Darren Wakefield, West Coast Rivers (BOWLS, BOXES 2022)

Photos:

Lea Walpole

‘West Coast Rivers’ was born when a good friend, mentor and one of Tasmania’s leading box makers commissioned me to create a unique piece for him featuring timbers from his personal ‘stash’. His brief was to create something of the west coast (of Tasmania) and to feature platypus. With the concept of a blanket box in mind, I explored his extensive timber collection discovering a matched pair of Huon pine slabs. The curved nature of the slabs gave the impression of a river when placed together. Using the organic shape of the slabs as the lid and prominent feature, the design grew and I hunted through his collection sourcing each additional piece of timber needed to bring the design to life. The lid features Eucalyptus burl carefully selected, shaped and individually placed between the two slabs as rocks in the river bed. Hand carved platypus swim in the river on each side of the lid. The form of the box was determined by the interesting shape and waney edge of the Huon pine lid. It was a deliberate choice to use straight panels on the sides, harmonising with the natural shape of the lid. Hand carved Huon pine side panels depict platypus in local streams, featuring Huon pine burl rocks to complement and build on the theme of the lid. The box was constructed using traditional joinery methods with the frames doweled together and the bottom of the box rebated into the sides.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.