Developing

This is a piece I made some time ago based on various interests I have in Japanese philosophy. It is the only one to date that I have made but will be exploring these ideas in a few smaller items involving the tea caddy.

Will try out a few new ideas and change a few of techniques used in this one.

I am a great one for trying out a technique and then not running with it to see how far I can develop it. So I am going to revisit this piece and see what I can do while incorporating a few new forms to add interest.

I will keep you updated and will start on the main base form today.

latest

Here is a latest piece. Simple hollow form made from high grade birch ply. The material gives many advantages for me over working in natural wood, particularly from a process point of view.

This piece is part of a range of interior items I am producing which eventually will include mixed media but for now I am just getting the simple lines of form and the modern feel of ply in my work and out to the outlets. All of whom to are looking forward to receiving more. Seems they are very popular which is much to my relief. As said not a new material for interior items at all but when you change direction there is a certain amount of concern especially when you put time effort and money into making not knowing if you are going the right way.

Still will have to see how it progresses. Quite exciting really to have a renewed interest using a traditional craft method.

The piece above is not the only direction I want to take my work. Much more sculptural work and forms only using the lathe as a part process are in the design book. But until these have been made, photographed, refined and out in the general public domain I would be committing commercial suicide to disclose the prototypes here and now.

Something I have learnt over the last few years is that I not only have to develop my design skills, be more aware of the commercial viability of products outside of the traditional woodturning sphere, but also that I have to be far more switched on in relation to business matters.

The traditional making methods are very enjoyable and rewarding, and I will still continue to make my traditional work ( which I have no doubt I have said somewhere if not here before), but it is obvious to me that to stay with methods, just because it has been done for time in memorial is also commercial suicide. If not we would all still be writing with the quill.

Not that there is anything wrong with this, but for me it is now over and I have to move on to new methods and designs to run along side my original work. I may in future move totally away from turning as I now know it and to use the lathe more and more as just a part process. I certainly want to use less and less wood. But I am in one of those moods hence why my work and ideas are so eclectic, and tomorrow I may be back to all things traditional. But I have to say that I doubt it as I feel I am again shedding a skin.

My friends will tell you that not so long ago ( a couple of years) I would not be seen dead colouring or altering through texture or adding mixed media to wood. Then I started colouring and texturing and become acutely aware of the enjoyment of letting the mind go and making from within, having a connection with the work more than just making a bowl.

Now this playing and experimenting has started me on this new ,what I will class as ultra modern type work. Again the designs I am producing are well away from the hollow form above, But I still have to keep my feet on the ground and and I enjoy making this sort of item so it will continue.

It also is apparent to me that I am becoming less and less of a conformist to the mass mind set I come across, for me it does nothing but restrict and blinker the creative process. I have tried hard to conform to certain ways of thinking but again it is time to move on to a different place as I find little interest in conforming to ways that are restricting me in my work. hence now becoming more interested in new materials and methods as I find the makers open to my way of thinking in the approach to making.

Hopefully I will have some pictures of the new pieces in the next month or so, but for now you will have to put up with me just expressing my thoughts through my blog.

still working at it

Hi

Thought it was time to give an update. Busy times for me with various bits and pieces and my new project which is a range of work based on what I have been doing but including different materials is under way.

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures at this stage as I am still working on the different characteristics of the materials and trying to work out how to use them. Also my original ideas have changed since my last post and some have been shelved as being too time consuming and not commercially viable. ( Apart from when I get time to play).

It is the most fun part working in different ways with different tools etc. But I can get carried away and before I know it another month has gone by without much being done apart from experiments. ( which doesn't put food on the table). But hopefully will.

So I have also been making a lot of bread and butter items for the galleries I stock ( again behind schedule) but hey life is too short to go working too hard.

Part of the new range I am working on has involved looking at the way I work, how efficient this is compared to the traditional methods of roughing out unseasoned wood, seasoning, re-turning etc etc. Most traditional woodturning methods are pretty slow from a commercial point of view, but with a few alterations I have found my productivity raise perhaps 3-400%, if not more. Not that I have done any highly scientific trials, just a few time in motion studies for the pieces I have worked on.

One of the issues I have is that, and this dawned on me when speaking to another maker/friend, is that, I may have an idea but in 8 months time I have change my mind. While with my lidded forms I can just finish those for my bread and butter work. Some pieces just get left, as my original idea does not seem worth exploring further. Or I have just gone down a different route.

Being eclectic with my work keeps it interesting but means that some days I do not set foot in the workshop as I just do not know what to do. What piece to tackle. Also I am doing a lot of research etc which takes up the time, and probably will not been apparent in the final pieces..

So also now I am working through pieces just to get them finished.

Oh by the way my new pieces are not that far removed from my normal work, so I hope people are not expecting the next woodturning revolution. It has been done before, just I am doing it my way.

Must go and take the next piece out of the oven.

Day out

Today I took my daughters out to the opening of Somerset crafts www.somersetcrafts.co.uk which is a new craft centre opened by creative makers who make and sell in the Somerset area.

