Ellen Rose Svenningsen

Working with carefully sourced wood, Ellen makes furniture and objects in her workshop in St Leonards-on-Sea.

Her work moves between function and sculpture – from furniture through bowls, candleholders and sculptural spoons – tied together by a curiosity for wood itself and an interest in how shape, proportion and construction inform an object’s presence.

Her first focus as a cabinetmaker was furniture, particularly stools, benches and side tables. She was drawn to the way these pieces sit somewhere between utility and sculpture. That is not to say that larger works cannot possess the same qualities. Across all of her furniture, she draws on archetypal wooden forms and traditional joinery, with a continuing interest in how structure can become part of the visual language – balancing lightness with strength.

As Ellen’s skill, fascination and understanding of wood grew, so too did her interest in forms beyond function. Carving, and later turning, introduced a different way of working with the material. At first, she held onto utility, but sometimes the wood – and sometimes her own ability – failed to produce a useful object. Yet those pieces that lost their intended use became increasingly interesting. They felt like ghosts of functional objects: familiar forms freed from purpose. What began as failures gradually became a source of inspiration, leading her towards a more sculptural aspect of her practice.

Whether functional or sculptural, the work is shaped by a small workshop practice, where making, learning and experimentation continue to inform both the objects and the ideas behind them.