Sculptural bookstand

This bookstand is one of the most beautiful and satisfying pieces that I have made. It was challenging to construct but achieved the wow factor that I was after.

It was commissioned by a client who wished to have a special bespoke bookstand to display their most precious books. The brief for the design was very open. During the initial design process the shape of a bent open book formed in my mind as an exciting shape for the stand.

The stand is constructed from maple and walnut veneers and the veneers along the edge give the impression of the pages of a book.

I was also asked to carve on to the spine something profound. Whilst praying one day, I was looking at a set square and thought that if you were to hold it at different angles and ask people what they saw you would get very different answers. From a triangle to a straight line. The same is true when viewing the bookstand, only when you see every angle does the full picture of the design come into focus. The phrase" The truth is found in seeing very angle" came to me. I thought that this also spoke about the heart of many disputes in this world. Human nature tends to only see one small part of the big picture. If we could step back and see things from a different perspective we would have a better understanding of the truth.