Ortiz del Peño, Javier

Ortiz del Peño, Javier

Javier Ortiz del Peño was born in 1963, in the village of Beyo (Aller, Asturias, Spain). In the 2000s he moved to La Castañal, in the municipality of Bimenes (Asturias), where his wife is from and where he established his workshop. Javier is a wood craftsman but it is not his main occupation, although his profession is linked to it. He is a foundry model maker and works with wooden molds. Within the woodworking trades, he works in woodturning, cabinetmaking and carving. Woodworking is a personal vocation. He considers wood to be one of the best materials in existence. Historically, it has been used extensively in technology, tools, art and sculpture, musical instruments, means of transportation such as ships and airplanes, etc. He believes that wood craftsmanship has been fundamental in human development up to modern technology. He studied furniture restoration at a school in Oviedo (Asturias). His first contract was in the same school where he was trained, as a workshop teacher and teacher of Biology and Pathology of wood. The school closed and he continued his teaching work in another school that closed shortly after, so he joined a carpentry workshop, where he worked as a carpenter. He went back to work in a furniture restoration workshop, and from there he went to work in the industry, in a workshop of foundry molds made of wood. Since 1996 he began his activity as a wood craftsman, although he had done some work before. Today, he works with wood on a daily basis. He works with it in his professional occupation, and once the working day is over, he continues in his personal workshop making other wooden objects. He dedicates a good part of his free time to it because he considers it a pleasure and a hobby, in addition to his work.

people

1963

iain

Asturian,Spanish

Artisan

405

current,43.3335411671039,-5.5446023832244;

Scotland

Ortiz del Peño, Javier

TEXT

Javier Ortiz del Peño was born in 1963, in the village of Beyo (Aller, Asturias, Spain). In the 2000s he moved to La Castañal, in the municipality of Bimenes (Asturias), where his wife is from and where he established his workshop. Javier is a wood craftsman but it is not his main occupation, although his profession is linked to it. He is a foundry model maker and works with wooden molds. Within the woodworking trades, he works in woodturning, cabinetmaking and carving. Woodworking is a personal vocation. He considers wood to be one of the best materials in existence. Historically, it has been used extensively in technology, tools, art and sculpture, musical instruments, means of transportation such as ships and airplanes, etc. He believes that wood craftsmanship has been fundamental in human development up to modern technology. He studied furniture restoration at a school in Oviedo (Asturias). His first contract was in the same school where he was trained, as a workshop teacher and teacher of Biology and Pathology of wood. The school closed and he continued his teaching work in another school that closed shortly after, so he joined a carpentry workshop, where he worked as a carpenter. He went back to work in a furniture restoration workshop, and from there he went to work in the industry, in a workshop of foundry molds made of wood. Since 1996 he began his activity as a wood craftsman, although he had done some work before. Today, he works with wood on a daily basis. He works with it in his professional occupation, and once the working day is over, he continues in his personal workshop making other wooden objects. He dedicates a good part of his free time to it because he considers it a pleasure and a hobby, in addition to his work.

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iao@st-andrews.ac.uk

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woodwork

Javier learnt his skills in a trade school in Oviedo, with several teachers giving theoretical and workshop training. Today, he continues his training with theoretical and practical courses. He considers that practice is fundamental, beyond learning some notions from other people. There is an important margin for improvement in his apprenticeship that the craftsman develops on his own, and this includes trial and error. According to his point of view, a craftsman may specialise in a particular type of production, such as bowl making, and needs to further develop his technique: positioning on the lathe, handling the tool, making the work more effective and having a certain degree of safety, etc. Once he has improved his technique, he can make some changes.

No, he does not teach anyone his craft. He does share his knowledge with people who contact him or at public exhibitions.

Santiago Rodríguez Pérez, Llara Fuente Corripio

male

incomer

Woodworking requires a whole range of skills, and many trades have developed around it, specializing in the manufacture of specific elements. The wood turner must recognize the pieces of wood, identify the best cuts, mark, saw, plan the piece he wants to obtain, and work it. A simple piece can take a day's work, but depending on the finish, it can take several days.

Bello (Aller, Asturias). When he married, he moved to his wife's village.

Its main raw material is wood, generally of local origin. He considers it to be a particularly versatile material, with a long history, and which allows for the creation of a wide range of objects (furniture, tools, housing, etc.)

unpaid job/volunteering

In his work he mainly uses locally sourced wood. He uses a lot of fruit wood, especially for small pieces. For larger pieces, he opts for chestnut or walnut. He discards the use of exotic woods, as he considers that they may have some degree of toxicity. But for small pieces, he prefers to use dark woods rather than dyeing. To obtain wood, he goes to nearby forests in search of fallen trees. Occasionally, some friends offer him pieces of wood. He likes to analyse the pieces, select them, see their properties, assess the type of objects he can create with them, and think about how to work them. He collects dry pieces from nature. However, some types of wood are difficult to obtain, such as yew and holly, which are protected species and cannot be cut, and are not easy to find dried. Still, he prefers to work with wood from a fallen tree near his workshop rather than buying it. Commercial wood offers fewer possibilities, as it tends to be much more uniform, and it is also expensive. Sometimes it is not possible to know its exact origin. However, he sometimes buys some pieces at trade fairs. The materials for the finishes (varnishes, dyes, etc.) are obtained from shops in Barcelona and he buys in bulk with other artisans to reduce costs. He also goes to local fairs and shops, but he uses natural oils, so he has to go to very specific shops. He does not use synthetic resins.

