Exhibitions
Missenden’s seat of learning
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| Wood-carver Dick Onians |
A dying redwood tree has been given new life as a decorative seat inside the grounds of Missenden Abbey Conference Centre.
Wood-carver Dick Onians, who tutors at Buckinghamshire New University's Missenden Abbey for the Bucks Adult Learning programme, has spent almost a year working on the remains of the tree, which was thought to have been more than 150 years old.
Centre director Steve Crawford explains: "Rather than just fell it and remove all sight of it, we decided to create a seat for future generations.
"The tree, which has given joy to many over the 150 years, will continue to be a part of the abbey and will leave its own legacy, thanks to Dick Onians' wood-carving skills."
Dick, who was born in Buckinghamshire and now lives in Kings Langley, says: "People love art to have a function, so what I have designed is a seat with a very gentle spiral going up. As a result you can sit almost anywhere upon it."
The 68-year-old artist adds: "I've never made a seat out of a solid tree before, so this was really quite something of a challenge.
"I've done plenty of other large sculptures, but certainly not one so massive, or still attached to the ground!"
| "I’m really looking forward to the summer months to see if people are using it." | | Dick Onians |
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Dick, who was previously chairman of the Buckinghamshire Art Society, says he developed a variety of ideas for the tree remains, before actually undertaking the project.
He explains: "My original idea was to come up with this wonderful sculpture, but this proved too expensive and I found the wood was actually not durable enough.
"My design changed again after I discovered some intrusions of bark along the tree.
"This meant there were areas of weakness and softness that I couldn't quite get to, so I had to incorporate the bark into the design."
After months of working on the wood with a chain saw and finishing off the surface with a chisel, Dick finally unveiled the seat last week.
"Am I pleased with it? Absolutely," says Dick. "I'm really looking forward to the summer months to see if people are using it."
A new redwood sapling will now be planted in the grounds of Missenden Abbey.
Details: www.bucks.ac.uk
4:47pm Thursday 17th April 2008
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