No results found

Waterperry web banner fxs4dz
Culture, Art

A Colourful Countdown to Christmas 

divider
“For many of us, the festivities really begin with the wrapping of presents, each awkward shape a mini-sculpture of colourful paper and glistening ribbons under the Christmas tree.”
Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Blue sardines
Graham Lester Blue sardines

As the countdown to Christmas begins, Esther Lafferty meets two very different designer-makers from the Oxfordshire Craft Guild who are presenting a treasure trove of unique gift ideas at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock this month.

Jeweller Sara Withers

has been getting ready for Christmas by making beaded necklaces from coloured polymer clay and the rather different trademark ‘magpie’ necklaces that use buttons and more unusual pieces, often cogs and faces from watches. Encapsulated in resin, with silver sparkle and colour to catch the eye, these offer a stylish countdown to Christmas.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Sara Withers Large Magpie Necklace
Sara Withers Large Magpie Necklace

“I have a friend who is an avid old watch collector,” Sara explains, “and he mends and restores the ones he can, but the ones he can’t get running again, or the bits he can’t use, come to me. They’re really beautiful. The inside of a watch is amazing – there’s so much careful work and precision in the creation of each original watch and the mechanism is so compact. I love using the leftover bits, and often set them into resin to give new life to the delicate and intricate parts. They’re quirky too, with a quiet elegance yet a touch of steampunk which makes them fun. The very first necklace I made using watch bits was as a present to mark a 40th birthday – there’s something very symbolic about a clock face. Recently I’ve made some delicate dark red and gold beads to include in magpie necklaces alongside some miniature cogs. They capture the festive colours of mulled wine and candle flames as well as the Christmas countdown.”

Sara also works with polymer clay creating pieces that are simple and refined. They are primarily grey, “a very versatile colour”, she smiles. “People sometimes think it is dull or cold but it isn’t. It can actually be warm, with hints of pink, orange or brown, and it is lovely against green for example. I add touches of colours that really lift a darker shade – like the red berries on holly – and add life and style.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Sara Withers Two tone polymer necklace
Sara Withers Two tone polymer necklace

“I choose colours from my surroundings,” she continues, “so earlier this year I made a series in different tones of blue which reflected the sky and the sea in summertime. I was also inspired by an exhibition of Lucienne Day textiles designs from the 1950s and then found I was working with olive green and acid yellow, and I used orange too for the first time in a long while. I’m lucky enough to teach occasional jewellery making courses on cruise liners heading to interesting places, and the environment and cultures I find influence the colours I choose to use. I’m going to St. Petersburg next where there’ll be elaborate buildings with golden tops and amber shades, although I try not to think too hard about what to expect. I’ve found that I absorb the new colour combinations of new places better if I just wait and see, and then they’ll come out through my jewellery.”

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Sara Withers Flat Polymer necklace and earrings
Sara Withers Flat Polymer necklace & earrings

For many of us, the festivities really begin with the wrapping of presents, each awkward shape a mini-sculpture of colourful paper and glistening ribbons under the Christmas tree on completion. Our talent at paper craft probably stops with seasonal paper chains, but one Oxfordshire Craft Guild member cuts and bends paper into extraordinary wall art that’s well worth seeking out.

Graham Lester

is a sculptor, creating wonders from preloved paper with a passion that he first discovered as a boy. “I started making small paper sculptures as a child,” he explains. “My father was a bookbinder, so growing up there was paper everywhere and I would make Christmas decorations – I remember one year making all the characters from the nativity. I studied fine art and graphic design at college and enjoyed painting and sculpture but I was always drawn back to paper.”

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Lemon Ice Lolly
Graham Lester Lemon Ice Lolly

For many years Graham ran a design agency and didn’t have time to create in this way and so he is delighted to have returned to paper sculpture since retiring: his years as a designer are clear in his pieces which give modern graphic-design a 3D twist in white frames as crisp as snow.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Northern Lighthouse
Graham Lester Northern Lighthouse

He is particularly inspired by the graphic style of retro icons like the Campbell’s soup tin and 1930s travel posters and this is clear in the pieces on show, including a picture of a cruise ship which sails prow-first from the wall in defiantly strong colours that belie the delicacy of the paper used to create it. And as one of his favourite places is Bridport and the Jurassic Coast, it is no surprise that many of his sculptural pictures show colourful sailing boats on a deep blue sea, red and white lighthouses, and the ice lollies and ice creams that are also synonymous with a traditional day out at the seaside. It’s a pleasure to step into the exhibition from a brisk December day and be whisked momentarily into memories of summer.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester New York Cruise
Graham Lester New York Cruise

Graham also make unusual stylish bowls and pots from paper using out-of-date glossy reference books like atlases or encyclopaedias – on cookery, gardening and other interests – which have now been outdated by the internet. “The paper is good quality and colourful and so I get pleasure upcycling these much-loved books to give them a new life and purpose.” Graham also makes upcycled bowls, laminating various materials including plywood, old signs and acrylic sheets to create a block which he then turns on a lathe into smooth and colourful striped vessels.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Pink and Blue Acrylic topped bowls
Graham Lester Pink & Blue Acrylic topped bowls

In these clean-lined bowls that have an almost-Scandinavian precision simplicity, Graham’s colour choices vary, although they’re reliably vibrant and striking. For Christmas expect some with red, green and a golden yellow alongside surprising new designs using circuit boards that shimmer teal with a hint of silver. Add holly and mixed nuts and you’re ready to party.

Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Upcycled paper plywood bowls
Graham Lester Upcycled paper plywood bowls
Colourful Countdown to Christmas Graham Lester Corian Bowls
Graham Lester Corian Bowls

The Oxfordshire Craft Guild Christmas Exhibition is at The Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock until 30 December oxfordshirecraftguild.co.uk

Esther Lafferty is festival director of Oxfordshire Artweeks artweeks.org

RECOMMENDED

RS820996 6466 2200 hpr guajiy
Thu 28 Nov 2024

Inspiring Minds Since 1683

The Ashmolean Museum

Based in the heart of Oxford, and Britain’s first public museum, the Ashmolean Museum has been inspiring minds since 1683. Free to all and open every day, the Ashmolean offers something

p.209 Fran%C3%A7ois Halard from Modern Artisan Flammarion mgmf4l
Thu 24 Oct 2024

Modern Artisan

A World of Craft Tradition and Innovation

Artisanal crafts are having a renaissance thanks to our growing preferences for fair-trade practices, an urgent call to protect the planet, and a renewed respect for the quality and durability of handmade objects.

Clay Brown Julie Rodrigues Rosalind Holley Lucy Muigai. Photo Credit   Mykola Romanovskyy min lfihky
Wed 16 Oct 2024

In September, the largest-ever gathering of B Corps took place at the inaugural Than Words Festival in Oxford. The organisers' aim was to harness the power of people using business as a force for good, put ideas into action and tackle the issues that matter.

Landscape nrbrrf
Mon 14 Oct 2024

Marilyn Monroe

A New Exhibition

This October a new exhibition will showcase 250 historic objects from the largest private collection of ‘Marilyn-bilia’ in the world. Offering a rare and unprecedented glimpse into the private world of Marilyn Monroe, the exhibition opens for a limited run at Arches London Bridge this October.