An undiscovered talent. Mother to 3 young boys and an artist according to a classical tradition, Claire Eden from Whale Beach, Sydney, is as refined as a Royal Doulton Tea Set yet as earthy as a facial scrub. Enter her workshop and you observe the rawness amidst the sawdust and shavings. Observe her with mallet and chisel and be overcome by the sensuality and finesse of perfectly formed curves and detail. Here is the story behind Oscuro Carving.
What do you typically tell people when they ask what you do?
When I say I am a woodcarver I do tend to give a bit of background as well, because being a woodcarver has its training in a traditional trade that sits over so many disciplines. I have worked on such a wide range of projects including collaborating with architects, interior designers, furniture makers, restorers, the antique trade, fashion and private clients amongst others.
What are your passions in life?
Growing up in the countryside of the new forest in the U.K. with family in the west country there were hours of walking and more walking, observing and collecting bits and bobs. I still do lots of that and I love the chat that evolves so naturally. I also get the same feeling from paddle boarding which I have discovered while in Australia, I find it visually stimulating and serene.
When my father moved to rural Tuscany we had summers spent in a very rustic state, surrounded by natural and architectural beauty (the more crumbling, deteriorating and hidden the treasure, the better.) It exposed me to the design and the beauty of stone and wood carvings.
I was very lucky to go to a school which I enjoyed with wonderful people. It being a boarding school some of the friends I met there, lived all over the world because of their parents work. It allowed me a portal to experience what I saw as wonderfully exotic and sometimes wild and woolly places. It lit a fire in me to see the world and not be afraid of anything unknown. So as soon as I could, I got off the track and tried to travel my own path.
What was your first job and what path did you decide to take?
I was travelling in Nigeria and I saw some woodcarving work that I was blown away by, not the usual imagery or style but a development into something else. I asked if I could stay and learn with them. It was my first experience of woodcarving and I learnt a lot. It was in a remote area in the bush, so the access to stuff was restricted, to sharpen the tools we used the concrete step outside and instead of a vice to hold the work, we used our feet.
My first job was through trying and trying again any avenue I could to learn the methods of woodcarving. I had shared studio spaces and was exploring woodcarving sculpture, but I felt myself drawn to the elements of European carving techniques and I needed to find someone willing to teach me. The path led to a stint in San Francisco and then on to work for a woodcarvers and gilders company in Central London.
After working for another company for a few years I gradually went out on my own. I was lucky enough to have work passed on to me from the company I had left until mine took hold.
In a hurried world, how do you see your work as counter- cultural?
There seems to be a resurgence in the ‘handmade’ ‘bespoke’ ‘maker made’ in response to mass produced items. As someone who is not a fan of things, I find I am only drawn to keep belongings that have any emotional attachment. Whether my work is considered art, a trade or a craft, if it belongs, that’s the aim. Counter cultural yes, it takes time, sometimes a lot.
How would you like people to remember you and your craft?
I hope that I could have built up a body of work enough to establish a competitive business to give me access to great jobs.
I hope I am helping my craft survive onto another generation by evolving it and translating its techniques into something that will be valued.
I hope my work retains integrity.
How do you generate new ideas?
Observation and drawings and scribbling down ideas as I go. Stopping and staring. I tend to revisit shape, form, ideas sometimes a long time after. My own creative process can become about trying to rein in ideas to develop, rather than pushing to generate them. That is why i try and get things down on paper.
How did you decide on the location of your business?
My work can be noisy with banging, dusty with the sanding and sometimes I need a large space to do the work in. I need as much natural light and ventilation as possible. That, as well as having a great creative person to share the space with.
What has been your greatest inspiration?
I get inspired by each job that I am involved in. I enjoy the restrictions within projects and creating concepts to connect ideas with the clients. I am inspired by all things creative and that crosses over into any and all things, lets say from sculpture to fashion from architecture to lacework. It is the emotive response to the passion it has taken to create.
What advice would you give to fellow creatives starting their own business?
1. Produce and then keep producing then don’t reflect back until you have a solid block of work to reflect on.
2. Give yourself time to establish, set out a 3-5 year plan, not a business plan that might trip you up in the first few years.
3. Work out where your negative voices are (your own or others) that will try and talk you out of starting, producing and succeeding and then trick them.
4. Keep focused, prioritise your work. Sod them all, you got work to do.
I get inspired by each job that I am involved in. I enjoy the restrictions within projects and creating concepts to connect ideas with the clients. I am inspired by all things creative and that crosses over into any and all things, lets say from sculpture to fashion from architecture to lacework. It is the emotive response to the passion it has taken to create.
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