Types of wood
My aim was to create an immediately recognisable frame of fine cabinetwork, with clean, uncluttered lines, using noble woods meticulously selected for their physical characteristics and energetic properties.
The poplar support is set off by a solid oak frame inlaid with Palo Santo, which is assembled using a dovetail joint. The mitre cuts are made from solid maple. The wood is only oiled with linseed oil, waxed with beeswax and sometimes stained with American walnut stain.
The oak
The oak, by virtue of its shape, its form and the majesty it exudes, has undoubtedly inspired human beings since the dawn of time. In what we project onto it, it is the analogue among trees of the lion among animals. More precisely, it undoubtedly awakens the king (or queen) in us.
It reminds us of our own power, which we see in it through its solid frameworks, stretched horizontally over the void, sometimes more than 20 metres. A power that became warlike, reaching its peak in the eighteenth century with the use of oaks specially bred and trained to become virtually indestructible pieces of battleship against cannon, fungus and rodents. But it's not just about warfare, it's also about architecture, because stavewood (the heartwood of the trunks), thanks to the qualities listed above, was also used to build our cathedrals.
It also shows us the way to anchorage, through its roots, which we guess are deep and fleshy in the ground when we see the beginnings at ground level.
The Palo Santo
Palo Santo, which means "sacred wood" or "holy wood", is a wood native to South America whose use dates back to the Inca civilisation. Its virtues and benefits are much appreciated by shamans and indigenous South American communities for purification rituals, but also to optimise healing.
It is found mainly in Peru. Its dead wood is a natural incense that is used mainly by fumigation. The first traces of its use date back to the Inca civilisation. Since then, shamans, initiates and indigenous peoples have used it for religious or spiritual rituals, energy work or simply to scare away flying insects.
The maple
« C’est un arbre très populaire chez nos amis canadiens, dont ils choisirent la feuille (maple leaf) pour emblème de leur pays, et dont le sirop, qu’ils confectionnent à partir de sa sève chauffée et brassée, est devenu un produit national.
Of course, bees knew long before mankind the flavour of maple sap and the delicacy of its flowers. But even in ancient times, in China, the maple tree was associated with the notion of honour, the name designating this tree being homophonous with the Chinese verb meaning "to confer honour".
A symbol of longevity and vigour in North America, as in all Anglo-Saxon countries, the maple was also reputed to ward off demons and evil nocturnal spirits. People would place maple twigs in front of their front door or at the foot of their bed, like the stork that attaches many maple twigs to its nest, in order to chase away bats that are fond of their eggs". Didier Collin.
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Photo credit : Vincent Sastre & Eliott Antoine
Extracts from the short film Alchemia directed by Stéphane Courbat
