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Patrick Graeme is an avid ecologist, tree restoration specialist, fire practitioner, and wood worker. Sylvan Arts Revival is a cross-section of these endeavors. Most of Patrick’s work in the forests of Northern California is working with chainsaw and other tools to bring fire resilience back to the land and make it possible for Good Fire to become more a prominent management tool. Good Fire is the name the indigenous peoples use to describe their ancient practice of putting fire in the ecosystem for regeneration and cleansing purposes. It also makes them less prone to catastrophic wildfire. Along the way however, Patrick also happens to collect a wide diversity of types of wood that eventually find their way onto his lathe to be turned into beautiful bowls cups, plates or other round objects. Patrick also practices ebonizing and pyrography—fire burning with a blow torch or a heat pen—to make beautiful patterns, reflecting the Good Fire in the landscape. Many of the themes reflect Patrick’s passion for his Celtic and Nordic ancestry, as well as the sacred geometry of the Golden Ratio found throughout nature.

 

 

All of the bowls, cups and plates are treated with a food grade mineral oil and beeswax finish, safe for contact with food products. They are not suitable for hot liquids however. The vases are treated internally with a synthetic lacquer so they hold water for live plants. Like all wood products, they will last longer with an occasional oiling with a food-safe wood oil like Howards or other natural wood oils.

 

Patrick’s maker’s mark on the bottom or back of his pieces is a bindrune consisting of the Elder Futhark runes Eiwaz, Gebo and Kenaz, representing Good Fire (Kenaz) being in reciprocity (Gebo) with the forest/trees (Eiwaz).