Finishing Touch


Finishing Touch

At Stephen J Turner’s Art of Wood the feeling is that when it comes to offering a comprehensive range of products, service and ideas it is not just about a single craftsman or artisan and there beautiful work, I sometimes takes more than one to complete a project.

Therefore I feel it would be nice to offer and showcase others who’s work, passion and many hours spent who share in the rustic nature and are driven and love for the things that grow and we rely on in every day life and those times when we remember others or celebrate the life we live ourselves whether it be with a gift or a practical lasting project.

With this in mind, I have put together a few chosen artisans, there products or items which may compliment the experience you have from other products from this website.

Graham Petley - British Landscape Artist

Graham Petley Four Seasons Graham Petley Four Seasons Graham Petley Four Seasons Graham Petley Four Seasons

Graham Petley is one of Britain's foremost living landscape artists. A dedicated and life-long painter who has worked alongside the descendants of the great Impressionists and a former member of the Fine Art Trade Guild, London. Graham has been commissioned on several occasions by members of Middle Eastern Royal families and is regularly exhibited at London's leading galleries. His paintings are now collected throughout the world.

Memorial Trees

Memorial Trees

It as often been said we should all plant trees and what good we can do for our planet, also they have been used to mark and remember our past friends and family in a way of giving back or in a way that they would like to be remembered which is why I would like to add this addition too but with a special difference and that is the trees are grown from acorn(oak) and very local to here in the Waveney valley on the Norfolk and Suffolk border.

These can be supplied to go with a memorial of all sorts design and crafted by Stephen J Turner for the complete gift of remembrance.

Please contact me for details…

Thought provoking words by Stephen J Turner

Ivy Carving

I am pleased to announce my new venture into creative writing. Using my personal life experiences and journeys incorporating thought provoking and constructive wording & illustrations, together with my other skills such as art, carving and sculpture.

As I navigate the delicate dance between ink and consciousness, I aim to offer not just a narrative, but a sanctuary for reflection and hopefully enhance peace, calm and tranquillity, and to promote positive thinking. This could be ideal for areas of remembrance, celebration or contemplation and compliment other items from this website.

Ivy, friend or foe?

The sun is now starting to look tired as the shadows also start to yawn, the autumn colours become deeper and more defined as our late afternoon stroll begins. Then as we start to walk through the many aged and weathered trodden paths, unattended undergrowth complements the bountiful colourful woodland vista. We discover the many species of trees and flora during phases of their own life. Some scarred from time itself, some simply full of young life and expectation.

The countless trees have a journey through life in their own right, nature their guardian over time. There are many parallels to our own lives, good and bad times, in the sapling years its speedy growth, vitality is its watchword. In the immediate seasons that follow the life and nature that surrounds us all they become bold, or even brave. Like us, we are oblivious and unaware of possible challenges and perils to come. Then as many seasons pass, knowledge within the surroundings is gained. Encountering troubled or stressful periods the trees start to protect, this in turn allows them to gain wisdom, having extra strengths to deal with the passage of time.

As the trees age, ivy takes hold. Seen as an enemy to most, it can be beneficial in maintaining the health within the woods and its fellow occupants. Local thrushes and blackbirds take advantage of the berries, in addition insects begin feasting too, before their own hibernation starts in earnest. As with kindness which is a form of self-preservation the Ivy ensures protection and survival.

Like ourselves we need protection and kindness from the bad times, needing a hug or comfort, and energy from others. The ivy hugs the tree tightly ensuring reassurance from the elements and potential predators. Of course, like us this affection if mismanaged can be mistaken and cause harm. But in the main it gives reassurance and security. At this point like the ivy. it is helping to maintaining everyday life. and then our own growth and the woodland can continue to flourish.

So ivy, so often associated with mournfulness indeed finality is in reality one of strength, reflection and protection. It does it by helping to keep the treasured safe and secure. For us its protection of our memories and thoughts. it’s surely the ivy’s endurance, longevity and permanence not to be removed which makes it such an important piece of nature’s completed jigsaw.

© 2023 Stephen J Turner

Please contact me if we can help to enhance your journey.

Stephen J. Turner
(Woodcarver and owner)

Welcome to the
Art of Wood Memorials & Remembrance
website for 2024

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