Russ Allen — One Good Turn… - theHumm August 2025

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

… deserves another, and woodturner Russ Allen is mesmerized by the surprising symmetry he is able to extract from nature’s seemingly random shapes. This talented artisan uses his lathe to explore the endless possibilities of merging wooden objects with a wide range of human-made materials to create objets d’art.

His results are both beautiful and fascinating. One candlestick appears to be chips of wood snuggled together in a dusky gray sea; another presents as a translucent cobalt blue base with lovely wood fragments floating in it. Yet another contains strips of woods of various hues, interspersed with — what? Yes, they really are slices of coloured pencils suspended in black resin. The resulting concoction is perfectly turned into a classically shaped, one-of-a-kind candlestick.

Allen’s bowls defy written description. The only way to appropriately visualize them is to see them in person, or see a high-definition photograph of them. Suffice it to say that your intrepid Humm arts reporter was highly tempted to snag one before its introduction to you, our readers, on Labour Day Weekend during the Sundance Artisan Show in Maberly. Only ethical constraints, coupled with the fact that I should be well into my downsizing phase, prevented me from doing so.

A lathe is an impressive tool in the hands of an artist with verve, imagination, and an uncanny ability to visualize in three (or more) dimensions. Russ Allen loves to recycle. His artistic imagination, combined with his skill at the lathe, enable him to transform heirlooms and unwanted items into fascinating art pieces. In one piece, an intricate pattern in a stunning wooden bowl features oblong slices of dysfunctional bamboo ski poles. Another piece contains slices of a much-used and beloved canoe that was no longer sea-worthy.

This ability to include segments of beloved wooden objects inspires Allen to create bespoke pieces that deliver huge emotional and sentimental value to their owners. One commission resulted in a trio of candlesticks that each included wood from one of three felled juniper trees that a son had loved ever since they had been planted over thirty years before. His customers’ delight is a real motivator and his favourite reward. He particularly looks forward to creating unique pieces that honour treasured heirlooms by presenting them in a new form.

A significant attribute of his woodturning that makes it possible to create valued bespoke pieces is his ability to match favourite colours through his use of resins. The cobalt blue in the photo of the candlestick on the cover could be rendered in any colour that looks perfect in your dining room or bedroom (viewing it online offers a truer representation).

What Goes Around…

The son of an Air Force pilot, Russ was born in Trenton (Quinte West) and developed an early appreciation for the sleek designs and well-engineered equipment his dad was working with. Today it seems prophetic that by the age of fourteen, Russ was working on a lathe helping a local craftsman make candlesticks.

When he was sixteen his dad’s career took them to Ottawa, and Russ attended Algonquin College to study architectural engineering technology. In his job as an architectural draftsman for the National Museums of Canada, he worked on the Canadian Museum for Contemporary Photography. In 1986 he moved to Toronto where he worked for a company that designed and built large corporate storefronts and interiors for companies like Canadian Tire Corp.

The recession in 1992 resulted in Allen starting his own Glen Valley Furniture Restoration company in Georgetown (Halton Hills) west of Toronto. His company was also responsible for the restoration of courthouses, churches and other landmark buildings. For the next thirty years he worked long hours, hiring helpers as needed. It was hard work — he moved pianos, absorbed noxious chemicals, and breathed in harmful toxins despite wearing helmets, goggles and a respirator in sweltering weather.

He figures that probably contributed to the alarming heart attack he survived three months after his retirement just over a year ago. Allen has only high praise for the life-saving medical care available in the Perth area. He was home alone when it happened, and he will be forever grateful for the combined promptness and expertise he received at every step of his rescue and recovery.

…Comes Around

Discovering his passion for woodturning has been a life-changing experience for him. He tells me, “… it mesmerizes me; it’s almost an out-of-body feeling. The shape evolves, and I just go with the flow.” His enthusiasm is heartwarming: “Since I started this, I see everything in a different way. I have a lifetime of experience to interpret into art.” He has always loved to recycle, and being able to repurpose someone’s treasured heirloom into a beautiful new keepsake gives him a great deal of pleasure.

Russ readily admits to enjoying another facet of his retirement. Growing up on the banks of the Credit River, he developed a lifelong love of fishing, and today his home and workshop are just steps away from Otty Lake, south of Perth. The bugs are bad, but the living is easy.

Labour Day Weekend is Your Chance!

The upcoming Sundance Artisan Show in Maberly is Russ Allen’s first appearance in a commercial show. One of the biggest rewards he experiences is to plan and execute a bespoke piece with a customer. He tells me, “It is such a joy to see the delight in peoples’ faces when they see the happy, colourful result.” When you see the beautifully conceived and executed results of this artisan’s passion for creating amazing wooden objets d’art, it may just inspire you to sign up for a bespoke item yourself. Or you may decide to buy one of the pieces he has created from his lifetime of experience. Details are on the reverse of his Artist Trading Card at the top of this page.

Artist Trading Card

WHO Russ Allen

WHAT Wood Turning

WHERE To discuss a commission, contact russ.allen59@gmail.com

WHEN Sundance Artisan Show, Labour Day Weekend, Aug. 30 &31 from 10-5, Sept.1 from 10-2, 126 Maberly-Elphin Rd., Maberly; sundancestudio.ca

Why “I love the surprising symmetry I am able to extract from nature’s seemingly random shapes.”