
Graeme Priddle has over 20 years experience in the woodworking field, best known for his sculptural turnings/carvings reflecting his life and environments in Northland, New Zealand. He has won numerous awards for his work, which has been exhibited widely in New Zealand, UK, Japan, Taiwan, France, Germany, U.S.A and Canada.
He is very active in the wood turning world and commits his time and talent to many creative endeavours. He has served on the committee of the New Zealand National Association of Woodturners for five years as well as being instrumental in establishing the New Zealand ‘CollaboratioNZ’ Conferences in 1998.
Graeme has demonstrated and taught for numerous woodworking and woodturning groups and at many woodworking events throughout the world.
Graeme was born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand in 1960. He moved to Northland in 1986 while working for Telecom as a radio technician. He took voluntary severance in 1989 after twelve years service and started woodturning in 1990.
He now lives and works on a 100 acre bush block 30km North-East of Whangarei.
https://www.melissaengler.com/

Melissa Engler is a woodworker/sculptor based in Asheville, NC. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and is a graduate of the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program in furniture. Melissa’s work has been featured in Carolina Home + Garden, WNC Magazine, Woodwork Magazine and American Craft and is held in private collections across the US. She teaches nationally and internationally with her partner and fellow wood-sculptor Graeme Priddle.
Graeme and Melissa currently work at Grovewood Studios in Asheville and are represented by Grovewood Gallery (NC), Penland Gallery (NC), Green Hill Center for Art (NC), and The Gallery at Flat Rock (NC)
Graeme and Melissa will also be holding a 2-day workshop after the symposium – details here.
Surface, surface! – Part 1
Graeme Priddle and Melissa Engler
Presents a myriad of embellishment possibilities with rotary carvers and other carving tools.
Covers design and influences, personalizing your work.
Tool selection, sharpening and safety. Wood selection. Rotary/hand carving and texturing techniques. Colouring and finishing.



Surface, surface! – Part 2
Graeme Priddle and Melissa Engler
Presents a myriad of surface treatments and embellishment possibilities with woodburners.
Covers design and influences, personalizing your work.
Equipment selection, use and safety. Wood selection. Designing and making your own burner tips/brands. Woodburning techniques/surface branding. Colouring and finishing.



Ammonite Bowl
Graeme Priddle and Melissa Engler
This demonstration will cover the design and influences behind these bowls. We will discuss wood selection, preparation and drying. Then go on to basic bowl turning techniques, tool selection, sharpening and safety.
Then we will cover low relief carving and surface embellishment with rotary tools and wood burners, and coloring with acrylic paint, milk paint and paste wax application.
Time permitting, we will talk about other designs and surface techniques and show how we execute them.


