Tags: The Bribie and District Woodcrafters Association. Wood Turners. Carvers.
FROM COPPER TO CARVER
The Bribie and District Woodcrafters Association was the venue for a demonstration by none other than world-renowned wood turner Terry Martin and his associate Zina Burloiu recently and a large number of woodworking enthusiasts who attended were treated to some amazing examples of the pair’s skill when it comes to creating something beautiful from what began as a block of wood.
Featured image(above): Terry Martin gave woodworking enthusiasts some tips on how he does such beautiful work
Terry, who has called Brisbane home since he moved there from Adelaide in 1988, told me that whilst he has been interested in woodworking from when he was at school, he started his working life in 1964 as a Melbourne policeman. He said that he went from that to working in the theatre industry.
‘I worked as a lighting technician and also a stage manager in places all over the world,’ said Terry. ‘In 1982, I was asked to establish a school to train theatre technicians in Adelaide and in the building that we used as a scenery shop, there was an old lathe which nobody knew how to operate.
Zina Burloiu adds a new dimension to Terry’s works
I did a TAFE course one weekend where I learned to work it and during the course, I made an egg cup and a rolling pin. Every night after everyone had left, I indulged my passion for woodworking with that lathe,’ he explained. This dedicated craftsman who I would describe as an absolute master, recalled that by the late 1980’s he was getting tired of working hard for the satisfaction of everyone else and when his wife accepted a position at the University of Queensland, he decided that the move would be the catalyst for him to become a professional wood carver.
This decision was very obviously the correct one and from that time, Terry and his skills have become known throughout the world and he commented that to date he has written over three hundred articles in magazines from twelve countries. Surprise, surprise, Terry is also fluent in five languages as well as having some knowledge of three more. From when he embarked on his journey into the wonderful world of wood, Terry has held 130 exhibitions of his works in countries all over the world and he pointed out that he also gives demonstrations and curates exhibitions as a way of supplementing his income.
‘I haven’t even been able to achieve the earnings of a plumber yet,’ he quipped. Whilst anyone who has seen the results of Terry’s skill with the lathe would have to agree that the pieces that he produces are nothing less than awesome, they would also have to admit that after the added decorations that are done by Zina Burloiu, the pieces can best be described as exquisite works of art.
Terry first became acquainted with the Romanian woodcarver, sculptor and lecturer at an overseas convention some time ago and since then the pair has collaborated not only to attend demonstrations and displays across the globe but also to give the results of Terry’s craftsmanship a new look. Once Terry has turned his blocks of timber into objects of handmade excellence, he sends them all the way to Romania where Zina adds her designs to them. A qualified engineer, Zina told me that she began working with wood in 1990 and that this is actually a family tradition.
‘In my designs, I try to bring what is a very old craft into the twenty-first century,’ said Zina. ‘As well as creating these designs on Terry’s work, I am also a sculptor and, as an engineer, I am able to manufacture my own tools,’ she told me. Now on her second trip to the land down under, Zina will return to Romania at the end of May.
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