sarah goss traditional woodcarving
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Sarah specialises in providing bespoke hand carved items ranging from lettering
and relief decoration to producing architectural details such as corbel brackets
and ceiling roses. By adding hand carved decoration, items that are otherwise
plain and ordinary are transformed into unique pieces that are personal to the
owner. This applies just as much to everyday objects such as chopping boards as
to more elaborate ornamental features to decorate the home. Wood carving is
incredibly versatile and Sarah can either work from existing designs you may
have seen or create a completely new piece for you. As well as producing the
initial carved work Sarah can offer a variety of finishes including oil and
water gilding using genuine Gold and Silver leaf. Sarah's interest in
traditional crafts began whilst studying for A Levels in Art & History of Art at
the Royal Latin School, Buckinghamshire. Through understanding how the country's
great buildings were built and furnished, along with the reasoning behind their
design, she developed an even greater respect for their creators and understood
why it is important to maintain these buildings for future generations. From
Buckingham she moved to Portsmouth to study a degree in Restoration and
Decorative Studies at Portsmouth University. Within her first year she had
grasped the basics in a variety of traditional decorative techniques including
faux finishing, gilding and scagliola. In her final two years she decided to
focus her studies on woodcarving and plasterwork- both in a restorative sense
and in creating new designs using traditional materials and methods. During her
time at University she was provided with the opportunity to hone her skills in
both woodcarving and plasterwork. Her projects included 3-coat lime plastering,
using the lime plaster she'd made from scratch using traditional recipes. She
researched the historic and almost extinct technique of freehand stucco work,
creating her own designs and experimenting with various recipes, including those
that were used in the restoration of Uppark in Hampshire. Thankfully all that
hard work paid off and she graduated with a 1st Class Honours. Sadly, her year
was the last to complete this course as the University decided to end it in back
in 2008. From Hampshire she was on the move again, this time to Shropshire where
she began work with a heritage company. Here she built upon her project managing
skills and learnt more about the structural side of building restoration,
particularly timber framed buildings. Whilst she enjoyed her time in Shropshire,
she decided that she was much happier in her workshop among the sawdust and
plaster, which leads her to her current home back in West Sussex.
