Home / Life In A Somerset Landscape
Jonathan Hodgson, Fletcher & Artist
The Millhouse Arts Centre, Ilminster
Jonathan Hodgson combines his skills not only as an artist but applies these talents to creating functional, custom arrows — some of which are art pieces in their own right. His custom-made arrows are built to suit the archer’s bow, draw length, draw weight, and personal style. His art arrows are built with form in mind more than function — they still work, but they’re made more for display, drawing on historic and fantasy cultures.
He also repairs and restores arrows for archers and collectors, in traditional and modern materials. Shafts are mainly wood — cedar, Scots pine, spruce, and ash in particular, though he also uses cherry, maple, iroko, hazel, walnut, and others.
He hand-carves and shapes the neck of each arrow so it grips the string tightly, occasionally reinforcing it with a sliver of horn for a powerful bow. Any artwork, motifs, or competition numbers are drawn on by hand in Indian ink and acrylic paint.
Feathers — goose, turkey, or gull-wing quills — are shaped by hand, glued into position, then spiral-bound in silk, linen, metallic cotton, or kevlar thread. Points are usually steel or brass, machined and weighted to balance the arrow, though historic pieces might carry hand-forged iron points, and some now use hand-knapped semi-precious stone.
The finished arrow is protected with layers of varnish, lacquer, wax, or oil — and where possible, Jonathan is mindful to use processes and materials that are as eco-friendly and sustainable as they can be.
His Own Words
“I grew up in Tatworth near Chard, in Somerset. Soon after I was born my parents had bought part of a large old historic former farmhouse along with an acre of rough overgrown orchard land.
My brother Tim and I loved to spend as much time as we could in what felt like this vast wilderness, and we would often make ‘bow staves’ from sticks, bamboo canes, and the plastic handles of fishing nets — then arrows from bamboo canes with cereal box card fletchings, and mad roof slate points broken into triangles and taped onto the ends. A crude attempt at an arrow, but an arrow nonetheless!
I was always fascinated by the legends of Robin Hood, the Tolkien mythology, and medieval history, and my eye was always drawn to the archers, their bows and arrows in movies and books.”
As a 6th Form Design Technology student in 2002, Jonathan built a proper three-piece takedown archery kit — a recurve bow with six wooden arrows, his first real, functional set. Soon after, he joined Windwhistle Company of Archers in South Somerset, drawn to their focus on traditional, wood-based kit over plastics.
With guidance from experienced archers including the late Bob Gray, he started the journey that would lead him to become a professional fletcher — a path he still follows from his studio at The Millhouse Arts Centre.
“I truly believe our county is the best part of the country in which to live — every time we step out into our local wilderness, remember we are the guests, and fortunate to be part of it.”
Based in Somerset, working across the UK and internationally.