TOM CONATY
Tom takes pride in all of his work.
His love of wood is obvious when you see the finished pieces.
Originally trained as a carpenter, he has found an outlet for his
artistic talent in woodturning. It is fascinating to watch him study
the wood, often for weeks, before finally deciding what it will be.
It is a very lengthy process,as the
wood has to dry before finishing.
It takes about 18 months from
rough turning to finished piece.
Some turners use chemical methods
for drying the wood.
This is not the case for Tom. The rough
turned pieces
are air dried in a controlled area.
He uses only food safe oils for polishing.
He enjoys all aspects of turning,
from selecting the wood to final buffing.
It is incredible
how he sees the potential in an ordinary block of rough wood.
He is a menber of the Woodturners Guild of Ontario, the
Simcoe Woodturners Guild and a former member of the American Association of Woodturners.
He is a member of the Brampton Arts Council.
His
work is available at the Rosseau Farmers Market on Friday's
durng the summer months.
He is on many studio
tours including the Image's studio tour at Thanksgiving,
Hills of Erin studio tour,Midhurst studio tour, Art in the
Park in Oakville,
also the Innisfil studio tour.
Many of Tom's creations have travelled around the
world,
from Europe to Japan and Australia.
He uses mostly local sources for wood,
but has aquired some from
Africa and South and central America.
The hunt for wood is sometimes as exciting as actually
turning.
He
has made many friends in his search for the right piece of wood.
Give him a call or send him an email, he would love to share his love
of wood with you.
