Andy's Custom Craft

Custom Is My Middle Name

 

I have been turning wood since 1992.  For me, woodturning is to enhance the beauty of the nature.  However, as pretty as most wood, stunning beauty such as that in a burl is hard to come by.  In addition, when one hollows out a burl, >95% of the natural beauty ends up in the trash as shavings or dust.  Therefore, my preferred style of turning is segmented in which I cut wood into small pieces and glue them together to a rough form. 

 

When I turn this rough form into the final shape, minimal amount of wood is removed, thus preserving a lot of nature’s creation.  In addition, I mix wood from different species of trees with distinct colors to create attractive patterns so that I do not have to totally rely upon the nature for the beauty.  One more way to enhance the natural beauty of the wood is through pyrograhy – burning the wood, which I enjoy doing. 

 

I also like to explore alternative turning materials, the favorite one being Corian®.  One can create beautiful patterns in turnings with Corian and a great advantage of Corian® over wood is that it is stable and will not shrink or expand with ambient moisture.  Corian® is also amenable to inlaying and I can use my Corian® turning as a canvas on which to put my artistic creation.

 

ANDY CHEN