Bill Bailey's Master Crafters: The Next Generation

Clunie took part in the returning series ‘Bill Bailey’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation’ earlier this year as master woodcarver for the woodcarving challenge. The series, now entering its second year, celebrates the UK’s heritage crafts by focusing on a masterclass given to students and discussing the background of the craft with host and comedian Bill Bailey.

The series kicks off this week with an episode on Stained Glass, airing on Thursday 13th July at 8PM on Sky Arts (Freeview channel 11), followed by Clunie’s woodcarving episode on Thursday 20th July, silversmithing on Thursday 27th, and the finale on Thursday 3rd August.

The show is a non-competitive, constructive look at craft designed to raised awareness amongst the general public and inspire the next generation.

Master Certificate Awards

Clunie was proud to be awarded the Master Carver Certificate at the Master Certificate Awards Ceremony at Mansion House on March 27th 2023, and to be offered the chance to speak on the value of the continuing traditions of the apprentice, journeymen and master appellations to the craft, as well as the value of heritage craft in general.

Clunie Fretton receiving her award from Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons

Talk: Traditional Architecture Group Building Crafts

Join me for a talk this Thursday 27th October with the Traditional Architecture Group, looking at the Building Crafts, where I’ll be joined by Sam Lee and Robert Kranenborg.

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The first talk, 'London Stone Carving: Sculpture in Stone' will be by Sam Lee.

Sam Lee is a stone carver, sculptor, and Director at London Stone Carving Ltd. Sam will discuss stone carving in the 21st Century, the working practice at LSC, and share some of their most notable projects.

The second talk, 'Contemporary Woodcarving' will be by Clunie Fretton.

Clunie Fretton is a classically trained sculptor, gilder, and master carver working on private and public commissions in the heritage sector. She has a varied practice ranging from restoration of antiques to production of new work in the classical tradition. In this talk, Clunie will share with us a selection of completed commissions, note some of the challenges facing carvers today, and what role sculpture and ornament can have in contemporary architecture today.

The third talk, 'Forged Bronze in Architecture' will be by Robert Kranenborg.

Following a short explanation of the differences between the various bronzes used in an architectural context, the talk will touch on the ways that we have used it in architecture before. Exploring the unique solutions that hot forging of bronze using traditional blacksmithing techniques can offer. This will be illustrated with examples from current work on a private residence in Antigua, a church tower restoration near Liverpool and bronze balustrades in London and Jersey.

The talks will finish with a discussion and Q&A.

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Tickets can be booked HERE through the Traditional Architecture Group’s Eventbrite page.

Talk: Unravelling Gibbons' Cravats

The ‘Chatsworth’ Cravat

Clunie will be taking part in a panel discussion this coming Wednesday 28th September at the wonderful Strawberry Hill House as part of the finale of the Grinling Gibbons Tercentenary year.

The talk will be examining Gibbons’ ‘Walpole Cravat’ from the V&A alongside the carved cravat from Chatsworth House (and also the Cosimo Panel), leading specialists will be in discussion as they seek to ‘unravel’ the many knotty questions that these small but beautifully formed examples of artistic genius and technical skill provoke, including how, why, and even, by whom these pieces were made. The panel of speakers will also explore cravats in the seventeenth century, when lace was a revered luxury, and today, how the ingenuity and virtuosity of these works still trigger the incredulous response that they did 300 years ago.

Bringing their expertise and a variety of perspectives, the discussion panel will feature Nick Humphrey (V&A Curator of Furniture and Woodwork 1300-1700), Silvija Banić (V&A Curator of Textiles before 1800), Sash Giles, (Chatsworth House Curator of Decorative Arts) and Clunie Fretton (sculptor, carver and gilder). The panel will be chaired by Dr Martin Postle FSA (Deputy Director The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and Trustee of Strawberry Hill).

‘Unravelling Gibbons’ Cravats’ is part of the culmination of GG300 Festival and organised by the Grinling Gibbons Society. The event will be held at Strawberry Hill House, the house in which Horace Walpole’s famously wore Gibbons’ carved cravat to welcome and deceive his dinner guests.

Tickets include a wine reception and opportunity through to see the home of Horace Walpole - one of Gibbons’ greatest admirers.

Tickets can be purchased HERE

Art & Ornament at The Merchant Adventurers' Hall

The Master Carvers’ Association exhibition Art & Ornament will be closing out its year of celebrating the work of legendary Baroque woodcarver Grinling Gibbons' in the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York this coming week.

The exhibition celebrates the contemporary art and craft legacy of Gibbons’ exceptional work, demonstrating that the skills continue to exist and thrive in the present day.

