About
I live in the beautiful city of Canberra in Australia. I was trained as a neuroscientist but have worked for many years in IT as a systems architect.
I am fired-up by good design in wood. Bad design in wood is welcome fuel for wood-fired bread and pizza. My passion for design extends to other craft media and to graphic design. My passion for cooking extends to many, many cuisines and of course to eating!
15 years ago I took 2 years off work to study at the Canberra School of Art under the inspired tuition of the late George Ingham. My main web site shows a few examples of my work. I have a special passion for boxes and cabinets. I enjoy the sense of discovery - they hide their special contents from view so the user must investigate and sometimes solve in order to reveal and perhaps surprise.
Whilst my cooking draws from many cuisines - especially those of the sub-continent and parts of South-east Asia - my greatest love is for the well-constructed pie. A good pie has great pastry, a rich moist filling and again that sense of anticipation and revelation as you dive in.
Sometimes food meets wood. You can see this in my spice cabinets and spice sampler tray. You might also see it in the connection between box and pie - both conceal and then, with varying efforts, reveal their special contents. There is also a life cycle - the shavings from the spice box are used to smoke duck, trout, chilies, etc. They are also used in the laying box of our chickens to protect the eggs that will be used in the next pie. The used shavings are recycled into the compost for the vegetable garden….
If you would like to email me please use mark.woolston AT axon.com.au.
6 Comments Add your own
1. Bill Stankus | August 10th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Glad I found your site - very nice. Blog talking is awkward but I feel there could be interesting stories pasted between the two of us.
2. Mark | August 10th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Thanks Bill. I’m sure your right - I’ll keep a close eye on your blogs. And of course I’ll still be arguing the toss with you at Kari’s blog!
3. Keith Cruickshank | September 27th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Just dropping by to say hi. This site and your work is wonderful. Your creativity seems boundless. (Oh BTW, I’m a real fan of Australia and once, in my youth, spent 6 months there. One day I’d like to return.) I look forward to following your wood - and cooking - adventures from afar. Keith (www.woodtreks.com)
4. Mark | October 5th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Glad you’re getting something out of it Keith. Just as I’m enjoying your excellent videos. Thanks for the kind words.
5. Bill Stankus | October 20th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Regarding the Colin Powell and I blog - I was disapointed that almost no one saw my tongue firmly placed in my cheek.
I’ve enjoyed your comments about my Sam M. reference … here’s an older blog posting I did … I’m braced and ready for your feedback!
http://billstankus.blogspot.com/2008/04/heroes.html
6. Mark Woolston | November 11th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Hello,
Looking for relatives!
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