Unique, supernatural, root forms

There are some people who manage to see more to the tree than the clean, beautiful wood obtained from the trunk after all the defects have been removed. After felling remains, the roots that yield the beautifully patterned wood I mentioned when I talked about nuc. French artist Alain Maillan has managed to discover beauty precisely in these... scraps. He works with roots and bumps on tree trunks to create incredible sculptures, as if from another world.

Allain Maillan is a unique artist. He sees incredible shapes beyond wood. He is always inspired by nature and his works often look like aquatic creatures or alien shapes.

Allain lives and works in the south of France. He was born in Paris, but at a certain point it seemed too gray for him and he moved to the south buying 2 acres of land. Here he built his own house and workshop using the experience as a carpenter and joiner that he gained in his youth. The workshop is made at the base of a rocky area, half in the rock, so it is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Maillan works with wood using all sorts of methods that he has mastered very well: milling, carving, bending, sanding, sandblasting, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding. As for milling, he uses personal, unique techniques that you can't find in any manual.

And when it comes to tools he's an innovator. He says that when he needs a very special tool that he can't find, he starts the forge and makes it himself.

All his works show his love for nature, for plants and animals, a love instilled since childhood by his mother.

Allain usually starts his work by drawing first, then he goes into the forest to find the right material: roots, fallen branches, bumps in the trunks of trees, etc. He brings the wood back to the workshop where he immediately starts milling and carving it, then he leaves it to dry. Drying takes place naturally, so it takes months, sometimes even years, before he moves on to the other operations and the work is completed.

This is the usual way of working. But there are times when his friend the forester brings him a special piece of wood that immediately inspires him, drops everything and starts a new job.

Mailland says that to make a work, he spends 20% of his time milling the wood and another 20% to carve it. The rest means bending, sanding, sanding, staining or lacquering. It's hard work that means inspiration but also a lot of brute labor to bring out a true marvel.

Allain has unique techniques and many are eager to learn them. He organizes one-week courses for 1 or 2 people maximum, passing on his working methods to his disciples. For many of them it is the beginning of their journey as artists and Allain supports them on their way. He has even signed works with some of them.

Allain Mailland is a special artist who has managed to bring out the hidden beauty of wood. The roots of the South of France, true wonders, are his source of wood. The rest is inspiration, talent, hard work and a flash of genius.