The leftover wood scraps, if they are of a certain size, he uses them for the chimney and the heating of his house. He also reuses wood to make other things. Some of his colleagues use the shavings to make pellets and briquettes for domestic heating.

Javier works mainly with the wood lathe to produce various objects by turning.

In the preliminary preparation of the pieces for the lathe, he uses the chainsaw, the axe and the electric planer to produce small square blocks. The compass is another important tool, as it is used for measuring and marking, and he also has specific, larger compasses for the interior of the bowls. He uses a continuous electric wood lathe to make the pieces, which incorporates a series of gripping plates to hold them. He uses different types of gouges to work the wood. There are specific gouges for hollowing out the inside of the bowls, with different angles of sharpening. He also uses texturisers to make decorations on the surface of the wood, or sandpaper for finishing.

In Javier's case, his tools have not been inherited from his ancestors. Over the years, he has been buying new and second-hand tools. He has an interesting collection of old woodworking tools acquired in flea markets and antique shops, as he appreciates the work of old carpentry craftsmen. Some of them have been repaired and he uses them in his work. The tools are stored in his workshop, organised according to their use. The gouges require a great deal of maintenance and sharpening, and each of them has a specific use in the creative process. It would be possible to modernise many aspects of his work, but he still works with many traditional tools. One of his favourite tools is the oblique chisels, because they allow a surface finish on the wooden pieces comparable to the best sanding, despite the limitations.

The main source of energy in the workshop is electricity, which is used in some machines and for lighting. It comes from the general grid connection, it has no renewable energy sources for self-consumption, although it would like to incorporate them in the future. The heating comes from the consumption of firewood.

Wood chips, shavings and sawdust used to heat the dwelling.

The craftsman has a small workshop, located on the ground floor of his house. It has a large window facing south, making it a bright space. In the centre are the large tools such as the wood lathe or the stationary planer, as well as the carpenter's bench. On the walls, the tools are stored on shelves and panels. In the workshop, he keeps part of his handicraft production. He also stores here the wood he uses as raw material. He built the workshop about 7 years ago. Before that he worked in a warehouse in the city where he has his job. It had always been his dream to have his own handicraft workshop.

Basically, most of his production is wooden bowls, which is what he sells. But he can make many other things with the wood lathe, which are not necessarily traditional, such as toys, instruments, small sculptures, etc. He also makes experimental pieces to explore the possibilities of a material, pushing the limits of the material and the technique.

He produces pieces for himself or as gifts for friends, and sells others. But he does not have enough production to have regular sales and be able to make a living from his artisan work. He understands that his production is not of basic items and he finds it difficult to make a living from it. He prefers to keep his main job, which is more stable and secure, as sales of handicrafts are very variable.

He usually sells his pieces at local markets, such as the Mercáu Tradicional La Puente Arriba in Grátila (Nava, Asturias). If someone contacts him, he also sells him a piece.

Although he does not hold workshops to teach his craft to others, he does give demonstrations of his work. The association to which he belongs (Les Forgaxes) often gives public demonstrations of woodturning, carpentry and carving at events and fairs, to bring the world of woodworking closer to the people. These meetings are open to the general public, and allow them to share experiences and knowledge with other craftsmen and enthusiasts.

Mainly restoration work on antique wooden objects, furniture, etc.

It depends on the type of pieces offered. For example, young people rarely buy items such as bowls, which they see no use for. They may buy some items as gifts. Other objects, such as toys or small musical instruments, are usually gifts from parents to children. There is not a very marked customer profile, nor by origin, he sells objects to local people and tourists.

No, nor does it have its own brand or logo. He would like his work to be recognised with a quality label. However, as he is not self-employed, he is not officially recognised as a craftsman in the government register, so he cannot have a label as a craftsman of Asturias. There are many others in his situation, who combine craftsmanship with a main activity.

No, Javier does not have any links with tourism, nor does he carry out any specific activities for tourists, but he would not mind participating in them.

He is part of an association of wood craftsmen called the Asociación de amigos de la madera ‘Les Forgaxes’. They hold an annual meeting of wood craftsmen. Here, public demonstrations are held, and leading national and international craftsmen are invited to hold workshops. They are spaces where knowledge is shared. They also talk to other artisans, with whom they share knowledge.

He considers that crafts are little publicised and have low visibility in society. There is no public support. In the case of his association, they receive a very small subsidy for annual events and everything is based on their altruistic work. On the other hand, there are many artisans who do very interesting work, but have to combine it with salaried work in other sectors. This prevents them from gaining recognition as artisans and a quality label, which is restricted to self-employed artisans who make a living from their production.

"todo el trabajo que hacemos nosotros, en el caso de la madera, no cubre [los costes de los eventos]" "conozco a muchas personas que hacen cosas de artesanía […], pero como artesanos no existen, la exigencia es que tienen que estar dados de alta, pero hay mucha gente que hace"

Asociación de Amigos de la Madera "Les Forgaxes": https://www.forgaxes.com/