Archive for carving

Peter Martin – Soapstone Sculpture

By Station Gallery
 on July 25, 2017
 with no comments

Peter Martin has been fascinated with the beauty of stone since he was a child who was constantly bringing home rocks of all shapes, sizes and colours and decorating his bedroom with these treasures.

Since retiring 10 years ago he became serious about creating interesting and beautiful sculptures from soapstone and alabaster, which are his stones of choice.

When creating a piece he seeks to use shapes and colours that will  be true to the subject he is working on but occasionally he will push the boundaries and use different colour of stone that will catch the eye and highlight the beauty of each part of the sculpture.

Peter hopes you will also see the beauty of stone as he does.

Peter will next be in the gallery on August 12th.

In categories Artists, carving with no comments

Pat Orton’s time in the Fenelon Station Gallery

By Station Gallery
 on August 16, 2016
 with no comments

The May long weekend was my first experience working at the gallery, and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed meeting the patrons coming through, giving them the tour, and learning how to process sales. Maude Skoog was a great teacher!

Bill Dopson taught me the fine art of doing demonstration work for the public at the gallery. I was left on my own on Victoria Day Monday, and it was an important new experience for me. The gallery is a class-act art store, and I’m honoured to be working with these quality artists.

At the end of May, I had to get ready for a big show at Burl’s Creek, which was a success on the first weekend of June. Many of my repeat customers first met me at Burl’s Creek, where they were surprised to see fine art in an automotive show.

I’m preparing now for the Coldwater Studio Tour on June 25 and 26. This will be my second year in the Coldwater tour. I’m also getting excited to show my work at Rosseau Market every Friday, starting July 1. But first, I’m really happy to be back at the Station Gallery again on the 20th August. See you soon!

 

In categories Artists, carving with no comments

Morris Young – Wood Turner? Or not.

By Station Gallery
 on July 1, 2016
 with no comments

As a wood turner I am always in search of unique wood to turn and in my last blog I spoke about where I get some of my wood.  As an artist I’m always exploring different materials to turn to able to create something special and unique. I will touch on four of these materials.

The banksia nut or pod comes from Australia’s Bull Banksia tree.  The pods are considered the fruit remains of the flower head.  Once the nut has been dried it becomes very hard or woody.  Banksia nuts range from 4-16 inches long.  I use banksia nuts to create unique vases, small dishes, balls, furit and  lidded boxes.  Turning the nut is somewhat messy.  The nut is very hard and does not turn or carve like wood (shaving) but rather more like scraping which becomes vey dusty.  Tools need to be sharpened often and I wear a mask to save my lungs.  Sanding and finishing is a much easier process.

Tagua nuts are the seed of the ivory palm tree found in South America.  For many decades, tagua has been used as a substitute for elephant ivory and is sometimes known as vegetable ivory.  The nuts are about the size of a chestnut and provide challenges turning vases and lidded boxes. The challenge is that in its inner core, the tagua has voids.  Once I have the nut attached to my lathe, which can be a little tricky, I turn the outside profile.  Sometimes I cut into a void and I need to reconsider what I am doing or it goes to the burn bucket. Unlike the hard, dusty banksia nut, turning tagua nuts is a pleasure.  My chisels carve thin white shavings which seem to go on forever.

Antlers from deer and moose that have been found on the forest floor are used to make pens, vases and small dishes. Like the banksia nut, antlers are very hard and I need to sharpen my tools often. There is minimal dust but when turning, you may think you’re in an abattoir due to the odor from cutting into the antler.

I have turned acrylic to make pens which I found out quickly is not my favourite material. Basically it stinks. Turning it is somewhat ok but sanding it smells like burning plastic. Sanding acrylic you need to use 1000 – 1500 grit to have a good finish as with wood you may need 400 – 600 grit to have a decent finish.


So I guess you should be calling me a Turner rather than a Wood Turner …..or not.

In categories Artists, carving, wood turning Tagged with , , , , , with no comments

Happy to be Back – Peter Martin

By Station Gallery
 on June 25, 2015
 with no comments

I am very happy and excited to be returning to the Station Gallery after a two year absence during which time I did go on tour with the Victoria County Studio group. This time away allowed me to experiment a bit with the overall style of my work and to develop my skills working with some new varieties of stone.

I have also been active teaching adults and children in a course I developed titled “Soapstone Carving for beginners”.
These programs were and continue to be offered at a local community centre in Oshawa and also at the Dark Horse Studio Gallery in Sunderland which is owned and operated by my friend Lianne Megarry.

This year I look forward to exhibiting and also demonstrating how to carve at the Gallery, and of course re-connecting with former friends and colleagues from years past !

Peter’s next shift at the gallery to talk about soap stone carving is

In categories Artists, carving with no comments

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