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Best present!

Today we received a wonderful contribution for our #35years #wherearetheynow campaign from Elizabeth Minkin. "This was the most perfect special 70th birthday present from my son. It is exquisite, light as a feather; contrast of dark green sycamore and silver is striking yet delicate. Roger Bennett made it." Here's the piece pictured below.

Roger Bennett is well-known in the Irish crafts world for his very distinctive coloured bowls and vessels. These are surprisingly thin, gracefully shaped, and many of them are dramatically inlaid with hundreds of silver dots arranged in constellation-like clusters or formal geometric patterns.


A word from Roger:

"I love wood, the uniqueness of each piece, the history of the tree’s life preserved in the ring patterns and figuring. I delight in the daily interaction between maker and material, the magic of shaping, turning argument into conversation. I dream of making a bowl as strong as an eggshell, as heavy as a whisper. Of capturing and fixing my favourite colours – drake mallard green, oil on water, midnight in midsummer, frosty night skies. And with silver I can indulge my love of order, imposing my markings on the wood’s surface, complementing the natural flows and eddies of the grain with my precise patterns of dots. A completed bowl should satisfy all our senses. Line and form above all else, traced by eye and hand, from rim to base and all around. The smell of wood and oil. And whenever a bowl is right, it sings."


Share your #craftstories with us today! Send us your photo of a treasured piece purchased from us and tell us the story behind it; why you bought it, why you treasure it and what attracted you to the piece in the first instance. Send to craftcentre-leeds@btconnect.com we're looking forward to hearing from you soon!

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