Artistry in Wood reviews

22 Jun 19'

Simon Crozier reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Having recently retired I finally have time to pursue wood turning as a hobby. I found George Foweraker's website 'Artistry in Wood' advertised in the Wood Turning magazine and decided to book a 2 day course before choosing a lathe. I am so glad I did that! George was able to advise me on best choice of lathe and also recommend some turning and sharpening tools. The 2 day course is good value as it gives enough time to cover lots of essential information and to allow me to actually try some bowl turning under George's expert tuition and watchful eye. I learnt a great deal and found both George and his wife Sue were excellent hosts with plenty of tea / coffee breaks and lunch was provided! I came way with 3 lovely bowls (impossible without George's knowledge guidance) and great deal of useful information not least of the safe use of the lathe and the tools, but also sanding and finishing which is so important to achieve a good result. I now feel confident enough to get a lathe and begin to practice and hopefully master the art of wood turning. I would thoroughly recommend George's course to anyone thinking of taking up the hobby. Thanks again George and Sue. All the best and hope to see you both again before too long."

16 Jun 19'

Maggie Burrows reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Just wanted to say thank you so very much for making us feel so welcome at your lovely home on Thursday. Meriel and I had a fantastic day and we were so pleased with our bowls. As you know I was feeling very nervous but I really needn't have, because you were so good at explaining everything and very patient and supportive."

12 Jun 19'

Les Gale reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Thank you George for an interesting experience day and also to Sue for providing the food and drink throughout the day, also many thanks for picking me up from the campsite. After the necessary health and safety instruction you gave enough theory and demonstrated the techniques at each stage of producing a bowl. After practice, and your patience, my holding of the wood gouge was then removing wood successfully. By the end of the day I had produced a bowl that I and my wife are very pleased with, the addition of the texture and colour as well as the shape make it a nice feature piece. Thanks again for an inspiring and interesting day."

4 Jun 19'

Clive freeman reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I very much enjoyed my one-day woodturning course with George Foweraker. The day was well structured, and by the end of it I had a beautiful finished wooden bowl to show for it, all my own work - under George's watchful eye and guiding hand. George started with a little introduction to wood itself, which showed where the different possible "blanks" for a bowl might come from in a tree trunk, and the challenges and possibilities with each position. Then I was introduced to my selected piece of wood, and we started setting it up on the lathe. As we worked together through the various different tools, George introduced each one, and showed me how to use it. His years of experience and patience came through, and I felt very comfortable taking up the tools. Once I'd started using each of them myself, he was on hand to guide and instruct as appropriate. All in all, I finished the day with a full day of hands-on experience, and a beautiful bowl. A great day's work! Thanks again - and to your lovely wife for the lunch."

28 May 19'

Nigel and Brenda Clews reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Our great day with George started 6 months earlier when Brenda, my wife picked up a chisel for the first time and tried carving at a Maori settlement in New Zealand. Building on the rewarding sense of working with wood, I booked us in with George for a day of wood turning tuition as her Christmas present in 2018. Total novices to wood turning, we arrived in Burnham on Sea on a sunny bank holiday Saturday to spend the day acquiring some new skills. George is an accomplished teacher, generous with his praise and passionate about his subject. You learn about woods, grains, tools and lathes and importantly progress at your own pace - with George helping and keeping a watchful eye on progress. We finished with 2 very different bowls turned in sycamore, one a traditional bowl emphasising the natural grain and features of the wood, the other a shallow bowl with a lacquered paint finish. Both are a good size and now on display in our house. Throughout the day, Sue, George's wife kept us refreshed with drinks and lunch, all taken away from lathes in their beautiful and mature garden. The experience was good value for money and great fun. We will be coming back to try our hands at turning again."

22 May 19'

Jamie Mould reviewed: Wood turning courses

"After mentioning to my wife I’d like to try woodturning, she very kindly gave me a birthday present of a day’s experience with George. She couldn’t have chosen better. My day with George started with a cup of tea (made by the delightful Sue), a nice chat and then straight into the workshop. George is a very patient, informative and knowledgeable teacher. He takes you through step by step of what is required to turn your first bowl and by the end of the day (after more tea and a delicious lunch) you walk away with a bowl that looks very professionally turned. As a consequence of this day’s experience I am now a proud owner of my own lathe and spend rather a lot of time in my shed now!!!"

4 May 19'

Danny Grub reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I just wanted to say how grateful I am to George and his wife Sue for making today's woodturning session a very enjoyable one. George was very informative and broke down each stage making it easy to take in everything I needed to know in turning my first bowl. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking to pursue woodturning as a hobby or to a more advanced level."

