Art Liestman is a part-time woodturner living in Coquitlam, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver).  Art has been involved with woodworking for 30 years.  Originally, his interest was in designing and making experimental musical instruments.  As is so often the story, he stumbled into woodturning when he needed some turned parts for an automated programmable xylophone.  He quickly became passionate about woodturning and, after a few years of making functional items, he turned to the artistic side of woodturning. 

Known particularly for his puzzling illusion series of turnings that resemble jigsaw puzzles, his work often involves surface enhancements using pyrography and coloring.  He is also interested in breaking the symmetry of traditional turned forms and exploring more sculptural work.