The Beauty of Wood: An Exhibition of Woodturned Pieces
About
Unique and Natural
I create wooden art pieces that you can enjoy for years to come. As a woodworker, I appreciate the repurposing of the wood with each piece being unique, organic and having a character of its own. I use only sustainably and responsibly sourced material. I avoid using glues or resin on my pieces, I want them to remain organic. The finish is with a shellac sealer and then a wax-based natural wood finish. I also use Feed-N-Wax with orange oil and natural wax. I turn wood bowls, ornaments and art pieces from Robinia as my preferred wood, but also Olive,Walnut,Yew, Beech and Apple and most fruit trees.
The Process
Each wood turning is unique; the nature of the wood dictates what the end result will look like. I try to work with the wood and let it speak to me and reveal itself as I work with it. Not every piece will be a wooden bowl.
I start wood working with an oddly shaped, uneven and out of balance log or section of wood. The piece will often dictate what can be made, so, as a woodworker, I have to be open to what is being suggested.
As the sections are very out of balance, I have to start very slowly- spinning the wood on the lathe at very low speeds. As the piece comes more in to a rounded shape, the speed can increase and the wooden art pieces take shape.
Robinia Burrs
As a woodworker, I have been extremely fortunate to have been gifted beautiful pieces of Robinia (Black Locust) by a friend. He had a tree in the garden which needed to be felled. The logs were destined for firewood but once the burrs were revealed, the tree was mine to turn. Turn rather than burn. Most of my wood workings are from this wood.And most are wood bowls. Learn more...
What is so special about a burr/ burl?
A burr (British English) or burl (American English) is an outgrowth on a tree as a result of trauma/ stress. The tree's reaction is to form new wood, made up of unsprouted buds or germ cells. This results in a wood which is rare, unique and sought after by woodworkers for its beauty, splendour and amazing patterns to display in wooden art pieces through wood working. It is also used for the dashboards of luxury cars such as Rolls Royce. Now available in the wood bowls I have turned.