About 2 years after I made the film 'Casting Metal - The Last Iron Man', sculptor Theo Shields got in touch with me about his project 'Oak & Iron'. Theo had been working with and learning from Fraser Waugh from Edinburgh Cast Metals & Chris Scotland of Gogar Cabinetworks in order to create art works from the reaction of pouring molten iron into fire hollowed wood. Originally Theo had planned to film Fraser & Chris himself as little insights into the worlds he was combining but after being put onto my piece about Fraser he decided that I might be the right man for the job.
What comes to mind most for me when thinking about this project was just how majestic Chris' workshop is. It's an old church just outside of Edinburgh and after first seeing how the place looked with just natural light pouring through the windows I knew I had to shoot it just as it was and this meant working around the weather quite a lot. It was the perfect project to break in my new Sony a7s with due to its low light capability as well and I knew I'd made the right choices when Theo told me I'd managed to capture perfectly his sense of wonder when he first saw the workshop. Chris is an amazingly down to Earth and relaxed guy who is happy to entertain people who stumble across his little church, and he gets his fair share of ramblers, so if you're passing by I heartily recommend stopping in.
Now for the more informative information provided courtesy of Mr Shields:
Chris Scotland is a member of the Scottish Furniture Makers’ Association, a diverse British group of bespoke furniture makers. They aim to promote the finest craftsmanship and develop a public awareness of contemporary furniture design in Scotland.
Presented as a component of Oak and Iron (theoshields.com/oak-and-iron), 'Chris Scotland - Woodworker' will be displayed as part of a touring exhibition across Scotland. The aim of Oak and Iron is to focus attention on the important relationship between industrial trades and contemporary art in Scotland. Project curator and sculptor Theo Shields has brought together local tradesmen, Fraser Waugh and Chris Scotland to produce a series of sculptures made from Scottish oak and recycled iron to exhibit with accompanying video documentaries produced by Douglas Caldow which trace the legacy of the key local craftsmen.
Follow the links to find out more about Oak and Iron, full exhibition dates, images of finished sculptures and more videos.
For more information about Oak and Iron and to see the other films from this project: theoshields.com/oak-and-iron
Chris Scotland: christopherscotland.co.uk
More music by Simon Herron: simonherron.com
ADDITION: I'm pleased to be able to say that this film and Monster Maker were picked up by LA based Education TV station KCETLink for broadcast and online exhibition in August 2015.