Christophe Nancey
Since I can remember, I have been sensitive to trees and their fascinating ways of growing: burrs with their numberless outgrowth, tormented circonvolutions of roots, and worms attacks. Loosing myself in the wood, different images came to mind. And by patient approach, looking and touching, I inspire my mind with its characteristics. Then comes the desire to build together a new story for the wood.
I create mainly pure and organic shapes where the relation between material, work and idea can be fully expressed. The metal inlaid in wood defects or cracks is only there to emphasize a detail, a part of the tree's life, fully written in its grain. Often, giving the work a patina created by texturing, burning, brushing, and pigmenting finishes parts of the work.Today, by mixing all those techniques, I introduce ideas of time and breath to tell different stories about nature.
Initially, I learned cabinet making and in 1984, I started learning woodturning from G. Bidou. Then I had an autodidactic search, enriching this personal journey with the inspiration from workshops with foreign woodturners: André Martel (Canada), Michael Hosaluk (Canada), Terry Martin (Australia).
I firstly turn and hollow the rough shape in wet or half-dry wood.At this step I select and carve some parts to be finished in smooth aspect once the wood will be dry. Other parts are carved in a "naturally" textured and eroded aspect.
Then, once the wood is dry, I remove the deformations due to drying process on some parts and keep them on other parts. I end the carving, and inlay pewter in some cracks. Then I finely sand the parts designed to be smooth, and create a patina using fire, brushes, pigments and linseed oil.
I mainly use different kinds of burrs and roots of trees such as ash, heather, elm and maple.
PERMANENT MUSEUM AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Woodturning Center Philadelphia, PA
Musée des Pays de l'Ain, Paris, France
I create mainly pure and organic shapes where the relation between material, work and idea can be fully expressed. The metal inlaid in wood defects or cracks is only there to emphasize a detail, a part of the tree's life, fully written in its grain. Often, giving the work a patina created by texturing, burning, brushing, and pigmenting finishes parts of the work.Today, by mixing all those techniques, I introduce ideas of time and breath to tell different stories about nature.
Initially, I learned cabinet making and in 1984, I started learning woodturning from G. Bidou. Then I had an autodidactic search, enriching this personal journey with the inspiration from workshops with foreign woodturners: André Martel (Canada), Michael Hosaluk (Canada), Terry Martin (Australia).
I firstly turn and hollow the rough shape in wet or half-dry wood.At this step I select and carve some parts to be finished in smooth aspect once the wood will be dry. Other parts are carved in a "naturally" textured and eroded aspect.
Then, once the wood is dry, I remove the deformations due to drying process on some parts and keep them on other parts. I end the carving, and inlay pewter in some cracks. Then I finely sand the parts designed to be smooth, and create a patina using fire, brushes, pigments and linseed oil.
I mainly use different kinds of burrs and roots of trees such as ash, heather, elm and maple.
PERMANENT MUSEUM AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Woodturning Center Philadelphia, PA
Musée des Pays de l'Ain, Paris, France