I always enjoy meeting other designer/makers especially when they produce work using different methods and materials than myself. Often I find it refreshing just to talk about different ideas, materials and how they are used, methods of design and how others go about their work.

Also a friend and fellow maker is involved in the group so we went along to see what it was all about.

There were various disciplines being displayed with all the work being of high standard. wood, glass, mixed media, furniture, sculpture, soaps photography, jewellery and more was on display. Together with a jazz band, food, drink and a bouncy castle for the children it was a good day.

What I found interesting was that some of the disciplines being shown are those that I have had an interest in including in some of my work for a while. The makers were happy to show me some ideas and give me details of products to play around with, these have now been ordered and hopefully add a new dimension to the new ideas I have yet to make.

This for me is what is so exciting about making creative work which is not restricted by utility. I can think of an idea and at the last minute by meeting other people and seeing new directions my designs can be turned on their head and I go back to the design/technical stage again to try to work out how to include the new materials.

The internet is a great help to get hints and tips for using the materials but one point that was evident from the makers that the best way to learn is experiment and make mistakes. I am looking forward to the new materials coming and will update when I have done some.

In the mean time here are some pictures of the makers work etc.

Evolving - Dissolving

It has been quite some time now since I have posted anything. I have been very busy with teaching and various other distractions. There is as I have said in a previous entry a new project that I am working on but to be honest this is still at the starting blocks as I decided to leave it until I returned from holiday, although I have been playing around in the background with ideas.

The "new project" while no real secret I am not posting at the moment as I am still undecided in which direction I want to go.

In fact I am frustrated and unsure about my work in general and have lost interest in the current format of both environment and working methods/processes in which I work. This frustration is I know part of the natural creative process. Or at least I hope it is.!! Not having been down this road before and letting go fully and having the willingness to see where I end up is both exciting and frightening. Mainly as I have to make money to support my family from what I do, but I realise from my recent experience of making and selling, letting go from a creative stand point, is the way in which I want to move my work forward.

The traditional environment for me is frankly ,dull, uninspiring and restrictive in relation to the creative mind set and work that I want to develop. I now realise that I have to move in another direction. This is old territory and I have been over this before. People that know me will say that I go over the same old stuff time and time again.

However I have found is a natural transition of moving away from my safe zone and then slowly going back to it, moving away again until the natural order of things slots into place. Often that pushing too hard down a certain route is counter productive and that letting things develop at their own speed can be more productive in the long run for me. It also provides a more honest work as it is less likely to have been produced through external pressures and conformity.

Still, now that I am back from holiday in the sun I can start a fresh direction while continuing some of my standard work along side. This means working in new materials, methods and designs totally different to what I have worked to date. While some will be developments of my signature work.

It will be some time until I have any pictures of work as I have loads to do behind the scenes with sourcing materials, trying them out, perfecting them !! and then making a viable product.

In the mean time I will post a few pictures of textures that I took while on holiday and a few general holiday snaps.

Garden sculpture

How the time goes.

July already and I have not added an entry for a few weeks. Very busy at the moment working on a project which I will reveal when it is ready to launch.

Before I started turning I made free form sculptures. These were carved using various tools and methods. I found that the time to make these was for my mind set too long, so lost interest.

About a year ago a new group was set up. "The Contemporary Wood Collective" This group was set up by a few like minded creative makers to help support and help individuals that are interested in creative work, be it mixed media, wood, turning, sculpting.

One of the ideas behind the group was to try to think outside of the box so to speak. For me the group has been very beneficial and as such the way I think and work has changed radically.

I have now gone" full circle" have have found ways in which to use the lathe to make sculptures by using an off set process. Nothing new in this as many turners have been doing it for decades. It means however that by adapting it to my way of working I am now able to speed up the process of making sculptures and as such have started exploring these again.

The previous "Human Form" sculpture I posted was a marquette for the larger pieces one of which I have posted above. Interestingly enough now that I have started making these the need to source a garden where I can take the sculptures to be photographed came to the forefront. This has now been achieved although the picture above is taken in my own garden which is not big enough or elaborate enough to do the pictures/sculpture justice.

I am now developing these and will post some more as and when. Don;t know when that will be as like I say I am busy.

Great weekend

Well this weekend was a lot of fun. I was invited to demonstrate for two days in Wales. Saturday was at Crow Valley woodturners with the Sunday being at Mid Wales woodturners.

The last time I went to Wales was some 21 years ago and I had forgotten how beautiful the scenery was. The people that I met on both days were a pleasure to meet and I look forward to going again in the future if I am invited.

Thank you to Peter Bradwick and all the members of Crow Valley turners for a great day and lunch. Very hospitable and friendly people.

Also a big thank you to Jack and Judy Townhill the Chariman and Judy his wife from Mid Wales Woodturners for allowing me to stay at their beautiful home and sample Judy's wonderful cooking, the cakes are to die for.

