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Wood Turner
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	Born in the east of London on the edge of Epping Forest and now lives in Kirby-Le-Soken a small village on the North East Coast of Essex. On leaving school I studied horticulture for six years, after completing my apprenticeship I left London and worked on a hill farm on Exmoor as a shepherd. This was where I first started working with wood making farm gates and sheep hurdles, felling the trees, milling the lumber, cutting to size and jointing with very basic tools where the round dowels were whittled with a knife. I moved back to Essex when I married Christine and worked for The General Post Office, now British Telecom for twenty eight years until I excepted redundancy in 1992. I first started turning whilst making wooden toys for my children thirty odd years ago, and have now progressed from making wheels to natural edged bowls, hollow forms and pomanders using jigs designed by myself. I am a committee member of the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain, and included on the register of Professional Woodturners with the Worshipful Company of Turners. I am an active member of my local branch of the AWGB and has demonstrated at their one day seminars. I also demonstrates regularly at Woodturning centres and Craft Fairs. In 1997 I received second prize at the Woodturning Show N E C for a pair of spiraled offset goblets. In 1998 I received a First place and Gold medal for a Table clock at The Worshipful Company of Turners Competition also a First place in the set piece competition which was a set of three Goblets. In 2004 I was awarded a third prize at the Irish Seminar a second prize at the International Woodworking and Turning Exhibition held at Stoneleigh Park and a Special Award at the Axminster Woodturning and Tool Show. I have also appeared on the BBC television programme Flog It, showing how to turn new spindles for antique chairs, also the turning of finials and draw pulls.
	In recent years I have been turning more Platters, Bowls and Hollow forms so that Christine could apply artwork to the surface of the turned objects. Christine was born in Loughton in Essex in 1946 and attended the local Secondary School. When she left school she went to Walthamstow Technical College to study Art and Design. After leaving college she worked in a drawing office for British Rail as a Tracer and then for the Bank of England. In 1968 we married , and had three children, since they have grown up she has enjoyed taking up art again and is interested in pen and ink drawing, painting, carving and Pyrography. Since I took up Woodturning she has become interested in applying artwork on wood, and very much enjoys working on the hollow vessels I make for her. The work that she is doing at the moment is based on an African theme; some of them are decorated with patterns and others with animals such as elephants, giraffes or lions.

A couple of recent examples of Tony's craft.

email your enquiries to me at: tony@awitham.freeserve.co.uk

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