The end grain project uses the end grain patterns from off-cut waste wooden materials to create a range of new natural patterns by carefully cutting and gluing. This project is focused on the study of wooden materials. It explores the potential high values of pine and experiments with new and contemporary wood handcraft skills.
Pine is the most commercially prevalent species of tree throughout the world, widely used in carpentry items such as furniture, window frames, panelling, floors and roofing. They have been defined in the cheap timber group because they are fast-growing softwoods in temperate and tropical regions. Generally speaking, after the furniture production there will be lots of off-cut material wastes that can’t be used for large products. However, the tissues of pine, phloem and xylem, which are of tubular shape, can allow light to travel through, and the chemical composition of pine, enables pine to have a wider range of benefits such as light transmission and gorgeous grain patterns. Every piece of off-cut pine materials in the bin has these useful values! These valuable benefits in pine are often neglected and not fully utilised, the wider application of which is what I am trying to explore. Using these natural processes, I want to create a new approach to material composition!
Stationary collection, timepieces and window shutter, altogether present the useful values of this material. They all use off-cut timber from wood workshop and recycled materials from used timber after exhibitions are built. Cut into small pieces of 5mm thickness, and then carefully glued together like mirror images, they create new patterns. The light will travel easily through wood even when the thickness of materials is about 10mm. At the same time, the perfecting skills of craftsmanship transform the off-cut pine into high-end objects with elegant finishes.
This project pioneers a new process to create new materials and provides a new opportunity that allows more people to study and participate in the future. The positive environment also helps this project to acquire sustainable and self-development vitality.