The Journey was an interesting one especially seeing that when I left Crow Valley I accidental type the post code for the location of the next days demo into my sat nav. What I should have done was to input the location of Jack and Judy's home being around forty five miles Crow Valley side of the demo on Sunday. But ninety miles later I arrived at my destination in time for dinner. The extra miles due to the wonderful scenery were a pleasure and I must have stopped six or seven times just to take in the view.

the demo on Sunday was very enjoyable, not only due to meeting the members but also getting to eat some more of Judy's cakes.

A very enjoyable weekend meeting fellows turners who were very friendly.

It was also interesting to see that my creative work and ideas were most talked about and admired, with many wanting to know how I produced the various textures and finials etc.

Also I have started to notice much more coloured and varied work on display by the members and people are trying many new ideas that I have not seen before. I fell in love with a beautifully made box produced by Kym the secretary of Mid Wales woodturners which I just had to have for my collection. We came to an agreement and it is now sat proudly in my display cabinet. A fine piece of work indeed. Thank you Kym.

Still today I am having a break and relaxing getting ready to get back into writing articles, doing my books and my new designs. Oh yes and sorting my workshop out.

Inro box

The Inro box is a fun object to make and one that I can include various media, from leather, gold leaf, wood, raku fired beads and in this instance bamboo.

The boxes use to be worn under the Obi as pockets were not part of the traditional wear. The boxes were used to carry small items. Later in the society they became a symbol of status.

Again this is an amalgamation of various techniques and ideas that I have been using. The box is not a copy of any particular Inro design but rather my interpretation of the item.

Putting it all together

Well it has been a busy week., being half term and all. It gives me time to reflect on the work and processes that I have in my workshop. Pieces that I have been working on for some time that I fit in when I can. Most of my work involves more simplistic items such as textured bowls and simple lidded forms but little if ever any production work. I decided some time ago that I wanted to be more of a studio turner making gallery pieces rather than being a production turner, although my workshop can hardly be called a studio.

This piece is an amalgamation of many techniques that I have gathered from fellow creators, research, experimentation and observation.

Often I am asked where I get my inspiration from, how do I come up with the ideas. Well there is no easy answer or solution, not that I have found anyhow.

This piece is based on many hours researching the various subjects connected to the particular subject/piece I am making. I am more interested in the philosophy/background to the idea than the physical piece it self. What I mean by this is as in this piece my reference was the Tea ceremony and in particular the period prior to and that of the Tea master Rikyu 1522-1591.

Before this period the tea ceremony was very much for the elite. It was adorned with highly polished extravagant tea houses and utensils. Rikyu changed all of this by stripping away all of this extravagance and changed the ritual to be simplistic and more in harmony with nature. More connected with the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi and the austere way of the Zen monk.

Rikyu's own master took this as a challenge and demanded Rikyu's ritual suicide. Despite this the Tea Ceremony continued the way he had developed it and still does today.

Taking this I wanted to produce a piece that was reflective of the time prior to Rikyu. A piece that had once been extravagant , highly polished and adorned precious metals etc. This symbolises the material objects that were revered at this time as well as today.

Taking that everything in life is impermanent and forever changing, be it coming or going, growing or dying , it is always impermanent no matter how hard we try to hold onto it.

This is reflected in the piece being aged via various processes. The gold even showing signs of de-lamination from the backing surface. The symbolised grasses within the finial and insert bowing and flexing with the change of time, blending but still decaying.

So the basis for this piece being impermanence. This is also symbolic within the materials that I have used.

When starting turning I became embroiled in a purist mind set. Nothing but wood should be used in its pure form. No colouring, texturing, cracks or inclusions.

Over time and slowly progressing towards a more creative mind set I found a desire to include different materials, techniques and ideas.

Within this piece I have started to use polymer clay. It is not a new material to the creative crafts or indeed turning. It is basically a PVC polymer material which can be manipulated like modelling clay in many many ways and then baked in a conventional home oven which cures it.

The benefit of polymer clay over wood is that in fine work it retains a flexible strength where as wood with its short grain becomes weak. It can also be textured, coloured, painted etc, so is very versatile for creative work.

Hopefully I will start working with more materials as I find that taking the best of each material makes for a much more exciting and creative process. Although I am always trying to play catch up with materials and techniques to be able to realise the ideas I have rattling around in my mind. I guess this will continue the more I push my ideas.

Polymer clay additions

For some time now I have been using small amounts of mixed media within my work. Be it jewellery beads, acrylic artists paints, copper and gold leaf etc.

The advantage of using different media within my work allows me to take may work in another direction and to enhance what I have produced. Also at times wood having limitations in its structural strength when very thin.

I have for some time been experimenting with polymer clay which is basically PVC which can be moulded, manipulated, textured, coloured etc etc, and then baked in an oven to harden.

The benefit of polymer clay is that due to not having a grain and having a consistant structure which is as hard when cured, yet still slightly pliable, enables me to make items for my work that are much finer and detailed in its construction.

Here is a basic finial that I have made form my standard lidded forms. before the inclusion of polymer clay I would not have been able to make such a fine finial in wood as it would have been too fragile to be a viable option. The top third of this finial is below 1mm in thickness and ends just under .5 of a mm. Despite this it is strong and still slightly flexible.

There are now numerous polymer clay accents being produced and I will post these when they are finished.