Celebrating Boxes
by Peter Lloyd and Andrew Crawford
Contents of this Section
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Foreword by David Linley
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Introduction from 'Celebrating
Boxes'
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Sample Illustrations
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About the Authors
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Other Publications by the Authors
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Related Articles and Events
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Purchasing 'Celebrating Boxes'
Foreword by David Linley
Over the years plenty has been written about the eternal battle between form
and function. When clients commission furniture they have a high expectation
that chairs and tables will perform in a certain way, being comfortable and
practical, as well as pleasing to the eye. That ergonomic necessity, not to
mention the sheer size, can dominate the designing and making process. Boxes are
different. Obviously what they have to contain may limit the boundaries of shape
and substance, but in so many cases the purpose for which they are made is of
secondary importance to their role as an ornament.
The box-maker distils the skills of painter, sculptor and
furniture-maker, with their craftsmanship put under a microscope and their
artistry displayed in three dimensions. No wonder making boxes has become so
popular, offering woodworkers a canvas for so many styles, approaches and
techniques. Justified by the purpose of the box, the artist-craftsman can
stretch abilities and imagination to produce a working sculpture. Few avenues of
creativity offer such indulgence.
The boxes and makers illustrated here by Andrew Crawford and Peter Lloyd
epitomise the amazing emergence of 'box-art' in the last few decades. From
around the world they have plucked the very best makers, choosing a remarkable
range of pieces to demonstrate the vibrancy of box-making today. Amongst the
examples is work by Robert Ingham, who taught me when I was training at Parnham
in the 1980s, and who represents the tantalising point at which artist meets
engineer. For Robert, box-making was an expedient, enabling him to squirrel away
work when students demanded his time. I remember making a highly complex box
that was designed by him which incorporated miniature dovetails, inlay and
turning that pushed all the students to the limit in terms of striving for
perfection and attention to detail, to the point where I had to grind down my 1/8"
chisel to 1/16"! It was such a labour of love I gave it to my father who
inspired my career in cabinet making, and it sits on the desk in his study now.
Who'd have thought then, some 20 years ago when independent furniture makers
were a rarity in themselves, that box-making would become a specialism, with an
elite of its own.
Each box-maker has his or her story. Threads may be woven across
continents, but each is unique, finding a special way to express themselves in
small scale and with precision. Some do so with driftwood, others with colours
and the most exotic timber. Some strut their stuff on the outside, others reveal
hidden worlds within. The fascination and importance of the work Peter and
Andrew are celebrating lies in that breadth, and in the lengths to which artists
will go to produce the most beautiful and evocative boxes.
Introduction from 'Celebrating Boxes'
Wooden boxes - these simple words encompass so many possibilities: fine
sculpted or carved work, functional or fanciful, immaculately constructed and
veneered - or just hollowed out. From exquisitely made traditional boxes
to some of the wildest creations by today's most outstanding and innovative
designer/makers - the "CELEBRATING BOXES" project features them all.
By presenting this rich diversity of contemporary work we hope to promote
the 'Art' as well as the 'Craft' of this fascinating branch of woodwork.
The Celebrating Boxes project was first discussed in Peter Lloyd's studio
workshop in Cumbria, UK way back in July 1994. It seemed that box making
was under-valued in comparison to some other branches of woodworking, an
imbalance that we wanted to redress. Tullie House, Carlisle's Museum and
Art Gallery liked the idea and Peter can still remember the day when the idea
achieved the elevated status of having its own file!
The seed was sown and started to germinate ~ Peter visited the US, Andrew
visited Australia and both returned with good news: there are plenty of box
makers out there, drawing from a wide range of disciplines and producing work in
an extraordinary variety of styles. We then advertised, wrote to magazines
and informed Craft Councils world-wide. The enormous response we received
confirmed that we were on to something good and we soon had a database of well
over 400 makers from all corners of the globe.
The project was rolling and plans were made. A selection process was
held in February 2000 and around 80 makers were chosen. The exhibition
which opens in Tullie House, Carlisle in September 2001 is planned to tour
nationally and internationally. This book includes work by most of the
makers selected for the 'Celebrating Boxes' touring exhibition ~ artists from
Britain, USA, Europe, Australia, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Israel and New
Zealand. Full contact details for all featured makers are in the index,
including email and websites where appropriate and the Celebrating Boxes website
at www.celebratingboxes.com has
all the most up to date tour and other information.
