Lawyer passionate about wood

Mark von Dadelszen may be better known as a lawyer, but he has harboured a passion for creating wooden pieces of art since he was a child.
His work is on show all next month at the Havelock Community Arts Centre, and he plans to spend most of each Saturday in April working on site and chatting to interested onlookers.
His interest in woodturning is something of a contrast to his professional life, where he is a partner at Hastings legal firm Bannister & von Dadelszen.
"Woodturning is for me an enjoyable, relaxing and creative activity," he says.
The story of a tree is written in its form, its texture, the figure in the grain, and in its defects, says von Dadelszen. He enjoys exploring the possibilities of each piece of wood he works with. Even after wood has been turned or sculpted, it is still a "living" material that reacts to environmental influences, he says.
Once basic skills are mastered, the possibilities for experimentation are endless. That may occasionally produce pieces of "designer firewood," but more often the result is a unique turned item, he says.
He prefers to find inspiration in the wood, rather than impose a design on it, but for many projects he looks for a piece of wood to match what he wants to make. He prefers to use native wood, including black maire, pohutukawa, matai, but will try turning almost any timber.
He is particularly interested in making bowls, platters and decorative and artistic pieces. More recently, he has been exploring the sculptural possibilities of turning, including embellishment, particularly the use of colour, surface texturing, and carving.
He also makes work on commission, and his work is held in collections in New Zealand and many overseas countries.
Von Dadelszen renewed his interest in woodturning about 20 years ago, joining the Hawke's Bay Woodturners Guild, based at Waiohiki Creative Arts Village, serving as its president from 2001-04, and completing a Certificate in Woodturning from Aoraki Polytechnic.
In 2009 a small poplar burl bowl he made won the guild's 20th anniversary Bowl competition, its Rowland Cooper Memorial Trophy, and was judged best woodturning item by the guild, and at the Hawke's Bay A&P Show.
He served on the executive of the National Association of Woodworkers from 2003, was president from 2005-2009, and now edits the association's quarterly magazine, Creative Wood.