|
Woodturning in the UK reflects the ability to
create beautiful and unusual pieces of work from a rough branch or plank
of wood. This is truly an artform.
Derbyshire
born woodturner, Mike Swain had his first taste of
woodturning
whilst still at school, spending precious dinner times watching one of his
teachers at work on the school's elderly Myford lathe. Now many years on
and after spending countless rewarding hours in the company of leading
turners both abroad and here in the UK he still gets the same enjoyment
working in his own large well equipped wood turning
workshop where he offers:
-
Woodturning tuition & courses for
beginners to advanced level including basic turning.
-
Turning wet timber, a new course
- from log to finished pieces with microwave drying.
-
Courses run on adding decoration
through colour, texture, sandblasting & gold leaf.
-
Specialist
timbers for the woodturner, spalted and rippled blanks in ash and
sycamore.
Working
mainly in native, home grown timbers, Mike prefers the whiter colours of
sycamore, ash, maple and holly but still enjoys the natural beauty and
good colour contrasts found in the branchwood of the yew and laburnum
trees. Mike is listed on the
Register Of Professional Turners, that is
part of the
Worshipful Company of Turners, a company
formed by Royal Charter from James I in 1604 and is one of the hundred and
two Livery Companies of the City of London. He is also a member of
the AWGB.
Mike's preference for working with the whiter native timbers has
led to his regular and increased use of
decorative effects and colouring, applying a wide range of coloured washes, metallic
finishes and resin inlays to turned items, these in the form of spirit and
water based dyes and gold, silver and copper leaf supplied by leading
companies Liberon and
Chestnut
Products. Calling on his artistic background colour
is applied by the use of small airbrushes or spray guns driven by the
small workshop compressor. Other effects include metal inlays, textured
and sandblasted surfaces.
There is now a growing interest in the collecting of turned pieces,
these are often looked upon and displayed as works of art. Mike's work can
be seen at galleries and exhibitions throughout the UK and in
galleries within the National Park that is the Derbyshire Peak District.
Locally, Mike's work can be viewed at the
Charisma
Gallery in the picturesque town of
Matlock, the Artist & Designer Fairs in
the beautiful
Pavilion Gardens,
Buxton and at the 2005 Crafts @ The Castle event held in
Bolsover Castle.
|
