Platter with multiline inlay
Biog
A chemical engineer by training, I retired from environmental consultancy in 2005 to focus on woodturning. I live in Oxford with my wife Katherine, who is a painter.
I inherited a lathe in 1999 and had a few lessons, if only for safety reasons. My original intention was to make furniture using the lathe for chair legs, finials etc. However, very soon I caught the bug and the priority has shifted right round - lots of turning plus the occasional piece of furniture.
I make functional pieces, mostly bowls and platters, as well as purely sculptural forms, but all with a sense of design and quality. Each piece is different, unless it is one of a pair of candlesticks or a set of bowls! As I don't like wasting wood, I also make smaller pieces such as paperweights, candle holders and bottle stoppers (very useful if, like us, you can't manage a whole bottle of wine at one go).
Increasingly, I use locally sourced woods, especially ash, sycamore and elm, with just a few imported ones.
60 second interview
Q: What is your favourite colour?A: GreenQ: Who first inspired you to start making/ creating and what words of advice did they give you?A: I started by thinking that woodturning was fun as soon as I had a go at a lathe. I was inspired to take it seriously by the people who bought the first pieces I rather tentatively displayed. It soon became obvious from talking to them that, to take my work to the levels I wanted to reach, I had to think about design at least as much as about the purely mechanical aspects of turning.Q: Where and when do you most like to work?A: As my lathe weights about a fifth of a ton, I am limited to working in my workshop. My wife says that I am obsessive and, given the chance, would work 24 hours a day. She may be right!Q: Which season of the year most inspires you?A: SpringQ: What can't you work without?A: Apart from the required tools ie gouges, abrasives, finishing oils etc, my essential tool is my facemask with integral dust extraction. The other essential is Radio 4. Q: Whose work do you most admire?A: Among woodturners, I really admire Richard Raffan for his beautiful designs, Gary Rance for his amazing spindle work and Les Thorne and Nick Agar for their design ideas - and infectious enthusiasm. Q: What is your favourite piece of fiction and why?A: I don't read much fiction but I guess that it's Barnaby Rudge - perhaps one of Dickens' lesser known works but with a superb set of characters, in special places and woven into history.Q: What do you do to relax?A: I like reading history and have an extensive collection of books, mostly British history. I used to have an international job and we both like travelling.Q: Describe your artistic style in 3 words. A: Simple
Flowing
Inlays
Richard
has
2
followers. Here's what some of them say:
"I have now purchased two of Richard's tea lights. They are only small objects - but their beauty is immense! Richard has a real eye for bringing out the natural beauty of the wood. The grain just glows! the tea lights look great in a fireplace, on a table or (now the weather is warmer) I like using them in the garden. An alternative way of returning the wood to its natural environment. I can't recommend Richard's work highly enough."
Hatty,
22/04/2011
"We are delighted with our small, ash bowl. It is light in weight and in colour, with a beautiful grain. A new treasure for the house on St. Valentine's Day. Very efficient delivery service!
Marian"
Marian,
14/02/2011
My favourite piece (or one of them) - a chance to talk about wood and inlays