Techniques

“My bowls are often thin-walled and light. I give them small bases, so that they can seem to be floating, or kissing the surface beneath them.  

I inlay with dots of silver, tarnish-resistant Argentium, drilling hundreds of little holes into the wood and carefully glueing in short lengths of wire, holding each piece tightly in a pair of pliers. After snipping off the protruding bits, I sand the metal flush with the wood.

I draw many of my designs on computer with vector graphics software, then print out the templates. I like patterns which have an organic relationship with the shape of the bowl: for example, lines which arc from the centre to the rim as if they have been curved by the spinning bowl’s centrifugal motion. I love spirals, the latent energy of a coiled spring contained within the bowl.

I colour my pieces with water-based wood dyes, and finish with Danish oil. These dyes work with the wood, highlighting and enhancing the natural figuring and grain patterns. Sycamore is my favourite wood: it is very forgiving, and its paleness makes it an excellent canvas for colouring.

Woodturning is very physical, but it can also be intensely spiritual. It is almost beyond words, the thrilling sensation of holding, touching, and caressing a bowl which is right …”