Barnaby Ash

Woodturner Barnaby set up Ash & Plumb with his partner Dru Plumb in 2020 and together they work across both functional and sculptural mediums, exploring ancient aesthetic archetypes and playfully engaging these forms in a modern context. Their work is a celebration of the imperfect, and they are drawn to weathered, beaten and aged finishes, specialising in the alchemy of patina and unique surface. They work predominantly with green oak sourced from trees that have fallen due to disease, decay or have been responsibly coppiced, with a focus on timber unsuitable for commercial use.

QEST funding will enable Barnaby to learn from Phil Irons, Alain Mailland and Ghenadi Vasiliev, furthering his skills in hollowing and sculpting greenwood vessels on the lathe and developing unique finishing processes. His goal is to both refine and scale up his existing freehand hollowing ability as well as study the use of equipment for hollowing significantly deeper work safely. Learning additional turning and carving techniques will allow him to add sculptural carved details to his work such as handles, lids and decorative rims.