Dennis Hales

Dennis Hales works with locally grown sycamore, holly, ash and maple. The white woods offer a natural canvas on which to incorporate a wide range of finishing techniques. Turned, carved, textured surfaces finished with water soluble dyes pigments and metal leaf are used to enhance the natural features of the wood whilst achieving a sympathetic balance of form and finish. His work includes fruit displays, Sycamore bowls embellished with silver leaf and wall plates of ash and copper and is sold through galleries, exhibitions and craft society events. Dennis has recently appeared on ITV’s ‘Sixty Minute Makeover’.

Dennis is a Registered professional turner with the Worshipful Company of Turners of the City of London and a member of The Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society and the Suffolk Craft Society.

Commissioned work has included; table centre fruit dishes, gold leaf bowls, wedding anniversary wall platters and business award plates.

Visit the workshop display (by appointment) to discuss individual requirements.

Current work involved the use of archival pigment (from ink jet  industry) in conjunction with variegated gilt to produce wall plates and bowls from figured sycamore, “wet turned” holly shells with natural bark edges with air brushed exterior and foot and thick walled natural edge Ash bowls.

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Shows

Basic Techniques

Traditional turning skills are used with local grown hardwoods sycamore holly ash and maple.

The application of colour involves the use of water-soluble dyes AND pigments. Modern aniline dyes and traditional dyes such Vandyke crystals are used to give a blend of colours and shades. The dyes are applied to the work after it has been turned. I use a variety of techniques including hand painting airbrushing and marbling, which involves over washing with the dyes. The partially completed work is then returned to the timber dryer to recondition the wood to the low(9% to 12%) moisture content. This is followed by further applications of colour prior to gilding and lacquering.

Gilding

After the pieces are decorated and lacquered (using a pre-cat lacquer as used by cabinet makers) the work is gilded using metal leaf transfers 24 carat gold, copper, double weight silver leaf, variegated leaf and imitation gold.

To achieve the broken affect the metal is lifted using the transfer paper and wooden scribes. The amount of texture is determined by the timing of the drying process as the size acts as a lubricant, which allows movement of the leaf. The piece is replaced in the dryer to harden before being returned to the lathe .At this stage a fine scribe is used to engrave/ machine the leaf surface and cut back to the coloured background. The piece then receives a further two coats of lacquer which encapsulate the leaf to minimise any risk of tarnishing.

“Wet Turning”   Holly Bowls

The wood is turned part seasoned and decorated on the lathe, and then allowed to dry. As the wood dry it shrinks across the grain which tends to accentuate elliptical forms such as Natural edge bowls and introduces movement in to larger platters, (not dissimilar to high fired ceramics). Providing the thin profile is constant there is no risk of cracking.

After drying including conditioning in the timber dryer (dehumidifier drying by transpiration) work is hand finished on the bench due to the excessive movement.

Dennis Hales