A fathers love - The worlds strongest dad

This has absolutely nothing to do with wood turning, it is however one of the most inspiring stories I have ever watched, sent to me by a friend I just had to share it with you.

At the moment the world seems to be tearing itself apart, the human race seems to have lost its way with every news bulletin showing wars that never seem to be resolved and that will never achieve anything but more hate and sadness.

This story shows that despite all the bad, there are great people, doing great stuff and whom won't let life get them down no matter what, instead they take it head on and show us all how we can be better people.

Make sure you have the sound on.

Inspiring

 This video link was sent to me by a friend and I just have to share it with you. The video while showing ceramic masters at work just has to be seen by any one working in wood on the lathe. Techniques seen here such as incising the clay is where we woodturners obviously got the idea for piercing from, Sgraffito the process of cutting through various layers of colour for differing effects is also a technique often adopted by cutting through layers contrasting woods etc. Anyway enough of me talking about it, just watch, relax and be inspired. Such a privilege to see such masters at work.

Busy

Well  this month has been busy with work for galleries and other outlets,  added to which some DIY work around the home was needed, not the most fun of things to do in the current weather but I guess it is better than working in the rain. It is a change to get some good weather especially after the floods we had through the winter and hopefully it will continue.

During down time I have been working on fractal designs, this gives me a mental break from the work shop and helps me look at new ideas, develop old ideas and forms further as well as think about new ways of working. Using fractals is an excellent way to come up with new ideas as is looking within our local environments to see what is around that can be used for inspiration.

Nature and architecture can all be used as a source and looking in detail at plants, insects, buildings we often find all that is needed with a wealth of , shape, form, texture and colour to work,  below are some fractal pictures recently produced and photos I have taken while out and about, so many possibilities and sources of exploration for new works. Now I just have to find time to get into making some new pieces.

Book Review

Received a copy of British Woodworking today and found a great review of my book, great to read and it means all the hard work was worth it.

The magazine is full of great useful information and projects, well worth a read.

Using up scraps

After processing the wood I source for my work the waste checked and processed further into small box and spindle blanks. Although I don't do a lot of spindle work as such I hate to throw away wood. As a result my wood store has become over stocked so after some head scratching I came up with this project for the galleries I supply to help use up some of the hundreds of small blanks in my store. 

This piece stands around 300 mm high and holds a battery powered 'T' light within the black pierced section and looks great in the evenings flickering on the sideboard. It was inspired by the Buddhist Stupa which is a building/structure of stone or wood that is used used to store religious relics, as well as being a place for worship. What grabbed me was forms and shapes of these buildings and how I could produce a project based on them with the added bonus of using up some wood stock. There are hundreds of variations to the form of the stupa so it is large resource for turning projects and one I will certainly re-visit for further exploration. 

Mallorca

A short while ago I returned from a family holiday in Alcudia, Mallorca, this being my second trip to Spain in a relatively short time. It is a country I enjoy very much and we all had a great time.

Needless to say I took loads of picture for reference, textures, colours shapes etc which can be used for inspiration. Many are just for interest but I will post some of the ones I snapped once I have finished the current article I am writing.

Finished and delivered

The sculpture commission that I have been working on has finally been completed and delivered to the customer who I am glad to say is very pleased with the end result.  The Swan stands just over half a meter  and was commissioned to have a high black gloss finish set on the aged base. The finish was an interesting and lengthy process requiring a huge amount of patience and attention to the smallest of detail, this however paid off i and I was very pleased with the tactile feel and finish up close. The picture below shows it delivered in its final place at the customers home, so it is time to start the next sculpture which has been designed and is ready to go.

Swan

This is a piece much larger than the first I made recently commissioned and to be finished and delivered soon. It stands just over 1/2 a meter and is sat on a hollow form which will not be the final base, but included to give lift and show the form. 

The picture below is after most of the finishing with a sacrificial coating to help show up the uneven areas, this piece is to be black gloss which will show every minute imperfection so the foundation finishing is paramount before the top coats. The shaping and carving is the easiest and fastest part of the process with the finishing/abrading today taking most of today alone.  Tomorrow it will be cut back again with more coats  more cutting back and refining before the final colour is added, cut back and burnished, another 2-3 days should see the main form finished and then the base will be made with the two being fixed together. There is a £1 coin placed onto tail of the swan for scale.

Turning in Spain

From the 25th - 27th  I will be demonstrating at a woodworking show in Northern Spain  in collaboration of tornnyfusta , and my sponsor Crown Hand Tools I am looking forward to the experience and hope I can grab a few pictures through out the show to add to my blog on my return. I am also hoping to try out some genuine Paella and of course sangria, but having been abroad before for the same I normally get very little time to see the sights.

Nice amount of work via sculpture commissions to get stuck into upon my return so hopefully I can get some pics of this too in the following weeks. The sculptural work seems to be quite popular and is a nice addition and amalgamation to the turning.

Catch up soon

Yandles show

Friday and Saturday this coming weekend is the Spring Show at Yandles, Martock, Somerset.

I will be there demonstrating for my sponsor Crown Tools together with loads of other demonstrators and companies. The weather is looking good so it should be an brilliant weekend. Come along, say hi and see all the crafts being demonstrated.