I've been working on gilding with silver leaf and patinating with liver of sulfer (sulfurated potash). The colour of the glaze under the leaf as well as the duration of the 'soak' has a noticeable effect on the look of the gilding . The first piece was underglazed with Indian red gouache and fumed for an hour. Sycamore hollow form 8" x 5" Silver leaf, ebony, and faux bone Top view The platter was under glazed with gold enamel then gilded with copper and silver on top. Again it was fumed for an hour. Sycamore platter 14" x 2 1/2" Silver on top of copper ..read more

An earring box for Ali. Putting together a piece from multiple parts is time consuming but it's an enjoyable challenge to try and get the proportions right. The cherry was from a log in the woods behind our house which had been felled a number of years ago and there was only a little of solid timber to get out of it. Thanks to Gary Wall for his gift of some ebony blanks. The second and third pieces each have a band of antiqued foil which is a new technique I'm working on. The last two pieces have rims painted with iridescent paints. Earring box in cherry and ebony 3 1/2" x 9 ..read more

My second attempt at patinizing silver leaf was successful. After applying the leaf I laid crumpled tissue paper in the bowl and sprayed the paper with a solution of 1 part liver of sulphur concentrate to 70 parts espresso coffee at 120 degrees F. I placed a plate on top to stop evaporation and left it for 45 minutes before rinsing it with warm water from a spray bottle to stop the colouring. (I think my first effort last summer failed because I used a different manufacturers silver leaf which was probably imitation). Looking forward to using the effect on hollow forms and platters. The nex ..read more

All the pewter at my home is now in danger of meeting the melting pot. At about £35 per kilo I'll probably wait until boot sales start up this spring to replenish supplies. (Anyone have any lying around that is of no use?) I found it handy to prepare the pewter elements in advance to fitting on the green timber. The ring on the end grain bowl was fit with a tongue and groove joint and epoxy. The foot ring inserts are a handy way to decorate and clean up the foot. Bowls are finished with oil and wax. Laburnum and pewter end grain bowl 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" Laburnum cross grain bow ..read more

The first bowl in cherry has the exterior finished with Plastikote two-part crackle, Jo Sonja gold iridescent acrylic, and Wood Doc 20. I thinned the gold paint hoping to apply it with an atomiser tube but couldn't blow hard enough to raise the paint. Ha, stuck a dusting needle from the compressor into the blow pipe, turned it up to 80 psi and out came the paint! The softer wood within each growth ring took more paint and added a pleasant grain effect. The next two bowls are coloured with the Sonja iridescent paints applied by sponge. The final piece is a small cross grain elm platter with t ..read more

I've been cutting a lot of open bowls lately just to have some pieces to play with. Each additional material or technique seems to add exponential possibilities. I'm definitely straying from the adage that less is more. The first two bowls have Jo Sonja iridescent acrylic applied over a darker undercoat. I've brushed the thinned acrylic at slow and high revs and finished with a few coats of lacquer. It will take a lot of play and experimenting to find a technique that is really pleasing. The third bowl is cross grain sycamore bowl died with spirit stain and  textured with a Crown tool w ..read more

Simon Spent last weekend with Simon Hope. What an enjoyable two days of woodturning. My main interest was working with pewter but I picked up lots of tips and inspiration. A bit cold sleeping in the van on Saturday night but an impromptu blow on the bagpipes and a cup of tea from Simon Sunday morning warmed me right up. We turned a few finished pieces and one knotty lampshade in walnut. Pics follow. I can't recommend Simon highly enough. I'll be back. I thought my shop was inclined to be messy! Walnut box Yew bowl Purpleheart box ..read more

A bit of fun with scraps and offcuts provided me with some xmas gifts for family. Various woods were used including beech, sycamore, holly, cherry, laburnum, and a couple of exotics ..read more

A decent if slightly dissapointing crop of tomatillos this summer has given me enough fruit for several batches of salsa verde to freeze for winter craving. Please leave a comment with your email address and I'll happily share the recipe ..read more

Having returned from a woodturning cruise in Norway at the end of August, I've been busy putting some new ideas to task. Results from the tooling is a bit unpredictable but that's part of the fun. Thanks to Nick Agar for the inspiration. Textured Yew Bowl Cherry Boxes Textured Sycamore Bowl ..read more