Mike O'Leary woodturning

05/08/2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfkSG40rDVo

Mike has been making these ornaments and you now find them in different parts of the globe.

01/24/2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ7hYsKdOjk

Brent Comber artist talk and reception at Jennifer Kostuik Gallery. February 9th, 2012 For more information on Brent Comber, please visit www.kostuikgallery....

07/07/2014

Extraordinary...

05/04/2014

Tomorrow at the Kariton Gallery is a combined show I will be putting 3 pieces in… lots of good turners.. paintings and I believe it runs for a month ….. from 12 to 4 tomorrow is the opening … hope to see you there.
Mike O'Leary.

04/23/2014

Thanks to Michael Hamilton Clarke who took this video and in compiling a group video of the turners involved in the Kariton Gallery show in May. This was taken at Bow River hardwoods and they allowed me to use their American Beauty lathe.. many thanks to Daniel and Yvonne… These are not finished pieces but blank canvases to start carving and colouring on, my lathe will not turn this large. Turning large has been an interest of mine for many years, its just hard to find a lathe that will go this big or even bigger…

02/03/2014

This is a present I made for my daughter for Christmas, not sure why but when I posted this it turned the platter slightly the blue is actually the top. It is burl maple, airbrushed with dyes and then just a touch of acrylic hand painted. ( the white in the darker area) The blue section is actually the top. This is about 24 to 26 " across and a wall mount piece.

11/10/2013

The elf is in the shop.. if you would like any turnings for Christmas let me know NOW.. LOL.. there is only one elf in this shop... BUsy busy busy....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12/13/2012

12/13/2012

Somebody asked me for more detail regarding my banner piece. I did not realize that I do not have a full shot of this. There is a bit of a story behind this one. Originally I had two 18" rounds, that were bookmatched. ( that is to say they were cut from the same log side by side" they are walnut. I had thought that I would do two pieces that would hang side by side... they would have the same grain.. or "twins" ... during the construction one of them cracked. They sat around for several weeks while I wondered how to save these wonderful pieces of walnut. Sometimes the greatest things come out of necessity... so what I ended up doing was cutting up the one that cracked and overlaying it on the other... and if you look closely you can see the grain is lined up. It was one of those pieces that no matter how well I planned it... the wood spoke and I had to listen.... enjoy.

12/07/2012

I have the beard, I almost have the white hair... and the workshop certainly is busy this time of year..... 18 days to go... I could use a few elves if there any unemployed?

12/05/2012

Paint it black they used to say, meaning driving at night it would hide you...... I like the idea of the black, and it is striking with the Padauk accents. The carving or texturing was done with a rotary carver.

11/03/2012

If you get a chance in the next month, head down to Granville Island and check out Ed Pretty's show at Circle Craft in the Net Loft.
http://circlecraft.net/node/3476

Ed Pretty's work is turned on a lathe, which makes wood round. He says, "My intention is to use various methods to make things not round, use portions of circles in deconstructed and reconstructed pieces ... and also, some round pieces" ... Thus, "Thinking Outside the Circle."Pretty turns pieces tha...