The Days are rolling by.

January is always a difficult month for me there is usually a lul in production turning and things are normally pretty quite.

Nothing new for this year then, there is however a dramatic rise in students looking for and booking wood turning tuition, which is great this early in the year which is shaping up pretty well and I need to be be very careful how I manage my time, in this first half not forgetting to allow time for things that we Jane and myself want to do,that is not always easy.

Lets hope the weather improves as the days begin to get longer it has been a tough few months for cold miserable weather and now the snow has gone we are entering a damp period, which I find particularly depressing!

I have some interesting ideas for new works this year & I have been busy with my sketch book so keep your eyes open.

I keep promising to post some images of recent work and I will, it is not always easy with magazine deadlines and publishing dates.As there can be conflict but 2.& 3 are from recent articles written for GMC Woodturning magazine. The third piece ( The Ginger Jar) I am particularly exited by as it does not appear to be round but faceted.

1.The coral series.

2.The Rocket Box.

3.The Ginger Jar.(my latestpiece and article for GMC )

I also thought I would show you one of my watercolours from last year.This was my mothers day gift for my mother last year.

I also did some paintings as Christmas gifts and they went down very well.We all need a hobby when time allows.

I will try to post again soon but I must head to the workshop and play as the ideas are beginning to flood out of my mind and there is only so many hours in the day with good natural light..

New Year - New Directions.

Belated seasons greetings to all and appologies for my lack of posts but when things get busy work comes first. The year ahead is shaping up well with demos around the UK and Europe, so time will need to be managed carefully to avoide missing magazine deadlines and commitments already made.
After many requests I will be making a DVD in April, followed in May with a two day decorating/turning course at Hunters Lodge in Lincolnshire with KTMP if you are interested in the course/DVD's contact Karl Tickle at http://www.ktmp.co.uk/ .
The course should be fun with the incresed interest there is in decorating wood there is a march away from the round and brown amongst the turning fraternaty here in the UK.
I will endevour to make regular posts through the comming year with images of my new work when possible, the demo year starts early for me in Febuary at Bedford Saws.

Its not white

I finally gave in and brought a new van, well second hand low milage all because my old nissan was going to cost me some more serious money, I have wanted to go back to a diesel engine for ages now, its what I enjoy driving these days.

The Nissan lasted me 7 yearsso I cant realy complain.so from now on its a Vauxhall Combo 1.7 DI.

I can still dream about other things can't I !.

Is it real or a kit car? Who cares it looked very good to me one day during the summer.

An Empty Nest

Yesterday Victoria left for Uni at Bath,
Jane and I are now alone here in Horsford which has left us feeling a little odd, now we have only each other to blame for light left on or things left were they shouldnt be, and there will be no more waiting for her to get home.
Life is going to change for us all, both here and in Bath, as we will not be there to run after her; it will be an interesting learning curve for us all but one more than the others, I feel sure she will cope and thrive, we will stay in touch using the internet, I remember my first days at Art school when I stayed away for the week at a time, she is away until I'm not sure when, Christmas? who knows,time only will tell.

25th Wedding Aniversary.

Today September 1st at 4:30 twenty five years ago Jane and I were married so today is our 25th Wedding Aniversary and we are trying to spend it together!

Time is never Enough

I know its been a while since I last posted and I will draw a line under the early part of the year as there seems little point writing about old events .

August 6th 7th & 8th saw the Bi- Annual seminar for the AWGB held at Loughborough which I attended and submitted work for the instant gallery I had a piece selected for the top fifty in the gallery again, which I was pleased to achieve a Bowl with a deecorated rim, I had submitted some other interesting pieces which you can see here I will post an image of the bowl when it is returned as it is at present away being photographed.

I did notice there is a great increase in the amount of coloured work that was displayed in the gallery compared to years past.

Friday saw the First ever internet auction to which I donated a piece from the Coral series which raised £340 for the cause The Youth Ttraining Scheme. The auction raised twelve and a half thousand pounds in total.

The weekend was informative, interesting and enjoyable, meeting old friends and having time to relax is always welcomed the Demo I gave on Sunday before lunch went well and was enjoyed so I was both happy and relieved.

The weekend always leaves me feeling tired and with mixed emotions as it only occurs once every two years. It answers questions and sets the mind in different/new directions this year the hot item for me is micromotors!

Nag Nag Nag!!

Well I deserve the above for not posting anything for some time but I will endevour to correct this shortly hopefully by the end of the week there is much work ahead of me so if it does not appear keep nagging and I will get it done.
I do so enjoy the postings but sometimes other thing must take priority. today it is another article for GMC Woodturning magazine, and the last part of my website rebuild which is almost there! Phew!. Thats three days work without doing any turning and then withdrawl sets in..