CELEBRATING AT THE TABLE

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Celebrating at the table is a set of wooden kitchen accessories. This project is connecting the festive time with daily life. Traditional wood processing methods are combined with craft methods for preparing food. The biggest board is 45x60 cm and the rest of the project can be fitted on it. I used polish types of wood to make the project: beech, walnut, cherry and plum timber. My assumptions were to focus on tradition and bring it back to nowadays, get family together at the table, turn attention to the wealth of food that is growing in the neighbourhood, make one object mulfifunctional, have fun while preparing food.

The set consists of:
- pastry board that could be also used as a cutting or serving board as it has removable dowels
- rolling pin with removable handle
- set of round knives that allow to cut dough straigt, wavy or zigzag
- holders for the knives
- board that is used for storage and organizing items
- potholder that is made of 9 cubes with cookie stamps underneath
- board with mortar and pestle
- stick that helps to spread liquid dough

Each item is made of type of wood that matches its function (e.g. board with mortar and pestle is made of beech wood that is very hard). Set is impregnated with walnut oil.

Research:

I examined polish feasts and how families celebrate together. I also was researching a group of friends checking their behaviours at parties. From the research I foud out that a problem in todays traditional celebrating in polish families is that they are focused on task not on each other. Family members are focused on preparing food and home for couple days before the feast begins. When finally everybody sists together at the table it gives them mixed feelings. They didn't talk much in previous days and it feels ambivalent to spend time together. On the other hand when I was researching a group of friends I was giving them small tasks to do (e.g. make a salad, prepare the table) and I did not have everything ready as they were coming. I noticed that when a person gets a small task to do at the begining of the party it makes them feel welcomed. It helps to get into the group more quickly. It also gives a person a space for themselves. When we create the space and the food to eat together it makes us focus on each other. The evening is a mixture of everybodys personalities as they all have space to express themselves.

The desire of the project is to create an alternative to generally accepted habits and schemes. Create community of people that is based on mixture of all personalities. Accessories motivate the user to play with food and inspire him to explore the wealth of the environment in which he lives.

All of the round knives are made out of cherry wood that is suitable for woodcarving. I cut the shapes using knive, metal files and sanding machine.

dowel: walnut, zigzag knive: cherry, holder: beech

On the right: stick that is very helpful with spreading liquid dough made of plumtree wood.

Traditional polish dumplings were made using the set. Wood works very well for this purpose: it is sharp enough to cut the dough but also not too sharp and we need to use a little pressure to cut. That pressure joins the dough very well and the dumplings don't 'open' when they are boiled.