Arnold Veen

It has been another busy year and Arnold has been working hard on some fascinating woods obtained from Ontario's majestic forests. Burls have been sourced locally from the Simcoe County region while others were obtained from northern Ontario or the Carolinian forests in southern Ontario.

 

Burls, a rarity, are the most challenging and exciting pieces to work on but are also the most rewarding. This year's find, some enormous silver maple burls, are the best seen in a long time. During the winter months, there were numerous road trips to loggers throughout Ontario in search of black walnut, ash, black cherry, ambrosia maple, and red elm logs.

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Arnold is also a proud provincial "Ontario Wood" program member and has won multiple awards for his work. He carefully and selectively looks for woods with inner beauty and diverse grain patterns, prospecting for hidden treasures. Natural edge creations are sought after and collected for their rustic and irregular appearance. Clean-edged wood turnings are also made in the traditional form. No matter your style choice, each will show the extraordinary features attributed to the various species available in Ontario.

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Each wood turning begins from green wet wood, is hollowed into a rough form, and left to air dry for up to one year depending on the species. When this form dries and stabilizes, Arnold reworks and fine-tunes the shape of the bowl into a unique and creative work of art. Lastly, a food-safe finish is applied, making the items functional and/or decorative.

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Arnold's home studio is located at 16 Wells Crescent in Barrie and is available by appointment.