'spalted beech tea light holder'

i had a small window of time today, so i thought i’d have a play.

rummaging around in the wood store, i found a few small pieces of spalted beech. not enough for anything particularly ambitious, but enough for a little experiment.

so i turned a tea light holder.

spalting is one of those wonderful things nature does when it decides that ordinary wood could do with a little more character. fungal activity leaves behind those beautiful dark lines and subtle changes in colour, creating a pattern that can’t really be designed or repeated.

i kept the form deliberately simple.

a gentle curve. a brass insert. a small opening for the light.

and that’s about it.

sometimes the simplest forms allow the wood to do the talking.

finished with a smooth, natural, with a food-grade wax, the surface has a soft, almost silky quality. once illuminated, the warmth of the light should bring out another dimension in the spalting.

i’m rather pleased with it.

simple, but effective.

and, as is becoming something of a habit, one experiment has already suggested another.

i think i might make six. There’s already requests!

a small series of individually turned night lights, each with its own little map of spalting.

just enough time for a play.

just enough wood for something to happen.

height 7cm diameter: 7.5 cm