Style Imitating Art | Assorted Wood Carvings by Giles Newman

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

Salazar chose this week’s artistic inspiration because she really loves the delicateness of the intricate carvings and she would buy every single one of them if she could afford it! Instead of a picking a specific piece, Salazar has chosen the artist’s entire body of work as the inspiration. His whole collection is made of wood and most pieces are inspired by nature giving us a variety of ways to interpret his artwork into outfits.

I chose a selection of three different wood carvings by Giles Newman as my inspiration: “Breath for Breath” Poppies Spoon Carving, Ivy Series Silver Birch Spoon Carvings, and Butterflies & Blossoms Hand Carved Necklace. You can choose other carvings for your inspiration if you decide to play along. You can find more of Newman’s works on his website and on Pinterest.

The Artwork

Assorted Wood Carvings by Giles Newman

About the Artist: Giles Newman

Giles Newman is a fine art woodcarver hailing from Worcestershire, United Kingdom. Born around 1980, Newman grew up in a woodland area which he credits for shaping his worldview. As a young child, he dreamed of becoming a woodsman or a wildlife ranger so he could earn a living while spending his days in his beloved woodlands. When these dreams seemed to be out of reach, he left home in 2002 to attend college and eventually received his degree in photography.

Although photography was his second passion, he struggled for nearly a decade to make a living in this field before settling for a graphic design position with a software company in 2015. Being confined to a work cubicle and a computer, Newman quickly found that all creativity had been stripped from this job which led to the onset of depression and anxiety as he craved that childhood connection to nature which seemed to be missing from his life.

Around this time, Newman began escaping on the weekends to his family’s property, Coed Tepid, in Snowdonia, North Wales. It was here that he was able to reconnect with nature and discover his soul’s passion for woodcarving. One night while entertaining some Countryside Ranger friends, Newman was introduced to spoon carving by the group and thus began his obsession.

He found himself carving during all of his free time, eventually teaching himself various methods of woodcarving through lots of trial and error. Newman uses only four tools, opting to keep it simple so he can remain connected to nature during his artistic process. He does not use any power tools because he prefers to forage for naturally fallen wood and often will begin carving right there in the woods.

While his carving began as a hobby and a healing escape, he slowly began to introduce his work to his friends and family on social media. Then he began selling pieces but found that the more he sold, the more Imposter Syndrome kept creeping in on him which led to more anxiety and depression. With the support of his family, he was able to quit his graphic design job and focus full time on his woodcarving art which has eased both his depression and anxiety. From his sustainability ethics to his preference for using the simplest tools of his trade to the way his creative process offers escape and healing, I seriously relate to this artist in so many ways. I am really glad that Salazar introduced me to his work and story!

You can shop his pieces at GilesNewman.com or on Etsy where he also sells the cutest little pendant carving kits. I might get some of these for my kids. They both are into knife collecting and whittling wood so I think they might really enjoy trying their hands at woodcarving.

About the Art: Assorted Wood Carvings

I chose three different wood carvings as my inspiration.

1. “Breath for Breath” Poppies Spoon Carving

Inspired by the final verse of Christina Rossetti’s poem “Echo”, this carved spoon draws on the symbolic association of poppies with the remembrance of lost loved ones. It is carved from reclaimed mahogany, measures 29 cm (11.4 in) in length, and took approximately 400 hours to carve.

2. Ivy Series Silver Birch Spoon Carvings

This spoon series was Newman’s challenge to himself to create a cohesive series of usable art spoons that are each unique enough to stand alone as well as collectively. The five spoon set is made from silver birch foraged from his family home, Coed Tegid in Snowdonia, North Wales. They range in length from 19.5-26 cm (7.7-10.2 in) and required approximately 600 hours of carving time.

3. Butterflies & Blossoms Hand Carved Necklace

Carved as an ode to Dutch sculptor Grinling Gibbons, this necklace celebrates the changing seasons as well as the fleeting nature of the flora and living creatures that we associate with annual cycles. It measures 11.5 cm (4.3 in) across and is carved from English Lime foraged in West Lancashire. Carved in extreme high relief to honor Gibbons’ techniques, this necklace took approximately 700 hours to cpomplete. Butterflies & Blossoms is currently for sale for £975.00 (or $1,604.89 on Etsy).

Resources/References

• GilesNewman.com
• My Wood Carvings: Giles Newman on Pinterest
• Giles Newman Wood Carving on Facebook
• Giles Newman Fine Art Woodcarving Etsy Shop

About My Outfit

I started with my new boots that I just purchased in West Virginia a few weeks ago during my 3,000 mile solo road trip. The tan leather with the white floral design is very reminiscent of wood carvings and completely in line with the selection of Newman’s carvings that I chose as my inspiration. The carvings that I picked are representative of the ongoing nature theme that permeates Newman’s works. Almost all of his carvings feature botanicals, animals, or nature in general so I decided to build my outfit using the colors of wood (shades of brown) and prints inspired by nature.

With my footwear firmly decided, I selected this brown slip dress with a white botanical print as my first layer. Actually, it’s my second layer because I added a white Halftee underneath for some extra warmth. Then I cinched the slip dress with a brown belt embossed with a gold design because it, too, reminds me of wood carving and I needed some waist definition once I started adding more layers.

The next layer is an old white duster cardigan that I have had for years. It is a wonderful lightweight piece for layering underneath my kimonos in cooler weather. Then I topped it off with a caramel colored kimono featuring mixed prints of paisleys and florals, again similar to wood carvings.

For my accessories, I stayed with the nature theme and the same brown and white color palette but added some hints of black with a floral print scarf, my owl mitts, my wooden earrings, and my wooden necklaces that feature carved animals. Although they are not made of wood, I thought my brown straw fedora and tan wicker bag were perfect for representing this artwork because they are both constructed from natural plant stuff.

I freaking loved the way this outfit came together. It is definitely one of my favorites and I will be wearing it on repeat once it gets warm enough. It is still snowing here so who the heck knows when the “warm enough” season will arrive though.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of these gorgeous wood carvings and feel inspired to play along! Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the artwork as well as Marsha’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, be sure to email your photos to her by Tuesday, March 12, 2024, by 10:00 p.m. EST. I am excited to see what you all style!

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Boots-Shyanne Lasy Floral Embroidered Boots from Boot Barn / Dress-Old Navy / Half tee-c/o Halftee / Cardigan-Michael Kors / Kimono-Loft 315 / Hat-Kohl’s / Bag-Burlington Coat Factory / Owl Mitts-Rosegal / Belt and Scarf-Old / Earrings-Cato / Necklaces-STATE ST. Market