Australian woodturner visits Kincardine area during workshop tour in Canada

Neil Turner, an internationally-renowned woodturner of Stratham, Western Australia, and his wife, Suellen, made a brief stop in the Kincardine area last week, during a workshop tour in Canada.

They were the guests of Dave Smith and Catherine Richard of Point Clark where they stayed on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.
 

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Neil (left) and Suellen Turner of Australia, with Catherine Richard and Dave Smith of Point Clark, at Tim Hortons in Kincardine; photos courtesy of Catherine Richard
 

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Neil held a one-day, hands-on workshop and a one-day demonstration in Port Elgin, with turners from Kincardine and the surrounding area in attendance.

A full-time woodturner, artistic wood sculptor and fine furniture maker, he also creates bigger-scale sculptures. He just finished a 2.5-metre fire-form sculpture for the Intercontinental Hotel Perth foyer before he and Suellen left for Canada.

Neil was a third generation wheat and sheep farmer from Corrigin, Western Australia (180 kilometres east of Perth). He tried the art of woodturning at school when he was 15 years old and he was hooked.

He took up the craft at age 18 when asked to make a lamp stand for a friend of his mother. To do this, he had to make the wood lathe (he ended up making his first three wood lathes), make the turning tools and go out into the paddock (field) to find the timber. From then on, he would bring home mallee roots (stumps) unearthed from the paddock when he was plowing. He had no formal training until he was in his mid-30s.

"I sent him to a workshop one weekend with a well-known Australian wood artist, Stephen Hughes, and he then realized there was more to woodturning than just making bowls," says Suellen. "He quickly found his own voice in the wood art industry, having his fine-wood sculptures exhibited in del Mano, the number one wood gallery in the United States and taken to SOFA (Sculpture, Objects, Functional, Art) in New York and Chicago, and his work purchased by collectors worldwide."

In his on-line biography, Neil states that his rural environment greatly influenced him, as he was able to observe how the wind, fire and water impact the land.



Neil Turner (right) of Western Australia conducts a workshop in Port Elgin

"My intention is to incorporate these aspects into work that has a free, expressive and organic appearance while using carving and turning techniques to achieve a purity of form," he says. "Timber is a living, breathing organism that captures my imagination. The opportunity to express thoughts and ideas in a tangible creation that continues to react within its environment. To design and create in timber poses many challenges, both in structure and integrity, but the pleasure I derive from my work is simple, a joy and passion to create pieces of work that I like."

Neil became unhappy with farming and in 2010, decided to leave the farm and attend the Australian School of Wood to study fine furniture. He and Suellen purchased 10 acres of natural bushland 180 kilometres south of Perth in a suburb called Stratham, just out of Bunbury, where they still live. They have been married 36 years and have five children, four girls and a boy, ranging in age from 26 to 34.

Since finishing his studies, Neil has had two exhibitions in Western Australia, attended the International Turning Exchange in Philadelphia (a nine-week scholarship to immerse wood artists in their craft), was one of eight international wood artists to create the Irish Stone Wall Project from wood in Ireland, demonstrated throughout Australia, the U.S. and now Canada and New Zealand. Next year, he is teaching in France at the  Escoulen School.

He met Art Liestman of Vancouver, a well-known Canadian wood artist, at the Irish Stone Wall Project

"Art asked Neil to visit Canada, so he organized a turning tour," said Suellen. "We had popped over into Canada four years ago to Niagara Falls but that was as far as we got.

"What a beautiful country. You have it all - trees, mountains, water, Niagara Falls, snow, canals, and such friendly people. At school, we were taught about Canada’s Great Lakes, so to finally see them is incredible. it’s like looking at a fresh water ocean.

"We are certainly coming back as there is so much more to see. We didn’t get to Quebec or Nova Scotia. I hope all the wonderful people we stayed with will visit us in Western Australia. Also, it would be great if any who have taken Neil’s classes would visit us. We, too, live in a special part of the world which not many visit because of distance."

Following the workshop and demonstration in Port Elgin, Neil had a hands-on workshop for the Lee Valley store Oct. 11 in Vaughan. Then the Turners were flying back to Vancouver for another three days of workshops. They leave Canada tomorrow (Oct. 18), and fly to New Zealand where he has workshops in Oamaru. They fly back to Perth Nov. 1.

The Turners are busy at home as well. Neil, Suellen and their daughter, Kallie, take art to high-end markets, as Turner + Turner. For details, view instagram/turnerandturner.

To view more of Neil's work, check the following website and instagram page: www.neilturnerartisan.com.au
instagram/neilturnerartisan