The Artisans
Many creative people have involved themselves in this fascinating and creative exhibition
The Fenland Oak Table
The table from a 5,0000 year old black oak tree has been featured in venues across the country and has inspired local artists to bring this project into a stunning reality.
History
An ancient forest of massively high black oak trees once grew in the Fenland Basin, in East Anglia. Eventually, sea levels rose and the trees slowly fell into the silt of the flooded forest floor and they lay there hidden and preserved in the peat for 5,000 years.
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Discovery
2012 on a farm in the Wissington Fens in the county of Norfolk, a 13.2 metre section of one of these great oaks was unearthed.
Transformation
Lead by Hamish Low, several specialist craftspeople set to work and have successfully milled and dried the ancient remains to preserve its full length It has then been carefully designed and cut into full length planks that have been treated to create an especially high shine and culminated in a stunning 44ft table.
Outcome
Also known as the Jubilee Oak, there are two beautiful inscriptions at each end of the table. The first, celebrates its discovery during Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee year and the second commemorates its completion during her Platinum Jubilee year.
Tour
Beginning at Ely Cathedral, the table is on a 2 year tour of the country and is currently at Rochester Cathedral.
Many people are fascinated by the table and Martin Hammond from Downham Market in Norfolk, witnessed much of the work on the table at a farm he managed at that time.
Like many others, Martin is following the table as it spends a year at each of the various cathedrals in the UK. Its an amazing addition to the story of the table from discover to creation.
The Pottery
The table settings for the Last Supper are from the kilns of Alan Parris and Billy Byles at the popular Aylesford Pottery and are inspired by artefacts of authentic dishes and vessels of the era displayed in the British Museum, London.
The Roundels
All the Iconography and other artworks are painted onto wooden roundels made of Northern European Half inch Birch ply from Home and Garden in Rochester.
The Icons
Icons are religious works of art for a religious setting and are a focus for sacred devotion. Usually designed for Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches, icons are often painted on wooden panels They can be portable as in foldable panels, diptychs and triptychs and icons are generally highly stylised, using egg tempera.
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Two extremely talented iconographers who have given their time, skill and advice to this exhibition are the highly respected Hanna Leena-Ward and Ann Welch.
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Icon by Hanna-Leena Ward
Icon by Ann Welch
Artists
Artists have created icons in a wide variety of styles but all depict an aspect of the event. Each has impressed their unique perspective and use of different mediums to portray the sentiment of the Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper. Everyone has come together with the same focus in mind and the effect is stunning.
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