Treeworkx Competition

It was great to see an impressive group of carvings this time & it is from one of these that this issue s winner comes.

I was quite taken by Barwick Harding s Grape Leaf platter carved from a gorgeous piece of Black Walnut, making very effective use of the striking grain. There would have been some tricky elements to carve here, not least the delicate tendrils and the grapes themselves, and at 300mm  it must have a real presence, but is both solid enough to be used, while delicate enough to be believable. I also like the restrained finish with the Danish oil that suits the piece itself. Altogether a worthy winner.

While it is a coincidence that a carving is the winner, (or maybe not, with so few turnings this time?) it was good to see such an amazing group of carvings from those fine folks at Tauranga & we thank you for sending them in. I know there is a feeling amongst some of the carvers that the sandpaper prize is more for turners, but we all use sandpaper right? And anyway, this competition has always been more about sharing our work with each other, that and the kudos and the laurels of being a Treeworkx winner. Please keep that up guys and gals, more carvings, more scrollsaw work, more furniture. The more difference the better and that might spur on some more of the very fine turners that we have out there not to let the others take too many of those laurels!

And there were some other carvings worthy of mention; There is a veritable menagerie with Garry Webber s horses head (which makes a real statement,) and Ken Brangwynne s shark and swan, and Barwick Harding s owl. And I suppose we must include Kieran Fritzgerald on that list, though his driftwood bowl also impresses because of the whimsical story it contains and the adventurous off-centre turning.  Speaking of which,  admiration for Glen Cleaver and his Gum Platter. I know they say size doesn t matter, but in turning sometimes that axiom isn t quite true. Measure that out and imagine it spinning around on your lathe! Well done Glen.

The Christmas Angel from Doug St George is one of those serendipitous delights that we sometimes get in our creations. I really admire Doug s impressive 78 years of woodworking and I certainly hope I remain as dedicated and determined as him and that other stalwart Ross Johnson. I hope your health continues to improve Ross and that we can look forward to seeing more of your creations on future pages here.

The Kiss from Roy Tregilgas, in Walnut & Purple Heart, makes interesting use of both silhouette and negative space and just wouldn t be complete without the little bud vase included. Delightful.

Finally, I was amazed on several occasions this time when I read, and then calculated, the dimensions of some of the pieces. I at first took Garry Jones nicely decorated hollow form to be reasonably small, but not so, and did the same with the collaborative piece that Terry Scott decorated for the late Bill Luce.(Nice job Terry, hope the auction goes well.)  Both are actually bigger than they, at first glance, look.

Sincere thanks to all who sent entries in and who continue to make these pages possible. I know most clubs have some sort of show-and-tell type table and  maybe more clubs could take the opportunity to grab some photos of the best of these pieces and share some of the amazing work being done around the country with us? We would all love to see it.