Erik Phipps, a Wood carver working out of Bembridge, has been commissioned by the Isle of Wight Festival to create a wood sculpture.
Made from large chunk of solid beech, originally from the Parkhurst area, Erik has been working on it at Whitefield wood yard, along Beaper Shute.
He’s used a variety of tools and techniques on it, some traditional, others modern.
We caught up with him for an interview, covering the process of changing it from a large piece of wood, to a thing of beauty that also serves the practical purpose of being able to sit on it.
Erik told VB, “Its potential was immediately obvious, but when I carved into the beech some very interesting shapes and colours revealed themselves, made more vivid by having applied a very natural oil to protect the timber from the elements.”
After all of the cutting, carving and finishing, he spent a lot of time and effort ensuring that that low-impact oil would have the minimum environmental impact. It’s made from orange oil and doesn’t containing any VOCs. Even its packaging was low-impact.
Erik’s friend Luke Ellison has been helping him with some of the work, when time allowed, and also documenting the whole process through photographs and video.
See it at the Festival
The sculpture/seat will be at the Festival so you can admire it and even sit on it.
It is placed near to the sand sculptures, close to the big top.
Have a listen …
… and watch it taking place …
A series of photos of the process
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images & video: Luke Ellison
