Colin Purdy
The inherent beauty of wood with its wonderful variety of grain, bark and natural edges are the everyday inspiration for wood turner, engineer, cabinet maker and metal worker, Colin Purdy. He is a lifelong experimenter in many aspects of making. Colin chooses to let the natural wonders of wood speak for themselves. Pieces of wood with deviant tree forks and roots, which cannot be easily split, are rescued from wood piles and transformed into beautiful one- of a kind objects. In fact Colin rarely uses ‘new’ wooden blanks and has an eye for the bowl lying within an old decaying piece of wood. The wood is finished with a durable wax oil which is resistant to heat and water. It can easily be refurbished with a light rub of fine wire wool and the application of a new coat of oil. His cold worked metal pieces are made from steel offcuts using silver smithing techniques. They are plannished and polished to a durable finish.