Graeme Priddle

I have always felt a natural affinity with wood and after twelve years working as radio technician I felt the need to do something more creative with my life. Originally I was drawn towards ‘free-form’ furniture as our bush block is littered with deadfall timber, the leftovers from the Kauri logging days of the early 1900′s. In 1990, the New Zealand economy became very depressed there was a limited market for original hand-crafted furniture. Fortunately, at that time I met a group of very creative woodturners and realised that there are endless creative possibilities to lathe work.

I am mainly self taught with a lot of advice and inspiration from many other woodturners. In my first four years or so of turning the emphasis was on using very decorative timber and applying simple form so as not to overshadow the natural beauty of the timber.While this is still a dominant factor in some of my work I now spend more time on creating pieces where my design is the dominant factor and using timber and other materials sympathetic with my designs, these pieces tell stories about who I am, where I am and the things in life that I am most passionate about.

Major influences in my designs come from my natural surroundings, especially the sea and coastal environments, dreams and life experiences.

Events participated in

• 2018 Collaboration
• 2012 Collaboration
• 2010 Collaboration