Wood is a remarkable material and in this age of computer technology, when
almost everything is instant, the slower pace that is required to work this rich
medium should be welcomed. All the work in this book uses wood as the
principle material but pieces including metals, stones, leather and textiles are
also included. The wide range of work featured here only goes to confirm
wood once again as the truly wonderful and versatile commodity it is.
Originally conceived as an image based book with a minimum of text we found
that, as well as fantastic images, we also received a wealth of thoughtful,
creative and witty writing as the makers shared their insights into their
Art/Craft. Perhaps it goes without saying that if you ask
creative people to write, you get creative writing ~ in any case, this rich crop
of wise words has certainly added an extra dimension.
And why boxes? It is a cliché to claim that there is a universal
fascination with boxes, but there undoubtedly is ~ and it has been intriguing to
discover the diverse and winding routes by which many of these artisans have
arrived at their obsessions with these small objects of desire. Their
reasons vary from the prosaic to the bizarre, but all contribute to an
understanding of their philosophies, their approaches to design and how they
arrive at the sometimes provocative and startling imagery conjured up by their
creations.
There is no uniform approach to the content for each maker ~ rather than
filling out boxes on a form we felt that simply asking them what made them tick
would be the best way to arrive at what was important to them. In short,
each maker contributed what they felt they wanted to and we have let them tell
their own story.
Some editing was, of course, necessary: it goes without saying that
these makers exhibit and sell their work widely so we have omitted gallery and
commission lists and also much of the dry biographical and educational
information. We have generally not included turners ~ the few that do
appear are included because they are producing pieces that involve a range of
disciplines of which turning is just one.
It is easy to suppose, working alone as most craftsmen do, that you are on
your own trying to achieve a certain goal. It can be lonely ~ but working
on a project like this you realise that you are part of a huge family that
experience similar hopes, dreams, aspirations and, sometimes, failures. Or,
as Chris Cantwell puts it, woodstove material!
We have had great fun compiling a book that includes the work, and words, of
so many wonderful and original makers. It has been an inspiring and
humbling experience, too ~ and hard; the astonishingly high and consistent
quality has made it a difficult task to do justice to all their achievements
without writing a book twice this size!
This is a book about art, craft and creativity ~ a window into the private
worlds of nearly 70 of the world's finest and most diverse designer/makers.
We hope that it will be an inspiration to collectors, designers,
enthusiasts and woodworkers everywhere ~ and anyone else with even a passing
interest in boxes.
Peter Lloyd and Andrew Crawford.
Sample Illustrations
About the Authors
Peter Lloyd and Andrew Crawford are professional box makers and experienced
writers. Each has a very individual approach to their craft - but they
share a love of wood, a commitment to fine craftsmanship and a fascination with
the mystique of boxes of all sorts. Between them they have travelled
widely, written books on the subject and have accumulated an extensive knowledge
and understanding of the art and craft of box making.
They have also arrived at the strong conviction that boxes are undervalued in
the 'Art' world so, in 'Celebrating Boxes', they have pooled their experience to
write a book which celebrates and promotes the contemporary wooden box in all
its guises together with the artists active in this fascinating branch of wood
art.
The authors at work on the manuscript.
Other Publications by the Authors
Peter Lloyd:
'Making Heirloom Boxes', Guild of Master Craftsman, available from
December 2001.
Contact Peter Lloyd here
to reserve your signed copy.
Andrew Crawford:
'The Book of Boxes', Stobart Davies, 1993.
'Fine Decorative Boxes', Sterling, 1998.
You can purchase a signed copy of either of these books from Andrew Crawford's website.
Related Articles and Events
Two events are planned to coincide with the launch of the book:
- International Box Conference on 21st and 22nd September, with speakers
including David Charlesworth, Andrew Crawford, and Robert Ingham;
- Celebrating Boxes Exhibition from 21st September to 21st October, at the
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle.
Further details of both events can be found at the Celebrating Boxes website.
Purchasing 'Celebrating Boxes'
You can purchase a signed copy of 'Celebrating Boxes' from Andrew Crawford's
website.
WoodBooks acknowledges all copyrights in the above materials,
and would like to express its thanks to Messrs. Lloyd and Crawford and their publishers
Stobart Davies for
their generous help and assistance in the preparation of this article, and for
their permission to reproduce the information included here.
