Robin is a turner and lives in a small village in northern Portugal. He has also been heavily involved with humanitarian work around the world since 1994.
Many years ago – when I was twelve if I remember correctly, my English teacher told me with a weary shake of the head and a skyward roll of the eyes that I was a dilettante. From his tone of voice and his expression, I suspected that this was not a good thing to be – but I have three confessions to make.
The first is that I rather liked the sound of the word dilettante – and therefore rather wanted to be one.
The second is that even after I had looked it up in my dictionary, it took me a while to realise that this was not meant as a compliment.
The third is that he was probably right – or partially so. Even at twelve, far too many things I stumbled across intrigued me. Many of them were far too esoteric for the rather blinkered private school system that was to provide my education. I say partially correct, as I have always been interested in everything around me and always wanted to learn more. I still have a feeling that I will never have enough time to enjoy and experience all these things – so, inevitably, I am “Jack of all trades, master of none”, although I try very hard to master all I do.
Thus, my life has been rather like looking at an alpine meadow – a lot of climbing up very steep hills and with pauses at the most beautiful points to take in the wonderful colours, shapes and forms that life can provide if you are prepared to look with eyes wide open.
Co-author and photographer for the first book on mosses, lichens and liverworts in North America
I am a biologist and have spent half my life in mainstream conservation, mostly in the UK and Canada. It was during this time that my interest in the textures and forms in nature began to intrigue me – and this eventually led to my first book Mosses Lichens and Ferns of Northwest North America, which has recently been reprinted.
It was my fascination with the colour, shape, form and texture of lichens – which was patiently explained during botanical trips in central Wales with Ray Woods – that led me to start taking photographs of lichens and happily evolved into an exhibition of my photographs Cryptogams at the Royal Alberta Museum in conjunction with the Ringhouse Gallery at the University of Alberta
This appreciation in the beauty of natural design has led to my starting to turn wood. How better to show the beauty of a piece of wood and its hidden textures and shapes, than to turn the piece of wood and uncover all the beauty of the grain and colours?
In 1994 I was selected to train as a Red Cross international delegate and after that worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross in many countries – Afghanistan, Kosovo, Darfur, Indonesia and East Timor – and with the Red Cross movement in Mozambique, where I came face to face with woodturning. Thanks to the support of my wife, Hjördis, who supported me while I taught myself how to turn a piece of wood, I progressed and have now had exhibitions in Mozambique, South Africa and in Iceland.
My latest adventure is a woodturning studio that we have just built in northern Portugal – where we now live.
This blog is about setting up the studio – and my experiences in turning wood, which I hope to be doing much more very soon. My work is available for sale at Gallery Covas.
In the meantime, I am still working in the humanitarian field and expect to continue doing so for a while – albeit on a rather more temporary basis. I am just back from Darfur in Sudan, where I worked for two years with the Danish Refugee Council and will be here in Portugal for a while now. You can find links to my humanitarian work in the sidebar.
