Art Biography "Let the beauty of the wood show."

I have been involved with three dimensional art creation for over forty years. I started making African wire cars for myself and my friends when I was in my teens. After emigrating from South Africa in 1963 I started work as a lapidist in a jewellery store in Toronto. In 1970 I started work as a shop teacher in a junior high school in Toronto. I moved to Kingston with my young family in 1975 where I was employed as a teacher of Industrial Arts.

I taught in the school system for 32 years, retiring from teaching in 2000. Most of my teaching career was spent in teaching wood, metal and plastic crafts and design.

I have been a member of the Kingston Potters Guild, and made numerous clay vessels both practical and fanciful.

After retiring from teaching I made a wood lathe which was used to make a variety of bowls and vessels. My experience with pottery forms is reflected in the wood lathe work. As an avid naturalist he is always striving to enhance the inner beauty of the wood to show in his work.

Most of my work is made from reclaimed wood. Wood that would otherwise have ended up in a fire sowewhere or in the dump in some cases.

I am presently using a General 18" diameter electronic control lathe. There is a review of this lathe on the site.
 

Philosophy of Art

My background in lapidary places importance on the surface finish. Stone can be polished to high gloss or left rough and the same can be done with wood.

My background in pottery and throwing pots on the potters wheel influences the form of each vessel. Because throwing pots on a potters wheel encourages the potter to concentrate on classic form I am very conscious of the forms that come off the lathe.

Shop teaching has provided the skills to attain the best form from the material at hand and with the most suitable finish. "Teaching children in a workshop requires the teacher to be familiar with all aspects of safe and efficient production."

Why do I enjoy wood turning? There is a certain pleasure one gets from making a beautiful item from a gnarly hunk of wood that most people would call firewood. That is the satisfaction, but then there is the pleasure one gets from having a sharp tool take copious quantities of wood from the spinning wood. The mental challenge of solving technical problems associated with constructing the lathe and accessories is another pleasure. Oh I should mention that one of my hobbies is collecting and making mechanical puzzles.