Upcycling in Lockdown

When the charity shops were closed an old sideboard came my way and I repainted it in the style of a mother of pearly or ivory inlay. One of the most exotic but wasteful of the world resources. Using a pearlescent paint, I worked away creating a moonlit scene from our garden. The deer, hedgehog, owl, mice, hare beetle and butterfly we have seen all made an appearance. Around the edge I wrote an apology to the natural world that read: ‘To all the trees in the world we offer a vision of moonlit woodland and an abject apology for the profligacy of the human race.’

It was selected to be exhibited at the online Aberdeen Artists Exhibition for Summer 2021.

I enjoy figuring out how to make patterns, but this old family blanket chest (seen below) was a challenge. It had been upholstered so I cut out zigzagged pieces of old wood to cover up the damage.

I couldn’t resist painting my signature mice breaking through the Celtic pattern.

This is the first table we sat around as a family. It was a nineteen thirties oak table with extending leaves. I bought it for around seven pounds in 1974 at an auction house in Cornwall with baby Tim carried on my back. It is no longer needed as a table. I thought it would make a nice coffee table with side pieces to be used as seats or other small tables. I reused the barley twist oak legs to support a much heavier Ikea table and cut down the Ikea ones for this one. I needed more legs to match so I made more on the lathe.