Carved: Conversations With Wood
Contemporary British sculptor and furniture maker Alison Crowther — known for working almost exclusively with sustainably sourced English oak — commissioned Powell Allen to design her first published book. Carved: Conversations with Wood reflects the same care, precision, and respect for material that defines Crowther’s sculptural practice.

Carved is a tactile and timeless publication, emphasising craftsmanship, quality materials and thoughtful design. With remarkable image reproduction and carefully curated content, the book draws from Crowther’s extensive photographic archive — an intimate visual record of a career devoted to the slow, rhythmic art of wood carving. As art curator Louise Weller writes in the foreword, ‘In Crowther’s work … rhythm resembles a carefully composed musical piece containing structure and variation.’ The design of Carved mirrors this sensibility.

In her accompanying essay, author and former journalist Madeleine Bunting explores Crowther’s philosophy of craftsmanship, referencing artist David Pye’s notion that quality emerges through the ongoing judgement and care of the maker. This concept — craft as process rather than prescription — guided our approach to the book’s design over the course of two years. Subtle transitions and refined detailing reflect the nuanced shifts in Crowther’s own sculptural forms. 

‘This book reveals the thoughtfulness and deep-felt humanity that runs through Crowther’s work’, Weller writes, ‘her connection to her material and her respect for the skilled artists and craftspeople she collaborates with.’

More than a monograph, Carved is a collaborative tribute to artistic integrity and enduring creative relationships. It serves as a keepsake for Crowther’s followers, collectors, patrons and peers — both a visual archive and a tactile expression of her philosophy.

Design