JON BAYES CARVING - DEVON

Welcome to my website. I want to share with you my passion for making furniture from riven green oak. I want to show you the process, which is as old as joinery itself and connects me intimately with the king of trees, the mighty English Oak. It is a process which works with the natural grain and growth of the tree, which yields the strongest, most stable timber. This allows the making to start while the wood is still green. I draw my inspiration from a woodworking tradition that predates modern joinery and cabinetmaking. The carving is sometimes left plain, sometimes coloured, or polychromed. Sometimes, the incised designs follow traditional designs, sometimes they are mine and sometimes they are accurate Early Oak Reproduction. I try to maintain as much control over the process as possible; I fetch the tree from the forest, cleave it with wedge and froe, dress it with axe and handplane and then and only then, start the joining. Ultimately though, the oak is in control, if the grain is curved sometimes, it is best to use it for a curved framing piece. The medullary rays and tree's character are evident in the finished pieces. I like wooden things to look like they are made from wood.