“Thinking Outside the Circle,” turned wood by Ed Pretty.

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"Into the Wind"

Ed Pretty, "Into the Wind," wood.

Circle Craft Co-operative is pleased to present “Thinking Outside the Circle,” turned wood by Ed Pretty, in their gallery located in the Net Loft on Granville Island, November 2 – December 4, 2012.

Ed Pretty’s work is turned on a lathe, which makes wood round. He says, “My intention is to use various methods to make things not round, use portions of circles in deconstructed and reconstructed pieces ... and also, some round pieces” … Thus, “Thinking Outside the Circle.”

Pretty turns pieces that are intended to please the eye as opposed to being functional. “For me, the turned form is more a starting point than a finished piece,” says Pretty, and adds, “My work at times uses multiple centres. For example a table leg uses one set of centres while “Lau Chuang” (photo to the left) used three sets of centres.”

“Other pieces I have completed have been cut into pieces or produced using a "lost wood" method, then reconstructed as pieces that most would not recognize as being made on a lathe.”

Woodturning became a part of Pretty’s skill set at the age of nine when his father gave him his first instruction in the craft. Since that time, he has been drawn to turned objects as a way of showing off those qualities that make wood such an attractive medium. “I have found that woodturnings tend to be very tactile: people enjoy their appearance, but more often than not want to hold or – more accurately – fondle turned objects to experience the feel of their surface and form,” says Pretty.

In his shop in Langley, BC, Pretty enjoys working almost exclusively with local wood. “In addition to taking advantage of the exciting grain patterns in figured wood, I more often than not will colour the wood using dyes, or texture the surface in some way,” he says.

Ed Pretty is a member of Circle Craft Cooperative. For more information about Pretty, visit: http://www.edswoodturning.com/