Tom Pockley
I have been blessed by a second career as a professional wood turner which has lasted for over half the length of my first. My experience as a Chemistry teacher laid a good foundation for teaching woodturning, I enjoy teaching on a one-to-one basis [or two people if they come together] I always wanted to be a turner who teaches rather than a teacher who turns, so I spend most of my time doing production turning, and also producing one off pieces for galleries and shows, mainly with The Essex Craft Society and the Sussex Guild.
I have tried to take my influences from other crafts like pottery and glass work, from architecture and the natural world. I am also interested in including some mathematical and scientific influences, for example, my bowl based on the golden ratio, which is coloured by the reaction between tannins in sweet-chestnut and dissolved iron. In addition I have been enjoying gilding some of my work as can be seen in some of these images.
Most of my work is made of wood grown in England, though not always of native timbers. I enjoy both large-scale work and very small; my largest hollow sphere is 350mm in diameter, but I have had jobs making knitting needles 3.5mm in diameter and salt and pepper bowls and spoons. I always try to be thinking of new directions in which to develop, even if some of the new ideas are dependent on what I am already doing.
A more complete picture of my work can be seen on my website or by contacting me. I lived in Essex from 1965-2004, but have been living in a beautiful place on the edge of Romney Marsh since then. I have recently moved my workshop to a farmyard in Iden, a nearby village.
