A Quiet Place

Andrew Pearson set up his first studio in Ironbridge and became a full time bowl-turner at The Green Wood Trust in 1989.  Following a move to Ludlow, he began oak carving, inspired by the medieval architecture of the town and in particular by St Laurence’s Church 15th century misericords. Misericords are the tip-up seats with scenes carved underneath, found in many church and cathedral choir stalls.

After the great fire at Windsor Castle, Andrew joined a team of master carvers and was a key figure in the restoration of the Castle.

Andrew’s work has evolved with a much more abstract approach and ‘A Quiet Place’ celebrates his long and personal exploration of the unique intrinsic qualities of wood and what he sees as his responsibility to perpetuate the soul and essence of a fallen tree as it becomes timber.  Only naturally fallen, native trees are used. The origin is a quiet place: the woods, the studio and the response. The outcome is quiet too and doesn’t shout for space and clamour to be seen.

Andrew believes that trees become ‘charged’ over time by their natural environment.  Charged by their location, by their witness of human behaviour, by their longevity and by natural events.

In these pieces Andrew preserves the characteristics of the wood with an economy of form and honest making process which instinctively conforms to the material.  He uses only essential hand tools for a raw and immediate result which preserves the commanding presence that the trees once were. The finished surface is dictated by the wood itself, a voice central to Andrew’s sculpture.