Artist of the month

Sam Chinnery talks about his work

Are you seated comfortably…?

'I was fortunate to grow up in a stimulating and creative environment with woodcarving, sculpture and traditional gilding competing with the surrounding Scottish forests and hills for my attention.  A strong appreciation of my natural surroundings and an awareness of mans interaction with it through hand craft was formed early on.

Even after gaining a biology degree at Edinburgh in 1998 I was drawn back by my love of wood and craft into what I think is the most basic form of mans interaction with the environment; that of making furniture from the trees surrounding us.

After several years spent developing craft skills and exploring design in various workshops I was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Setting up Grant in early 2007, enabling me to establish my own workshop in Dumfries and Galloway. With my design I look towards the balance of inspiration, materials and construction.  Solid wood is at the heart of my work and as a living, changing material it brings both opportunities and limitations in it use.

I greatly respect the forms and techniques developed by generations of craftsmen responding to this material and actively seek this influence in my own contemporary design.

I aim to create furniture that fulfils its purpose in an honest way. I try and do this by using materials sensitively and allowing these materials and the methods of construction to guide the forms dictated by the function of the piece.   

Ultimately I want to make objects that enhance people’s surroundings, that they find beautiful and have meaning for them.'