Maker of the Week - Steven Kennard - News

Turning and carving has been an important part of Steven's work since the mid 70s when he started working as a furniture maker. He has worked in the UK, France and Canada and has been selected for numerous awards.

Steven says that the woodturner artist's path of experimentation and learning is one of continuous discovery: "We develop and perfect our own skills and explore techniques and methods that work well for each of us. We find tools we like to work with and works we like to produce. We also gravitate towards specific materials that we find sympathetic in helping us each to achieve our goals in the different things we make. We grow into a unique and intensely personal relationship with our work. Because I work alone, as most artists do, certain introspective aspects of my voyage can only be communicated to another person through the medium of the work itself. It is a real inspiration to be able to watch the reactions and emotions evoked when someone sees a piece of my work. Whether the viewer is intrigued, is moved to laughter or to meditation, this gives me enormous satisfaction and the motivation to keep exploring and moving on."�

Steven has been working with box forms for many years, not exclusively, but he finds himself always returning down that path, drawn to the mystery inherent in them. He constantly searches for the perfect form, proportions and materials with which to create each piece: "This makes the creative voyage one without an end, as each achievement draws me to the next. The encouraging aspect - the growth - means that I can look back at my earliest work from time to time, seeing in those designs the seeds of the present ones."

CONTACT DETAILS:

Email: steven@stevenkennard.com

Website

Images, from top to bottom:

1. 'Tread Softly' box, 75mm (3in) diameter x 65mm (2 1/2in), blackwood, cocobolo and boxwood

2. 'Lacy Sputnic' box, 75mm (3in) diameter x 75mm (3in) high, African blackwood and cocobolo

3. 'Maypole' and 'Spiderman' boxes, 95mm (3 3/4in) diameter x 110mm (4 1/4in) high (each), maypole: African blackwood and cocobolo; Spiderman: African blackwood and boxwood

4. 'Dilemma' box, 90mm (3 1/2in) diameter x 150mm (6in) high, African blackwood and tulipwood

5. 'Hat in a Box', 100 x 100 x 125mm (4 x 4 x 5in) high, African blackwood, snakewood and stainless steel

6. 'Lost Orchard', 90mm (3 1/2in) diameter x 75mm (3in) high, African blackwood, Cbocobolo and thuya root burl

7. 'Tower II' 85mm (3 1/4in) diameter x 150mm (6in) high, African blackwood, cocobolo and thuya root burl (PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN KENNARD)

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