Art and craft

"It is a spectacle to see a piece of wood take shape and be sculpted by an artist.

Passionate about handmade objects, I was introduced to the wood lathe for the first time during the creative workshops of the Tourist Office of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup: it is the ideal opportunity to learn while having fun, in a small group since there were only 4 apprentices in a relaxed and childlike atmosphere!

Before starting the wood lathe, Julien presented the different types of wood we would have at our disposal to create our object, each with its own specificity:

• Boxwood, this shrub that we recognize in the landscapes of our scrublands, offers us by its hard wood a golden colour going sometimes until lemon. It takes time to grow, but also to dry: most of the time, a risk of cracking is possible! However, it is still very popular for making objects (flutes, petanque shells, etc.).
• Cade is a wood from the juniper tree, very common in the vegetation of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup. It is brown in colour with a reddish tinge and gives off a spicy smell when rubbed between the hands... Its success is also based on a past devoted to health (skin) and to cleaning houses (anti-moth).
• The hackberry tree, with its very hard wood, produces round fruits and is also very present in the region.  Robust, but flexible, its wood has often been used for weaving, creating canes, whips and paddles for rowing.

It was when Julien Manikian gave us his first demonstration that I was amazed: he gently placed the gouge on the cade, and slowly we saw that the piece was hollowing out like a spiral!

We then stop the machine, which was turning at high speed, to appreciate the fine zebra pattern of the wood.
The colour of my router is light, while the boxwood is golden yellow and incredibly soft when sanded.

I am particularly enchanted by the juniper: its colour and veining are truly dazzling, its smell having diminished, I tempt myself again to bring it to my nose to smell the wood of my production.

I leave with my masterpiece and delighted with my experience which encourages me even more to make woodworking my new passion...