Shadrach's Lamps

[Shadrach]

I started making lamps three years ago.
In the National Park where I live and the surrounding area hundreds of hardwood trees are cut for firewood every year. All the lamps and other wooden items are made from pieces of firewood that would otherwise have got burned.
Most of these items are made from various types of hardwood that grow locally; Alzina (Holm Oak) Alzina Surera (Cork Oak) and a fruit bearing tree called Arboc, Boix (Box) and Pollancre The Beech used comes from another area.

All these items are hand made using traditional woodworking hand tools. The only machine used is an electric drill for the cable and lamp stem holes.
I do the rough work outside and the engraving and fine work on my kitchen table.
The designs in black are carved into the wood and the voids are then filled with a paste made from slate dust and adhesive; these are sanded and refilled until flush with the wood.
No paints or varnishes or wood dyes are used. The finish is achieved with various mineral and wood based oils and beeswax.
They really are hand made.

I have a product name which is Llenya Art (Llenya, means firewood in Catalan) and I sell a few each year from commissions, or through the local arts and crafts fair. I seem to give quite a few away.

The pictures below are from an arts and crafts fair last year.

 

[Shadrach]

I've been meaning to post some pics of the last fair.

 

[Luvs]

Beautiful!

 

[RoyalChick]

A very special package arrived for me in the middle of last week but with insanity at work I have only just now managed to fully unpack and take photos.
Thank you @Shadrach for Marble, Mandolin and Wax. I love all of them - they are all stunning in their own way both to look at and to handle (they call out to be touched). You are a very talented man and I feel honored to own a few of your pieces.
I haven't put them in their permanent homes yet but this part of the kitchen has interesting lighting and was easiest for a photo shoot.

 

[JedJackson]

I'm pleased you like them. Talented....no..more persistent, but thanks anyway.

Don't be modest. Those are very good. I love the ones with naturalistic forms, especially. They are simple but very interesting.

 

[Shadrach]

Left to right. Cherry, Almond, White Oak.
All these woods split easily when drying from green unless the ends are sealed.
Here the old school woodworkers used to tar the ends and dry lifted off the ground and covered with plant foliage which was kept slightly damp. There is a real art to drying wood in this way and from cut to dry enough to work without much further wood movement takes two to three years!
The White Oak is a relatively new wood for me. I've done one lamp with it and it came out quite well. The piece in the picture is very white and not quite dry enough to work yet.

Almond. Tough rather than hard. Correctly cut and stored it can make nice furniture wood. I've done a couple of pieces in Almond. The heart wood is lovely but getting a section of sufficient diameter to just have heart wood for a carving or lamp is unusual.

Olive. Lots of people love Olive wood. I've done a couple of pieces in this wood but ideally you need a large diameter piece and work into the heart wood. It's tough rather than hard bet fairly easy to work with. The main problem I have with it is the textures and shades change rapidly as you work into the wood. So, it's great for bowls and spoons etc where the shades are not really important. For art work and lamps no matter what you do to it, it just looks like a piece of Olive wood. It's too distinctive for the styles I'm interested in.

Cork Oak. My favorite wood. It's very hard and when it goes wrong it tends to break off in chunks. Second best for a polished finish. First is Strawbeey Tree.
My last post above is Strawberry Tree. What I love about Cork Oak is the colours and patterns in the wood. They start early in the wood on many pieces I've used and this means you get interesting features most of the way through the piece. Unfortunately you also get major defects right the way through. I've scrapped more Cork Oak than any other wood. Get a good bit and with very sharp tools, there is nothing quite like it imo.

Cork Oak. The texture on the back is what Cork Oak looks like when the cork is stripped off. Most of the pieces I do with a tree engraved into the wood are made with Cork Oak. I love the darkness of the wood.

Forgot. This is Apple. Not tried it before.

 

[Shadrach]

Beautiful!

Thank You

 

[Shadrach]

Those are fantastic, Shadrach! Really high quality. You are very talented.

I'm pleased you like them. Talented....no..more persistent, but thanks anyway.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Wow! What beautiful work!!!! ♥

 

[Sendie]

Nice!