WHERE one person may see scrap, Gavin Symes sees potential.

The Portland resident is hosting his first exhibition of his wood turning work at the Julia Street Creative Space in Portland, an event years in the making.

“It’s a culmination of probably 30-odd years of work,” he said.

Mr Symes started doing wood turning when he was 18 years old, his interest sparked during his first job stacking and machining timber at Errey Anderson Hardware in Portland.

After a successful 30 career in window fabrication, Mr Symes has returned to his passion for wood and timber into an artistic pursuit.

“I just like timber. I like having a rough piece of timber and then discovering what's inside it, what it can become from what it is,” he said.

Mr Symes said the process of turning wood into art pieces can vary depending on the wood used, with Huon Pine his first choice.

“It's soft, it's easy to turn.  Beautiful smell (and) has exquisite grain,” he said.

Mr Symes said working with timber is a very much a go-with-the-flow process.

“You have a piece of timber, and you might have an idea of what's going to come out of it, but it's not always what does happen,” he said.

“It’s really just a matter of seeing a piece and thinking, what can come out of come of it

“You can even be working on it, and you think you're going to achieve something, and then you'll find a pocket in there that's a hole, or a gum vein or something like that.

“The plan changes every few minutes.

“Sometimes a piece of timber can turn very easily and take you two or three hours. Others, you can have problems with it and take you six or eight hours.”

Among the items on display at the exhibition include bowls and serving boards and pots.

Mr Symes said his favourite piece of work is a platter/bowl made from Huon pine due to the grain of the wood and the birds-eye affect to it.

“I just love looking at it,” he said.

Mr Symes said having his first exhibition was both overwhelming and nerve wracking.

As for anyone thinking about taking up wood turning, Mr Symes said it is very rewarding.

Julia Street Creative Space venue facilitator Robyn McDonald said Mr Symes work is incredible and a must see.

“He's retained so much of the organic shape of the piece of the timber that he's used,” she said.

“It's an exhibition that you won't have seen here, probably in the existence of the Space, in terms of the range of what Gavin's produced. So, you really need to come and have a look at what can be done with a piece of timber.”

The exhibition ends December 4.