Dominique Corlett speaks to the self-taught woodturner about his unexpected success and the joy of uncovering the hidden life of a tree
HEIRLOOMS OF THE FUTURE
G reg Kent has always enjoyed DIY and making things with his hands, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine where his hobby would take him in the space of just a few short months. Greg, who was formerly a geography teacher (he retired this summer) took up woodturning to help him relax after a stressful day in the classroom. Now he finds himself with a successful second career that is keeping him busier than ever, and a growing body of work that is being celebrated on the rarefied stage of luxury contemporary craft.
The high-end craft world is an elite one, that makers usually strive for years to enter, dreaming of their work appearing in a top show or on the pages of a magazine. But Greg, who is self-taught, and for most of his life ‘didn’t think I had a creative bone in my body’, is making work that is opening doors. It all took off this spring when he exhibited at the Crafts Council’s Collect Open, followed by the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Next comes Future Heritage, then the Master’s Exhibition of the Worshipful Company of Turners, and an artist focus at prestigious craft gallery Flow, which is now stocking his work. He has also been nominated for the 2023 Wood Awards, the UK’s leading competition for wood design.
Greg is somewhat taken aback by the interest in his delicate lace-like sculptures, fashioned from turned and sandblasted oak but, with so many commitments to fulfil, he doesn’t have time to overthink it. ‘I hadn’t anticipated it at all,’ he says of his sudden success. ‘There’s slight anxiety about being an impostor but, to be honest, I’m just enjoying the journey. Where this takes me I’m happy to run with it.’
Greg first picked up a chisel to try his hand at woodturning seven years ago when he was attempting to build a boat for which he needed some tapered pieces of wood. Once he discovered woodturning the boat project fell by the wayside: he was completely hooked. He developed his skills and found inspiration by watching other woodworkers on YouTube. He was particularly inspired by French woodturner Pascal Oudet, who has pioneered making lace-like structures in wood and who Greg is quick to credit for his influence. He was also intrigued by the sandblasting techniques of Russian pipe maker Sergei Senatorov, and loved the American Woodturners�
