NEIL TURNER was born into a tough Western Australian Wheatbelt farming family in 1958. As a young man he sought refuge from the difficulties of farm life in his woodturning workshop, exploring the same elements that challenge the farmer and recreating in wood the quiet ripples eroded in soil by wind, the delicate eddies left by water, and the swirling lick of flames. Woven through all of Neil’s artwork is a deep respect for the material and the natural forces that have acted upon it. His practice was consolidated formally through a series of courses and workshops. In 2010 Neil was awarded a Diploma of Arts (Furniture Design) from the Australian School of Wood in Dwellingup, where he studied under Neil Erasmus and in 2011, he completed a Cert IV in Visual Arts and Contemporary Craft from the TAFE in Bunbury. Neil continues to study and expand his practice through residencies and workshops throughout the world. In 2013 he completed two residencies, one at the renowned Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, and the other in Carlow, Ireland as part of the Stone Wall Project. His work has been shown in galleries across Australia and internationally with a sculpture on permanent display in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.