The Crafts Study Centre is excited to announce the recent acquisition of Jar #4 by Eleanor Lakelin purchased through the Contemporary Art Society’s Omega Fund. The work, on show in the shop showcase until February 2025, is made from horse chestnut burr felled in Britain, bleached and worked to a smooth finish. Lakelin turns chunks of timber on the lathe then works intuitively with the irregularities of the burr with chisels, gouges and power tools. Jar #4 is reflective of Lakelin’s exploration of the vessel form and was among the smallest work in her 2024 solo show at Sarah Myerscough Gallery, Intimations.

The work is a welcome and strategic addition to the Crafts Study Centre’s niche, yet significant, collection of carved wooden objects, including work by David Pye, Ray Key, Nick Barberton and John Partridge. These were exhibited in the 2014 in the Crafts Study Centre exhibition The Carving of the Wood (catalogue available to purchase from our online shop), which included a Lakelin piece, produced soon after she turned to woodcarving after a career in teaching.

For a full press release click here.