Opening hours:

1st & 2nd of August, from 10.00am to 16.00pm at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York.

Art & Ornament At Dalkeith Palace

Clunie’s work will be joining the Master Carvers Association at an expanded showing of Art & Ornament' at Dalkeith Palace over the Easter weekend.

Art & Ornament is collaboration with the Master Carvers’ Association and friends, to commemorate and celebrate the legendary Baroque Master, Grinling Gibbons. The tercentenary of Grinling Gibbons is an anniversary the Master Carvers’ Association have chosen to mark with a demonstration of current practice. Over 40 artists and makers from all over Britain will be exhibiting and we’d love you to join us.

Art & Ornament is open from 1pm - 4pm on Friday 15th April, and 10am – 4pm on the 16th to 18th . Entrance tickets cost £3 and are now on sale.

Art & Ornament in Conversation takes place on Friday 15 th April, 9am – 1pm. Tickets cost £12.50 and include a tour of the exhibition.

To book your tickets please visit www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/event/art-ornament-at-dalkeith-palace/

How was it made? Grinling Gibbons' carved cravat

To mark the start of the Grinling Gibbons’ Tercentary this year, Clunie has collaborated with the V&A and filmmaker Marissa Keating to produce a partial replica of Gibbon’s lace cravat.

The carved limewood cravat is probably Grinling Gibbons' most well-known carving even 300 years after his death. It was notoriously worn by Horace Walpole, who fooled his guests with its exceptional realism, and displays not only Gibbons’ incredible skill as a carver but showcases his power as a designer, to create something which looks so vividly realistic.

Grinling Gibbons Tercentenary

Today marks the tercentenary of master carver Grinling Gibbons' death, and to celebrate his extraordinary works and lasting legacy a number of events, exhibitions and talks will be taking place across the country and throughout the year. Clunie has contributed pieces to both Centuries in the Making and Art & Ornament.

Exhibitions open now include:

‘Centuries in the Making’
Centuries in the Making will explore the influences that shaped Gibbons’ vision, skills and technique, and the stylistic and cultural influences he brought to this country. Works have been assembled from national museums, regional collections, historic houses and some international lenders, and combined with contemporary artworks.
Bonhams 3rd - 27th August
Compton Verney 24th September - 30th January 2022

‘Art & Ornament’
The Master Carvers’ Association celebrate the anniversary of the great carver’s death with a demonstration of current practice and the living legacy of his influence. They have brought together carvers, musicians, poets, painters, turners and makers to showcase the multi-disciplinary legacy he’s left behind.
St Mary Abchurch 2nd - 20th August
The Dutch Church 23rd August - 3rd September

‘Monuments to Glory’
York Minster are celebrating the tercentenary with a year-long photographic exhibition which will be complemented by a sculpture trail focusing on three monuments that Gibbons produced for the cathedral - of Archbishops Dolben, Lamplugh and Sterne - placing these in the contect of his life and wider work.
1st August 2021 - 31st July 2022

More information can be found at The Grinling Gibbons Society website, including information about Gibbons, further events, talks and tours.

Restoration of the Master's Chair of the Joiners & Ceilers Company at the V&A

A comparison of the original finial (left) and the replacement finial (right).

Clunie Fretton recently completed the restoration of the Master’s Chair of the Worshipful Company of Joiners & Ceilers, an extraordinarily intricate piece of furniture made in 1754 by Edward Newman, a Past Master of the Company.

The chair had sustained significant losses to the chair-back, particularly of the heraldic elements, which Clunie was asked to re-carve and finish in keeping with the rest of the piece.

A full record of the work can be found in her article for the V&A’s Conservation Journal here.

FHS Early Careers Talk With Ada de Wit

Fretton Handley will be giving a talk on carving with Ada de Wit of the Wallace Collection this evening at 6PM in the Artworker’s Guild for members of the Furniture History Society’s Early Careers Visits, as part of their ‘Furniture Fundementals’ lecture series. The series is led by various lecturers in different fields pertaining to the study, creation and restoration of furniture, and are ideal for anybody passionate about the subject looking for more in depth information and the chance to meet and get to know others at the beginnings of their careers.

The talk will cover Britain’s love affair with limewood and the works of Grinling Gibbons, and the practical processes involved in carving.

Fretton Handley demonstrate at QEST's Making It! Craft Week Event

Fretton Handley will be exhibiting at QEST's Making It! London Craft Week Exhibition at the Carpenters Hall this coming Wednesday, May 9th. Felix will be demonstrating a range of techniques during the course of the day, including stonecarving, lettercutting and gilding.

