Princess Kate Middleton walking the booths at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Dame Judy Dench, who owns several of Webb’s pieces in her garden, with James Doran-Webb and Jerry Sibal discussing the works of James.
One of the flower arrangements competing at the show.
The 2023 Chelsea Flower Show embraced a Nature’s Harmony theme, with a strong focus on sustainability and mental health. The show’s organizers emphasized the importance of sustainable gardening practices and biodiversity conservation, inspiring attendees to create beautiful outdoor spaces while preserving and protecting the environment.
One of the floral gazebo displays recycled chairs and salvaged materials.
Shops at the Chelsea Flower Show are mostly from sustainable materials.
What’s Cebu got to do with the Chelsea Flower Show in London? One person. James Doran Webb (https://www.jamesdoranwebb.co.uk), an Englishman working with driftwood, has been displaying his artworks for several years. James collects cast-off driftwood and shapes them into beautiful animal shapes that find places in some of the most iconic gardens. Leaping horses, owls, reindeer, and the occasional dragon, James Webb’s creations are avidly collected by landscapers to add accent to gardens in all sizes, using cast-off wood, fitting perfectly with the sustainable element—something Mr. Webb has done quite well for the last decade.
The impressive dragon of James Doran-Webb
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The Philippine International Flower Festival will be held at the PICC in Manila from January 14 to 18, 2024. Watch out for more info from our website!
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James is an artist who started to design driftwood furniture in the mid 1990s. It was while playing with the various natural forms that he was drawn to experiment with his first driftwood animal sculpture—what he is known for today.
James shares that he has always loved antiques and has been working with wood, making models and miniature sculptures since he was a small boy. His childhood was spent in the workshops of his parents’ antiques restoration company both in the UK and in France, whittling, carving and refinishing. By the time he reached his late teens he was not only an accomplished antique dealer, but also a very competent cabinet maker, and was quite at home restoring such varied items as heavily carved oak and walnut furniture to the odd Queen Anne finely veneered bureau bookcase.
James exhibits at the Chelsea Flower Show, London each May where, in 2013, he was awarded the Director General’s Award for the best stand. He also holds a solo exhibition in the autumn in London, hosted by the Eton Contemporary Fine Art Gallery. James has exhibited in Ootmarsum, Holland, and in Cebu and Manila, Philippines. He has a large body of work on permanent display at Singapore’s iconic Gardens by the Bay.
“Everything else that happens during the year is almost a footnote,” He shares of his preparation for the Chelsea Flower Show. “Every year I seem to push myself a little harder, make something a little bit more ambitious and stretch my craftsmanship abilities.”
Currently, James is based in the sunny island of Cebu. He first traveled to the Philippines in 1989 to assist a friend with his costume jewelry business. Since then, he’s fallen in love with the country, entranced by its countryside, the beaches, the wildlife, and above all, the people with their natural flair for color and artistry.
He shares that the driftwood he uses for his sculptures are sourced from the locals. He’s built a small network of driftwood gatherers who, in return for their work, are compensated to provide for their needs. Local wood such as Molave, Madre de cacao and balayong are used in his most recent works.
“Ideas come and go, and when a good one pops into mind, I will make initial drawings and studies of the piece, pouring hours of research into gaining an understanding of the animal and its habitat,” he shares. “I am drawn to movement and interaction… stags rutting, two foxes playing, a stallion rearing up in fright, as a way of communicating drama and adding vitality and to the sculpture.”
Thousands of hours are poured into creating these driftwood sculptures. He works in his studio full time alongside a small team of assistants who help him sort and clean the wood, weld the steel frames and generally assist where and whenever they are needed. His work is the product of his passion for sustainable art.
James has started a program called 80,000 trees, which aims to plant 80,000 trees over the course of the next 15 years while building relationships with the tenants and claimants of the land and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) assisting him in nurturing the seedlings to full growth.
To know more about 80,000 Trees, check out their Facebook. James’ portfolio is also available for viewing on his website.
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