Michael Turner Studios – Blog

Life down on Setters Farm, over the summer has whizzed by.  We’ve had weddings (my talented friend Will Rochfort married his lovely wife Fi), pumpkin growing was popular and various other activities. The team of artists seems to be multiplying, Jo Vane, a local jewellery artists has recently joined us in the workshops and there just seems to be more artistic flare in situe than you can shake a stick at!

I’ve had a productive and challenging year so far, keeping myself busy with creating stainless steel sculptures of lions, pelicans, cheetahs, sharks and oh yeh, space ships……

Growing up as a boy, Star Wars was always one of my favorite movies.  When the opportunity arose to create something from that movie, all guys from Setters Farm jumped at the chance.  I decided I wanted to make something similar to the  ‘X Wing’. To those of you who are not familiar with Star Wars,  ‘Luke Skywalker’ is famous for destroying the ‘Death Star’ behind the controls of an ‘X-wing’.  I know, exciting stuff – so far, its seems to be a winner! If you want to know what the other guys created, you’ll need to come down to Setters farm and see for yourselves.

 

 

 

Another very cool project I’ve been involved in this year, is FREE ART FRIDAY.  Inspired by a gent I saw on the One Show. I decided I wanted to get involved too, so, on the last Friday of every month, I’ve been hiding a small piece of my work around various locations in Lymington. I post information on my Facebook page and hope  everyone enjoys the search ….!!  It’s been great to see so many people getting involved and going on the hunt for my work.  Not only is it fun, it’s really flattering that people would actually want to physically go out and about searching for it!  I am so lucky to have a job I love so much.

Photography by the very talented Carrie Bugg Photography

Michael Turner Studios Blog – March 2015

There is a definite hint of spring in the air on the South Coast and those of us working up at the Setters Farm units have been having some fun in the sunnier moments with a Surf competition… some days you just have to down tools!

So last month the Shipping Wars program that I participated in for Channel 4 was aired. Here is the link to the episode incase you want to see how my Leaping Horse was transported from the New Forest to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2014. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shipping-wars-uk

I can’t lie, it was pretty weird seeing my work on TV but the flip side is that I’ve had so many amazing comments and my new website has definitely been active!

Regarding the new site, we are just tweaking it a bit so you can see what I have available for sale more easily. Some of my work goes to the T5 Gallery, however I sell a lot through commissions. I have what I affectionately call a ‘back log’ to work on at present, as well as the pieces I like to design to challenge my own skills. I am always inspired by where we live, having said that the last two pieces I have completed are The Bull and life size Cheetah, not something you see everyday in Lymington!

People are often surprised when they come to visit me at the Studio. It really is simply my working studio space, with an eclectic mix of materials on hand just where I need them (on the floor mainly). I do have a kettle though so if you are passing and would like to discuss a commission piece let Jenny know and I’ll make sure I get the milk in!

 

You Tube of Stainless Steel Leaping Horse

You Tube of Stainless Steel Leaping Horse

This is footage of my second attempt at the Stainless Steel Leaping Horse. This was slightly trickier in that I needed to make the horse Cantilevered, so it appeared that it was leaping into the air.

 

 

Michael Turner Studios Blog

Mike Turner Studios Blog

It’s great to be back in www.michaelturnerstudios.co.uk and welcome to my first Michael Turner Studios blog. After enjoying the festive season on the nearby coast and in the New Forest with good friends and relatives and it would be fair to say I have a few cracking ideas for more stainless steel sculpture pieces to get stuck into over the next few months when I am not working on commission pieces for corporate clients and private collectors.

The last week or so of 2015 was remarkably busy with pieces of work being delivered to clients, items being prepared for exhibiting at the T5 Gallery  or off to be photographed.

By contrast, January was almost serene by comparison. It wasn’t of course, as there was plenty to be getting on with. The first piece I completed this year was the Peregrine Falcon and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed working on it. It was quite an intricate piece so it took me a fair while. Carrie Bugg Photography did a sterling job on the photography, using a new location which worked really well. Carrie managed to capture my stainless steel bird to look as though it was flying through the air. I’m chuffed to bits with this and I’ve had plenty of interest in it already just from these images alone!

So onwards and upwards (no pun intended!) I’m now doing a little project for myself, which I love doing because it lets me think outside the box, and I generally like to challenge myself so not to get too complacent. I’m not going to divulge what it is quite yet, but I’m really hoping it turns out as well in reality as it looks in my head!

 

 

 

I am also in the throes of launching this new website at the start of February. I am slowly getting to grips with social media and hope to be able to populate my Facebook page and Twitter feed with exciting images and news as the year progresses. One of the most ‘liked’ images last year was of me with my head in the jaws of the Piranha, funny that!

Stainless Steel Arabian Horse

Stainless Steel Arabian Horse being made by www.michaelturnerstudios.co.uk through youtube.

This You tube footage was taken to show how the Stainless Steel Arabian Horse was created from start to finish.  Its not something I usually like showing, as I am a bit of a perfectionist and always prefer showing the end product.  I took images throughout the design and build in an attempt to show how I work.

Hampshire Life Article

Michael Turner has recently been interviewed for the very stylish country ‘Hampshire Life’ magazine heres a snippet of the the Hampshire life article below.

‘Hampshire is a county rich in deep rural countryside with the glittering Solent fringing the southern coastline of the region. The intricate network of small towns and villages is joined together by winding lanes. It is off one of these lanes, between Lymington and Sway that you will find a dusty gravel track leading to Setters Farm.

Here you will find a group of outbuildings occupied by various craftsmen and women and a small bakery that pumps out the most glorious smell of warm dough and jam each morning. Michael Turners’ small studio is positioned on the corner and in the cooler months an old oil drum can be found with a fire burning in it where people go to warm up and discuss their various projects and latest commissions.

It is here that Michael Turner is able to unleash his creative streak and mastermind his next piece of extraordinary sculpture. From his laid back demeanor it is hard to imagine Mike wrestling with intense mathematical equations, reviewing his designs with an overwhelming intensity and ploughing through extensive and exhaustive research material, all the attributes of a talented stainless steel sculptor with an expanding reputation for his significant level of technical ability and craftsmanship, and the ambitious nature of his stunning works’.

Want to read on? Just click on the link below

Michael Turner Studios interview