Boranup
Gallery

NEIL TURNER – ARTIST STATEMENT

b. 1958, Narrogin, Australia

EDUCATION
1992/94 Woodturning Workshop with Stephan Hughes Bunbury
1993 Woodturning Workshop with Vic Wood Bunbury
1999 Woodturning Workshop with John Jordan Dwellingup
2000 Woodturning Workshop with Graham Priddle Dwellingup
2000 Woodturning Workshop with Gordon Ward Dwellingup
2003 Designing Futures Workshop with Louise Hibbit, Dwellingup, Sarah Parker, Hayley Smith & Todd Hoyer
2003 Designing Futures Workshop with Stephen Hogbin Perth
2005 Creative Workshop Advanced Embellishment with Dwellingup, Monique Tippet

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1999-04 Australian Woodturning Exhibition, Nunawading, Victoria, Australia
2002-08 Out of The Woods, Claremont Showgrounds, Perth, Australia
2005 Scintillating, Armadale City Redevelopment Authority, Armadale, Western Australia.
2005/08 Collectors of Wood Art Symposium, Philadelphia
2005/08-9 Turned Wood – Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005-06 Woodworks, Meatmarket Art Centre, Melbourne, Australia
2005-2008 SOFA (Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition) Chicago, IL
2005-08 SOFA (Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition) New York, NY
2006 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 ART Scottsdale, WestWorld, Art & Antiques, Scottsdale, AZ
2006 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Sculpture 2007 – The Shape of Things, Bungendore Wood Works Gallery Bungendore, NSW, Australia
2007 Pacific Connections, Del Mano Galllery, Los Angeles, CA

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2004 Australian Wood Review, Edition 43, 44 The West Australian newspaper, December
500 Wood Bowls, Lark Books, Sterling Press, Ashville, NC
2005 “Turning Downunder”, American Woodturner Magazine, Winter

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Neil Turner works and resides on his wheat and sheep farm east of Perth in Western Australia, finding isolation that grants him the opportunity to use wood that is normally overlooked and neglected by other woodworkers. His early years were spent juggling work and family with occasional woodturning. He has been turning wood for 32 years, attending workshops whenever possible to improve his technique and sharpening his focus and skill over the past few years.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My rural environment greatly influences me, as I am able to observe the earth, wind, fire and water impact the land. 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.

What are burls?
Bulges and irregular growths that form on the trunks and roots of trees. Burls are highly sought after for the incredible veneer they yield and are used in turning as well. A swirl or twist of the grain of the wood which usually occurs near a knot, but does not contain a knot.

Sheoak
The hard wood and rich texture makes sheoak wood popular among wood-turners. Sheoak wood is also regarded as an excellent firewood as it burns with very little ash. Because of its ability to grow and develop extensive root systems in very poor or sandy soils, and to completely cover the ground with its “needles”, it is often used to stabilise soils in erosion prone areas, or on sand dunes. Sheoak is also used as an ornamental shrub, although for this purpose the mat of “needles” may become a nuisance and must be carefully considered.
Allocasuarina huegeliana, commonly known as rock sheoak or sighing sheoak, is a tree in the family Casuarinaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs throughout the Wheatbelt. It is now especially common on road verges, where it sometimes forms thickets.
Rock Sheoak was first collected on Mount Brown near York in 1840 by Johann Priess. The specific name huegeliana honours the Austrian naturalist Baron von Huegel. The common name “rock sheoak” refers to its habitat, which often contains granite rocks. The alternative common name “sighing sheoak” alludes to the sound of the wind in the foliage.

Jarrah
The jarrah is one of the many species of eucalyptus. The jarrah tree usually grows to about 40-50 meters high, with a trunk diameter of three meters. The trunk of the jarrah is long, straight, and has no branches on it.
The wood is deep red to red-brown, medium hardness and heavy, generally straight grained but sometimes contains fiddle back (also called curly) grain. Can contain pockets of dry brown sap Takes a high polish.

Indiginous Timbers
Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx)
This is a widely cultivated species across southern Australia, with plantings stretching from western Victoria across to Western Australia.
Sugar gum has pale yellow-brown heartwood that becomes a light ginger-brown when polished. The sapwood is pale and susceptible to lyctid borers. Its fine and uniform texture with interlocked grain, creates a well featured sawn timber. The wood is very hard and highly durable.
York Gum (Eucalytus loxophleba)
One of the Goldfield burrs. It has a very tight grain and fantastic figuring.
A light brown with yellow sapwood, very hard but turns beautifully.
Sandalwood (Santalum Album)
Sandalwood is much prized as a wood for carving and is used for making souvenirs and other items requiring fine workmanship.
Australia supplies most of this market at present, mainly from S. spicatum which has a low oil content and which is, therefore, less attractive as a direct source of oil.