window. I really liked the picture and I had that in mind when I took these images. Although that was a good image I am going to say I like mine best...

In The Workshop

As a schoolboy the practical subject that I enjoyed most was woodwork and while I won't pretend that I possessed any great skill I really enjoyed the smell and feel of the wood and I always found it really satisfying to finish a project.  In contrast to metalwork where my most enduring memory is of a lump of metal (which was intended to be a support for a small metal dish that I was making) flew across the workshop like a bullet because I got confused and turned the wheel of the lathe in the wrong direction. I got a heck of telling off and it was lucky I didn't hurt anyone and to my surprise I wasn't actually banned from the workshop so I got to finish the dish.

Anyway I still love the atmosphere of a woodworking shop and at Erddig there is a great workshop which is still in use. It has the smell of a log fire burning in one corner mixed with the scents of sawdust and well oiled and carefully maintained tools. I love the order and precision of these tool racks and the care that has gone into preserving these tools of the trade is clear to see. I think they make great subject for a really atmospheric picture and I think they work well in both colour and black & white.