The programme features a talk by renowned furniture maker John Makepeace, and a large number of demonstrations of different crafts. Please come down and say hello!

For details of the event, click here.

Livery Companies' Skills Council - Journeyman Carver

On the 26th of February Clunie Fretton was awarded the Livery Companies’ Skills Council for Journeyman Carver by the Lord Mayor Charles Bowman on behalf of the Joiners & Ceilers Company. The Master Certificate Scheme partners with the Joiners & Ceilers Company, the Master Carvers Association and the City & Guilds of London Institute, aiming to encourage the pursuit of excellence in the field of carving.

Clockwise from top: Master Joiner Lawrence Fildes, Past Master Derek Woods, Master Carver Paul Ferguson, Journeyman Carver Clunie Fretton, Master Roger Poulton, Master Carver Hugh Wedderburn

Georgian Group - Meet the Makers Evening

Fretton Handley will be returning to the Georgian Group for this special event on October 24th. Guests will have the chance to see live demonstrations of wood and stone carving, and talk with ourselves and other makers about our craft and our experiences working in each of our fields. An illuminating evening accompanied by dinner and drink!

Book through the Georgian Group website:

www.georgiangroup.org.uk

The Georgian Group
6 Fitzroy Square
London
W1T 5DX
020 7529 8920

Lincoln Cathedral Heritage Skills Festival Demonstration

Many thanks to everyone who visited us at Lincoln Cathedral’s Heritage Skills Festival. We were overwhelmed by the number of visitors and the amount of craft skill on display in the cathedral grounds.

Lincoln Heritage Skills Festival

Lincoln Cathedral will be hosting a Heritage Skills Festival on the cathedral grounds on the 23rd & 24th of June. The festival brings together every craft that once went into the construction of the cathedral, as well as their representative London Livery Companies. For two days there will be live demonstrations of blacksmithing, wood-turning, weaving, stained glass making, metal casting and stone and wood-carving, and many more trade skills, culminating in an auction on the afternoon of the 24th to raise money for the restoration of the cathedral.

Fretton Handley will be present demonstrating woodcarving on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Joiners & Ceilers, and offering up the two carvings here for the auction on the Saturday.

Don't miss out! Lincoln is one of the UK's finest cathedrals, and there is no better time to visit  it than when it's full of craftsmen happy to discuss their skills. Feel free to drop by and say hello!

Fretton Handley Feature in House & Garden

From left to right: Felix Handley, Robert Cox, Clunie Fretton

Photograph courtesy of Andrew Montgomery

We were thrilled to feature in this month's House & Garden as part of the Georgian Group's Splendour! Exhibition alongside Robert Cox of Adam Architecture, in which Christopher Boyle, Chairman of the Georgian Group discusses the exhibition, the Georgian Group, and the future of the craft.

For the full article, visit: House & Garden

Photograph courtesy of Andrew Montgomery

Photograph courtesy of Andrew Montgomery

Georgian Group 'Splendour!' Demonstration & Talk

We will be demonstrating stone and wood-carving for any visitors of the Georgian Group’s ‘Splendour!’ Exhibition from 12-3pm on Saturday 11th of February for any interested guests who wish to see some carving in action!

We will also be speaking on a panel with Tim Crawley, Master Stone Carver and Head of Carving at City & Guilds of London Art School following his talk on his own experiences in a career of carving, given at the Georgian Group on February 23rd at 7pm.

Bookings for the latter may be made at:

www.georgiangroup.org.uk

The Georgian Group
6 Fitzroy Square
London
W1T 5DX
020 7529 8920

Splendour! Exhibition

Fretton Handley are displaying select pieces in the beautiful Splendour! Exhibition run by the Georgian Group alongside many other talented craftsmen and women. Splendour showcases and celebrates the continued practice of modern craft skills, anywhere from furniture making, to carving to shell-work, with a particular focus on young people in craft. Held in the Robert Adam designed building, the exhibition gives a feel of stepping back into the past, while promoting knowledge of niche and craft skills in the present.

Exhibition open from 2-25th February 2017

Opening times:

Wed-Sat 12-6pm
Sun 12-4pm

The Georgian Group
6 Fitzroy Square
London
W1T 5DX
0207529 8920

Watts Gallery Carving Demonstration

Fretton Handley will be performing a carving demonstration at the wonderful Watts Gallery in the village of Compton this coming Friday 28th October. This coincides with the filming of the television show Flog It!, so there not only will visitors be able to visit our carving demo and the beautiful works in the Watts Gallery, but also bring along antiques of their own to be assessed by the experts on the program. Do drop in and say hello!