Branching Out
Ben Syrett-Judd is just one of the 27 new scholars and apprentices to have been given funding by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust to develop their skills in traditional and contemporary crafts.
Ben is embarking on an apprenticeship to learn the necessary skills to graft and prune fruit trees and create and manage a range of orchard styles, including traditional countryside crafts such as coppicing, hedge laying, juice and cider making that are now endangered crafts.
This year’s list demonstrates the exciting and diverse range of activities that the term ‘craft’ covers. It is a word that is rooted in deep traditions yet is ever evolving – covering ancient practices such as stone carving and wood turning to the modern technology that is involved in digital embroidery.
All of these crafts – from age-old heritage to cutting-edge contemporary – are celebrated by QEST as it endeavours to protect our cultural heritage and the future of craft in all its multi-faceted glory.
