What? Two months between blog posts?

Time flies - probably rather faster than I can manage to make shavings, judging by the length of time between this and the previous blog post! It's been so long, I've forgotten what I've done in the interim. I do know that today I spent a huge amount of time fiddling around with a green screen set up in my workshop. Was it worth it? Maybe not, but it was fun! And it was frustrating too...I mucked about with lights and software settings for ages and still didn't get a perfect result. However, it was just about good enough to use in my latest video - Metallic Effect Ash Bowl. I'd love to know what you think of it. This was the first time I'd used Martin Saban-Smith's Intrinsic Colours, water-based stains. I enjoyed using them and the end result was really pleasing.

I've also made a few festive tealight holders - great for table centrepieces. Similar to the ash bowl above, these were coloured with stains and metallic paints. It was fun to do something a bit smaller than my usual twelve inch platters, but I can't wait to try out some of the techniques on wide platter rims.

I also had a go at mixing up the colouring in textured pieces by using strongly contrasting colours in the textured part of a platter rim next to the surface of the rim. This came out much better than it looked like it was going to at one point! However, that's not an unusual experience with the colouring experiments I've tried - just keep going until you get what you like, as you can always sand it off and start again (the blue tealight holder is the third version!).

And the year is ending on a high with a mention in the latest Chestnut Products newsletter - with a link to my website, no less - and a set of Intrinisic Colours to try out from Martin Saban-Smith.

When I started this website in April of this year, it was mainly to support the first time I'd put my work up for sale in one of the Artist Open Houses in Brighton in May. I'm ending the year with 30+ YouTube videos (and subscribers are going up - over 700 now!), I've done a couple of club demos, and have three more lined up for next year, and I've got a notebook with a load of ideas I haven't even tried yet.

I've just signed up to Artists Open Houses for the new year - if you're a venue looking for turned wood art this May or next Christmas, please get in touch!

Have a great end to the year.