Celebration of supreme skill

by CHARLES ANDERSON - Nelson

Last updated 11:07 25/11/2009

MARTIN DE RUYTER

SOLID STATE: Heather Palmer examines her winning designs, which include the 2009 Montan World of Wearable Art Supreme Winner, The Lady of the Wood.

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Craftsmanship is a word that embodies a list of attributes, all of which are evident in various forms in a new exhibition at the World of WearableArt & Classic Cars Museum.

Craftsmanship is alive and well, says World of WearableArt (WOW) competition director Heather Palmer, and there is no better place to see it than at the World of WearableArt & Classic Cars Museum.

Skill, precision, dedication, tradition and ingenuity are the things a master craftsman must have in swathes.

Whether it's a wooden frock or a classic automobile, the basic tenets are the same. They both require a special understanding of their chosen material.

The Supreme Craftsmanship exhibition blends some of the museum's showcases, perhaps most importantly the 2009 WOW Supreme Winner, The Lady of the Wood, a wood veneer interpretation of an 18th-century gown constructed by Alaskan carpenter David Walker.

"Undoubtedly, this is the star of the exhibition," Palmer says. "An understanding of the characteristics of the material was imperative to be fashioned into what we see now."

The Lady of the Wood is art and craft combined. It was created out of mahogany and lacewood, with 52 strips of maple and cedar veneer for the hooped skirt, topped with a wig made of wood shavings.

Walker has been creating wearable art for 10 years, but has been a craftsman for much longer. His work sits alongside other wooden garments entered in the WOW competition over the years.

It is a theme that links nicely with the exhibition's other feature. From the classic car museum, three restored pre-1920s cars are on display.

The cars are from an era not far removed from when horse-drawn coaches were being built, so that same craftsmanship carried over into them.

When it comes to restoring them, it requires a vast array of skills, from upholstery to wood turning, says museum senior visitor host Julie Pettitt.

"All that ingenuity comes into it."

The cars include a 1908 Renault and a 1911 Overland Torpedo.

"Although these are almost an endangered species, they are still to be found and revered," Pettitt says.