Greenwood design - Student work exhibition

Greenwood working is a traditional wood craft. The softness and moisture content of fresh wood serve as guiding features in design work and production. For its creator, greenwood working opens up alternative possibilities for getting to know the material, while at the same time enlightening it to interpret it in a new way.

The tools used in greenwood working are simple hand tools, such as an axe, a carving iron and a knife. It is possible to make your own working aids. The choice of materials limited to the intended use allows for the use of a wide variety of materials and shapes.

Experience in greenwood working helps to find new alternatives for solving design problems. Greenwood working and the use of natural forms set high standards for creative design work. Working with the material can, on the other hand, be pleasant, even meditative.

The exhibition takes a stand on the ArkMuoto festival theme “Traces of Use”. Traces on the material are created both in nature, during the transfer of the material, and also by traces made with hand tools. In objects shaped from fresh wood, the final trace is created by the hand of the maker. Once finished, traces from use are also allowed on the objects.

An unsanded and rough wooden surface allows traces of use in a different way than a sanded wooden surface. Are traces also accepted more easily and can they even be desired? The patina that adheres to untreated wood is part of the story. In the works, you can also see layers and various natural forms and traces created by nature.

Inspired by the forms found in nature, the designer reduces natural forms to his concepts. The direct use of natural forms has been poorly adapted to the limits of industrial manufacturing. However, accepting natural forms as such could eliminate the need for expensive machining and finishing.