About Jamie Gaunt
Jamie Gaunt Designs is a design and woodcarving studio which creates sculptural artworks and homewares from a workshop just south of London on a farm in Kent.
Predominantly working in locally sourced oak, Jamie Gaunt blends both contemporary and traditional carving tools and techniques to create a range of unique sculptural pieces for private homes, luxury hotels and businesses all around the world.
Jamie is particularly interested in the balance between natural form and texture, exploring how each piece might achieve a timeless quality. Carving enables a freedom of expression which allows a fluid approach to shaping wood called 'free carving'; a style which allows each piece to find a flow and rhythm unique to its own specific characteristics.
As well as work being available to purchase direct via the website, Jamie Gaunt Designs also work alongside creative studios and art consultants to create tailored pieces.
For all enquires about Jamie's work please use the contact form
Q&A
Was there a particular moment, person or experience that set you on the path to becoming a woodcarving artist?
I grew up on a farm, which meant being outside, playing in the fields, streams and the oak and beech woods – generally getting up to no good from dawn until dusk, with the natural world as my ever-present guide and teacher.
After a few years studying fine art at uni, I left England for three years with my cousin to ride a bike around the world - Free Wheels East film - . The mission was to ride on every continent without using any aeroplanes…and also to appear on the television show 'Neighbours' (it was a big deal at the time!). We achieved all of these things and, in doing so, learnt how to approach life from a skewed angle. We hitch-hiked on cargo ships across great oceans, rode our bikes amongst penguins in Antarctica, rode across the Tibetan Plateau, crossed Siberia, the Gobi dessert, the Atacama desert and yes, we even appeared on 'Neighbours'. I mention this because without these experiences I would have tagged on to a more prescribed path a long, long time ago and not have had the inclination or courage to side-step the ‘usual way’ and strike out alone as a wood carving artist.
Shortly after finishing the ride, I remember a friend showing me some woodwork an uncle of hers had done; some chopping boards, an oil burner and a cookbook stand. Something chimed within me, and I set about having a go. I remember my first tool was a very old Black & Decker sander I found in a car boot sale. I made a pretty good job of knocking together a few book stands of my own, and from there I started making a bed frame, then a kitchen island, then a Welsh dresser, and so it went on. Friends and family showed interest, I sold a few pieces on eBay and when the government pulled the funding from the mental health organisation I was working for, I decided it was the right time to give woodworking a go as a full-time profession. That was in 2014 and I’ve never looked back.
How would you describe your business, Jamie Gaunt Designs, today?
My business started as a workshop for creating functional pieces for the home; think chopping boards, platters, bowls, etc. As I gathered experience and knowledge, I realised that it wasn’t the functionality of what I was making that was primary; more the aesthetic of each piece that would draw me in. Functionality dwindled as I stepped closer to creating art and sculptural forms, immersing myself in shapes and lines, textures, rhythms and meaning. Today I’m fortunate enough to be able to enjoy working on my own creations, designs and art. It’s a place I can disappear into and explore weird places without expectation. From these explorations and discoveries, I can then work with designers, architects and private clients to create bespoke pieces.
Is there a part of the creative process you enjoy the most?
I always enjoy the part which comes before the main carving starts. Invariably the process of carving new work involves a portion of time spent exploring. Even if the design seems familiar to me and there is an obvious path to its creation, I’ll rewind, throw preconceptions out the window and start again. From these open-minded sessions spent sketching and roughing out preliminary pieces, new ideas, quirks or techniques are explored. All the time I’m gathering new information which may not even be relevant to the piece I’m focusing on, but will be stored away to dredge up and pull upon in the future. It’s a part of the process which excites and stretches me in equal measure.
Tell us about your approach to making and the skills that underpin your work?
I think I have an unorthodox approach to my wood carving. I’ve never been one to seek out formal tuition. I haven’t been to workshops or online courses and was never shown the ‘correct’ way to go about creating. That’s actually true for all aspects of my business - from the creative aspects through to the administrative side, such as marketing, client management, etc. Perhaps through taking a longer route of discovery I’ve been afforded a freer approach to making. It’s not something I’m consciously aware of, but it makes sense that this would be the case. My approach is always slow - not deliberately so, and even sometimes frustratingly so - but I’ve come to accept this and use it to my advantage. I like being able to flex and shift direction in the middle of making a piece - something that a faster, head-down approach might not afford. I’m happy to pause work on a piece, place it on a shelf for a day, a week, even months on end, before coming back to it with fresh eyes and energy.
Where do you source most of your wood from?
Locally from about three different oak timber yards depending on what the project is and what grade or quality of wood is required. For a piece that needs interesting colour fades, gnarled knots and twisted grain patterns, I’ll visit a yard outside Edenbridge, Kent where the family who run it have got pieces of oak which have been air-drying for decades. Covered in brambles and nettles, home to a host of little creatures buried in years of grime, these are the pieces of oak which are always the most eye-catching once carved. Of course, some pieces require a cleaner look and often the plainest piece of oak can yield the most interesting design. Without being able to lean on the character of the wood itself to provide the interest, the design must take centre stage; it leaves no hiding place or room for complacency.
Describe your studio in Kent?
I’ve been in my current studio for nearly ten years now. It’s an old dairy building on a farm just outside Sevenoaks, buried in the Garden of England. It’s a second home for me and I love it despite its shortcomings. The roof leaks, it’s stifling in the summer and freezing in the winter, I have the odd rat visit and there are trillions of spiders. But over the years I’ve learned to live alongside these things and they don’t
really bother me. I have music going quite often from an old Gen2 iPod which hasn’t been updated since I’ve been there and there’s a kettle for making tea and coffee. Sometimes on really cold winter days I’ll boil the kettle just to hug and hold onto to try and keep warm. I have a little stool to sit on when I have my lunch and there are several skylights in the roof to flood the room with lots of natural light. I also like to carve outside as often as possible, especially when I’m working with loud, dusty power tools which throw material all over the place. I have a workstation running along an outside wall where I can happily carve away and make as much mess as I want. I’ll be found there through most of the spring and summer months.
Are there other elements of nature or materials you feel particularly drawn to?
I’ve always been drawn to rocks and especially mountains. I’m an armchair mountaineer and devour books about climbing in the Himalaya or Alps. I once read a book called the ‘White Spider’ by Heinrich Harrer which told about the deadly history and unbelievably daring attempts to climb the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. I was so taken by it and swept up by the scale and mystique of the mountain that I took a trip out there with my wife just to see it and be near it. I’m not sure what relevance this has to my woodworking, but I suspect that it’s something to do with the timeless quality of stone; the raw, grounded beauty, the stillness and the appreciation for being in the presence of something so quiet and powerful. Mountains and wood share these qualities, albeit on different scales, and for me that’s everything.