HOOKS, WAYNE

Wayne was born in Toronto in 1947. After receiving a degree in mathematics in 1970 he taught for two years in Guyana, South America with CUSO. He returned to Canada and taught at St. Michael’s College before heading overseas again with UNICEF. After six years working in the Sudan (Rural water supply), four years in Bangladesh (Programme management), and two years in Geneva, Switzerland (chief of Emergency Operations for Europe), he returned to stay in Canada in 1986.

He currently resides on Long Lake near the village of Haliburton in the Haliburton Highlands, Ontario.

He is a self-taught woodworker, with a focus towards uncomplicated design, emphasizing quality construction accentuating the exceptional, the unusual and the natural beauty in the wood itself. He rarely uses stains or artificial wood colouring, preferring to provide contrast or highlight through the use of different wood species and letting the natural character of each be seen as clearly as possible. There is a blend of modern and more traditional technique in his work. If ,for example, a blind joint can be fashioned with more speed and without sacrificing strength using power tools, he will use them; yet hand planes, spoke shaves and cabinet scrapers gather little dust in his shop. His work is primarily displayed at The Ethel Curry Gallery in Haliburton. www.theethelcurrygallery.com

About seventy percent of the wood he uses is harvested from his own property or obtained from local loggers. These woods include Black Cherry and Black Cherry Burl, Yellow Birch and Yellow Birch Burl, Red Oak, Beech, White and Black Ash, Hard Maple (Including Birdseye, Curly and Spalted when lucky enough to find them.) and Basswood; with White Pine, and Eastern White Cedar favourite local softwoods. From outside the Haliburton Highlands area, Black Walnut and Western Red Cedar often find their way into his work.

The complete process; choosing and cutting the tree, hauling the logs, milling the logs into boards, stacking and air drying the lumber for a minimum of one year; further indoor air drying, flattening and planning the boards to finished thickness, choosing the boards most suited to a project, and finally completing a project including the most appropriate finish; is one not many woodworkers are fortunate enough to be able to have under their control.

He has a deep concern for the effective management of the worlds forests. He uses certified wood sources or distributors for the small amount of hardwood he must purchase from outside of Canada. He is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, the Canadian Nature Federation, the Ontario Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Toronto Zoo, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and many other organizations dedicated to trying to preserve the Planets growing number of species at risk.