Sasha Sykes

Furniture maker

©Sarah Weal

Capturing a moment in time

Sasha's furniture traps natural forms like flowers and birds’ nests in resin
She layers resin in a mould, then sands and polishes the hardened form
Her work is labour-intensive; some pieces take months to make

Sasha Sykes was always making things as a child but didn’t consider it could be a full time profession. She began to train as an architect before side-stepping into retail design, and it was here where she first encountered people working with plastics. Seeing the potential of the material and drawing on her design background, she began to design items in plastic, initially having them made by other people before gradually learning to make them herself. Largely self-taught, she now makes sculptural-functional furniture – consoles, lamps, screens – using plastics and resins, combining these very modern materials with traditional craftsmanship skills to make objects that are truly unique.

Interview

What appeals about plastics and resin?: Their transformative powers. I love the idea of capturing a moment in time and being able to preserve that and transform it into something that is presented in a different way. It is such a manmade product and what I am presenting is very natural, and that juxtaposition makes it interesting.
How is your work connected to Ireland?: It’s important to me that it’s a really honest portrayal. I particularly like making work that you can really pin to a particular environment and location. I work with Irish flowers and fauna and seaweed because they make a strong statement about the country and the countryside.
What challenges does your process present?: It’s tricky to get right and really time consuming. I used to joke about the graveyard full of all the pieces that didn’t work out. I actually really value being self-taught, it gives your work a certain uniqueness. But obviously it takes longer because you have to learn the hard way!
What do you love most about what you do?: It’s constantly challenging, and there’s also an element of discovery. You don’t really see the beauty of the piece until you have finished the final polish, so you will work on it for months and you won’t see it until that final day. It can be so beautiful, and that keeps me hooked.

Sasha Sykes is a master artisan: she began her career in 2000 and she started teaching in 2015