26 Apr 19'

Paul Wood reviewed: Wood turning courses

"The day I had with George was very informative . George is a good teacher and made the day very enjoyable. I was very pleased with bowl I made and well looked after with lunch tea and coffee. Thanks again Paul Wood."

23 Apr 19'

Unsal Hassan reviewed: Wood turning courses

"This was a one day course that my wife bought for me as a present. I have been on woodturning courses before and do bowl turning at home but haven’t done any for the last 18 months. There was another person on the course and he was new to woodturning. George covered the basics of woodturning and bowl turning in particular. George is a very able teacher and was more than capable in managing one that was a novice to woodturning and another that had some experience. He was a great help to us both. I was able to refresh the techniques that I already knew but were a bit rusty, improved on some with George's help and learnt some new ones that will improve my woodturning considerably. We both ended the day with a finished bowl pleased with what we had achieved."

20 Apr 19'

Nick Alexander reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Dear George. Thanks very much for your and your wife's hospitality yesterday. The course was very informative, and as an absolute beginner at wood turning it was a real pleasure to create a beautiful finished bowl - which has been much admired by friends and neighbours, and most importantly, my wife! I am sure that you are correct to keep the numbers of students to a minimum. The constant flow of information and advice , and of course the demonstrations and " hands on" practical work, is much better when you provide virtually individual attention. Nick."

15 Apr 19'

Mark Stanton reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I signed up for the day's introduction as a way of getting to know about wood turning. I have shown an interest in this skill and was thinking of learning more before taking the plunge and buying any equipment. I found that the day was very informative with skill and knowledge being shared. There was extensive care and support given through out the day with openness to help with all procedures. I was also given the offer of after care and support if I needed it. I had a great time with and learnt lots to take away. Oh and I also made a bowl :) Great day, highly recommended if you want to learn or just go for the experience"

21 Feb 19'

Steven reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Thanks for a really great day and lovely refreshments. It was a fun learning experience and I came away with a fantastic wooden bowl and for my first attempt I couldn't have done it without your help!"

18 Feb 19'

Matt Agget reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I spent the day learning about wood turning with George, having not used a lathe since I was in school. George was a great teacher and had a good balance between him showing and us doing, and the end result was something we could be proud of. I'd definitely do it again to learn some different techniques or take someone along with me.""

17 Feb 19'

Chris and Cathy reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Many, many thanks George and Sue for an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable day last Friday. Apart from learning the basics of turning, we actually produced a bowl and got to take it home! Thank you for your patience and expertise and we both hope to come to Burnham for another hands on tuition day. The supply of tea, biscuits, soup and a Daphne cutting was very welcome and please pass on our thanks to Susan. The best part of the day for me was to see a bowl develop and emerge from the sycamore blank you provided and thank you for your input of the coloured rim. Cathy has taken hers to Devon this weekend to show her Mum! You have sown the seed of woodturning and next time we come over the bridge, I hope we can bring something we have made in Wales!"

11 Feb 19'

Clive hooper reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Many thanks to George and Sue for a very enjoyable day in Burnham introducing me to woodturning. Whilst clearly I have a long way to go George's thorough introduction to the nature of wood, the equipment and techniques combined with patience and an obvious enthusiasm for the craft enabled me to come away with a bowl I was pleased with and my wife even said she wouldn't mind having on the sideboard!"

7 Feb 19'

Richard reviewed: Wood turning courses

"A Christmas present from my wife this was a skill which I had always wanted to try .My son and I had a great experience under the guidance of George,he made us both feel at ease. Great hospitality from his wife Sue .I would highly recommend the course for anyone who would like to explore wood turning. The sycamore bowl now has pride of place in my home."

29 Jan 19'

Nick Oke reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Just had a fantastic day with George at Artistry In Wood. He has so much knowledge and experience that he passed on to me as a student. I couldn't believe the standard of the bowl I was able to turn under his tuition. I'd recommend him to anyone, young or old, experienced or novice. Nick.""

20 Jan 19'

Reg Day reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I had my first wood turning lesson with George today , given to me as a gift for Christmas. George is a great teacher with much patience for a novice like me. His guidance and useful information for learning to turn made the experience fun , interesting and easy to pick up as a beginner. George is good company, and I enjoyed the lovely lunch made by sue , his wife. I was very pleased to make and finish a lovely bowl to take home. I highly recommend George's lessons . Thank you both for a great day."

