Ernst Gambrel 'Urkraft' Image by Dan Fontanelli
To Ernst Gamperl a fallen tree doesn’t represent the end of life but a new beginning. When he finds an expired oak, ash or beech near his farmhouse in Bavaria he examines it as a tailor might a piece of fabric or a sculptor a lump of clay. He looks for knots and how the branches join the trunk, examines the grain, lines and colouring, feels the layers for softness and hardness. Only then does he take a chainsaw and begin his work — turning and sculpting, excavating and polishing, sanding and scarring. He marks the still-wet wood and bark with minuscule lines to create what have become highly sought-after carved vessels.
