Monday 2 April 2012

I have applied for a grant from Enterprise nation. I am looking for 500 votes to gain £500 to upgrade my equipment in order to go full time pro and apply for the Registry of Professional Turners. I'd be grateful if you could log in and vote for me here.
http://www.enterprisenation.com/funding-applications/bodrighy-wood/

Thank you

Sunday 1 April 2012



Sorry for the missed couple of days (just in case anyone does actually read this and noticed) but my connection is erratic to say the least and some evenings it is bedtime before the image has managed to upload. This is the last of the bowls so as someone said. "Now for something completely different.
 
Sometimes a bowl can be something completely off the wall like this one. Made from goodness knows what wood I couldn't resist trying to make something from it though the original piece of wood was really scrap firewood. Glad I persevered though. I is approx 9" total width with the bowl about 5 " diameter. Again it is practical but also highly decorative.
Next week I'll have a look at some other types of turning. Not sure if anyone is actually folowing me as I seem to get few comments. Thanks to the ones who have.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Sorry about the size of the photo last night (if anyone is following that is LOL) Blowed if I can see how to edit a post. Nothing seems to give me that option so you'll have to forgive me if I get something wrong.
OK where was I? Oh yes bowls. Bowls are so ordinary much of the time and when I visit craft fairs and see the ones other turners have on their stalls I wonder if any of them do anything different. Quality is usually excellent don't get me wrong but the variety of shapes and sizes is so limited and it's unnecessary./ there are so many different w\y to design a bowl and so many lovely woods to choose from in this country without buying expensive blanks and turning the same sort of thing out ad nauseum. All sounds a bit critical I know but I truly don't understand why so many turners stick to the same designs basically. Experiment people, try something different !!!!!!
 This is 22" diameter made from macrocarpa or Monterrey pine. Lovely centre piece for a table. The scale can be seen from the bananas on it. beautiful grain and a real conversation piece.

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Sometimes the wood dictates the shape of the bowl. This one is approx 10" diameter and is of a beautiful spalted beech. Spalting takes place when wood is attacked by a fungus and can rot the wood if left too long. The marks left can be varied depending on the wood, the fungus and also on the general conditions. This bowl needed no decoration and to be a simple style leaving it purely natural to show off mother nature's own artistic talents.
 
Tonights offering.
A small, 7" diameter, oak bowl with a rim inlaid with semi precious stones.  Lovely, unusual example of yet another way in which bowls can be far from boring.

Sunday 25 March 2012

Good evening all you people who are brave enough, or bored enough to peruse my daily offering.  Tonight we show that a bowl can be decorative, functional  and a  different shape. This little bowl (approx 7" diameter) is made of oak and has a decorated,textured rim. A lovely little bowl for a dressing table or side able. Ideal for those little bits and pieces that everyone seems to collect.

Saturday 24 March 2012

 
This square bowl is made from walnut and poplar. The blank is shaped and cleaned up along all four sides after being laminated together then turned to a decent thickness, approx 8mm thick on the wings. This is a lovely example of a bowl that is perhaps different. Common to woodturners but not perhaps to others who don't see this type of bowl very often.

Friday 23 March 2012

Good evening to anyone who may be reading this. Bow No3 is a spalted beech bowl with an intricate pyrographed
Celtic design around the rim. This is a heavyweight bowl and measures 11" across. A lovely decorative or practical piece. Pyrography is very time consuming and costing a piece like this is always difficult. If I put a price that was reflective of the time taken to do the artwork I suspect I would never sell it. Please note that some of the bowls I am showing here are in my shop at Art Fire but not all as I am trying to show hat a bowl is not just a round wooden thing for filling with fruit but can be an object of beauty in it's own right so some of the bowls are ones that have already been sold.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Good evening anyone who is watching. Tonight's offering is a bowl made from walnut and poplar. I get most of my raw material from various sources including a furniture factory and though I am not personally into segmented work I have made several of these pieces from offcuts that I put together./ This one is 10" diameter and finished with micro crystalline polish.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Blogging is hard

I need to find a way to make this interesting, nee fascinating so many hundreds become avid followers and totally enamored with my work. Any suggestions LOL. Being male and of a slightly older persuasion well into my 2nd childhood I suspect my approach to life is extremely dated not to say at times juvenile. I love my work and am proud of the things that I produce but need to sell in order to continue to eat and have a roof over my head and so need to perhaps adapt my approach to promotion. This will involve ceasing to bury my head in the sand (descended from a long line of ostriches) and actually endeavour to sell my work. With this in mind here is bowl No2

This is an unknown wood and is 15" diameter. Solid, beautiful and practical.

OK here goes.

I am going to endeavour to resurrect my blog. I am lousy at keeping it going and as I have to run it through my mobile it can be a pain trying to upload photos but I will try.
Most of the things I make are made from wood that I source myself and are one of a kind. I have a wide selection oif bowls for examples that are all individual and dfinitely not your run of the mill wooden bowls. I will try and run a sequence of them for the next week.
First one:This bowl is 10" and made of yew. Lovely character and practical size. Finished with a wax polish that is easily maintained it is perfect as a decorative and ornamental addition to any decor.