6 Jan 19'

Mike and Caroline Bews reviewed: Wood turning courses

"My wife bought me a day of tuition with George as a birthday present at the end of November 2018 and we both went along to Burnham on Sea early in January 2019. George and his wife Susan, both made us feel very welcome and after a good cup of tea and some introductions, we got to work. George has a clear love of his subject and was very clear (and patient) in explaining the basics to us both as (more or less) complete novices. After explaining some basic theory principles about wood grain, shrinkage, cutting direction etc and having given us a safety brief, George selected some sycamore blanks and prepared them for mounting on the lathe. He then expertly guided us, step by step through all the processes of making the blank round, shaping and finishing the outside, then hollowing and finishing the inside. At every stage, George constantly helped, advised, cajoled and motivated us. When necessary he stepped in and helped, but he was very restrained in doing that and largely left us to make our own mistakes, so that we felt the finished items were genuinely our own work. The turning lessons were never too long - being regularly interrupted with breaks, tea, biscuits and a delicious home cooked soup at lunch time. We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will definitely do more in the future. Thanks to George and Susan for their hospitality, patience, training - and good company.""

26 Dec 18'

Gary reviewed: Wood turning courses

"What a great day, Lots to learn but with a great Teacher was made easier and more enjoyable, The hospitality was lovely and made to feel very welcome. Will be booking another day very soon. Once again thanks for a great Day"

17 Dec 18'

Elaine Andrew reviewed: Wood turning courses

"I had a fantastic day! My mum and I went together for my 30th birthday treat and it was brilliant. We both made beautiful bowls and both completely different. The whole day was really inspiring, George is clearly very passionate about his craft and I would highly recommend spending time learning wood turning with"

17 Dec 18'

Christine Foster reviewed: Wood turning courses

"What a great way to spend a wet wintry day! We were welcomed into George and Susan's home with tea and biscuits, very welcome after our (not too long) drive from Bristol, and soon after introduced to the workshop. Neither of us had any experience working with a lathe before, but, after the safety briefing, George quickly got us started, giving enough information and guidance to move from block of wood to finished bowl in a single day without overwhelming us with too much information in one go. We thoroughly enjoyed our day, and would highly recommend the course. Thank you George for a memorable day."

19 Nov 18'

Colin Ralph reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Dear George and Sue Many thanks for the wood turning lesson on Friday, I had a very good and informative day with you and my family were very impressed with the bowl which i took home I am now well motivated to continue the craft and am happy to recommend you to anybody Your lovely wife fed and watered me very well and made me feel very welcome Kind regards to the both of you Colin"

18 Nov 18'

Nigel Hoy reviewed: Wood turning courses

"Firstly, thank you so much for your time yesterday - I really enjoyed it so much!!! Also, thanks so much to Susan for all the lovely food and tea, which was very welcome. Furthermore and as you requested, I have produced the following review of my experience, which I would be happy for you to use in any way you think fit and hope it's OK for your requirements? “Yesterday, I visited George Foweraker for a one-day woodturning experience. On arrival, I was immediately offered tea and biscuits and made to feel very welcome. Once inside his workshop, George set about explaining (with diagrams) the various properties of wood. This was very interesting and helped me to understand why cutting procedures had to be made in certain ways in order to ensure a good quality finish. George then set me to work on the lathe with a piece of oak, which was hard to work. However, with a lot of guidance and patience, George helped me make the first tentative cuts. Gradually, my bowl began to take shape and all too soon, it was time for lunch. Susan, George’s wife, produced a wonderful lunch of hot home-made soup, delicious ham roll and more tea. Time, after lunch, was spent refining the shape of the bowl, sanding it, adding texture and colour and then finally giving it a coat of protective lacquer. At the end of the day, I realised I had produced a very decent product and something that I was actually quite proud of – thank you George! Overall, I had a brilliant day and considered the whole experience excellent value for money. Furthermore, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this training to anyone with an interest in woodturning or to anyone else wishing to pursue this creative hobby further”."

16 Nov 18'

Naomi Waterman reviewed: Wood turning courses

"My husband gifted me a craft course voucher and I selected a day course for 2 with George on the merit of the previous reviews for the course and it did not disappoint. We had a great day and went home with beautiful turned sycamore bowls that we are really proud of. George’s relaxed and friendly teaching style had us confidently working away at creating our bowls in no time. The day was a really great mix of learning the science of wood and the turning process, and the creativity of reading the form, deciding how far to take a cut and how to create an aesthetically pleasing shape! Special thanks to Sue who made us feel warmly welcomed and looked after with a delicious home made lunch and plenty of biscuits!"