The turning point in my life
(sorry no pun intended) came in 1989; relocation to Yorkshire with the firm I
was working for as an accountant or redundancy and a new career direction? I
choose the latter and with the aid of the Government Employment Training scheme
began training with a professional turner. During this period I took second
prize for turning in the National Eisteddfod of Wales; first prize went to my
tutor!
All my work is created from local timbers from managed woodlands and often
incorporates natural imperfections, such as knots, splits and captured bark
which may be seen by some as faults. As each piece of timber is an unknown
quantity before being turned I try to work with the wood, a cliche I know, but
it is a relationship that develops between my initial idea for a piece and
inspiration drawn from the timber as it reveals itself.
Most of my work is more an exploration of line and form than an effort at an
artistic statement and it continues to amaze me that even minute refinements of
a curve or placement of a detail can alter the character of a piece. This has
evolved to my more recent work with hollow vessels based around a vase design
with exaggerated rims which are partly removed and shaped. The Foreign &
Commonwealth Office commissioned a piece from this series of work as gifts for
the Foreign Ministers attending the Cardiff European Summit in 1998 hosted by
the UK as President.
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