April Membership Meeting
April was our first mini-symposium of the year. There are now photos posted in the Gallery.
The May Newsletter
If you missed this month’s Chips & Shavings, it has been added under Newsletters.
Board Minutes
For SPSW members, the March 2014 Board of Directors meeting minutes are posted under the For Members link.
I’ve been a “serious” woodturner for the past 15 years and make what I like to call “Functional Art”. These are items turned on a lathe from reclaimed/recycled wood that have a functional use, yet reflect the natural beauty of the wood. I teach woodturning in my fully equipped shop to all ages, mentor other woodturners, am the founder and past-president of the Olympia, Washington woodturning club, volunteer with the local high school wood shop where we have several students learning to turn wood, and I coordinate the annual youth program for the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) Symposium. I’m often called to make specialty items and do restorations work to order.
The demonstration this month will be structured around the interest of the participants covering two primary areas: different threading techniques and techniques on how to make a box that requires no sanding – actually these latter techniques have applicability to all of your woodturning projects.
For more examples of my work or to contact me directly check out my web site: http://www.woodturnerlarry.com/ .
The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon are meeting on May 1st. Phil Lapp will be demonstrating “Two-of-a-kind” (matching pieces).
The Seattle Woodturners will be meeting next on May 8th. John Shrader will be demonstrating.
The Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild in Abbotsford, B.C. are meeting on May 8th. The Guild is having a “Hands-on-Night” with 6 lathes. The focus will be on sharpening and small green bowls.
The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting on May 8th. SPSW member and former president Jack Wayne will be demonstrating turning platters.
The Northwest Washington Woodturners are meeting on May 15th. Art Liestman will present “The Design & Construction of Teapots”.
The Cascade Woodturners are meeting on May 22nd which is a change from the normal date. Jim Hall will be demonstrating Embellishments on Turned Wood.
The Beaver State Woodturners in Eugene, Oregon will be meeting next on May 22nd. Tom Borener will be demonstrating hollowing.
The Woodturners of Olympia are meeting on May 22nd. SPSW Board Member Andy Firpo will be presenting Safety in Woodturning.
The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island will be meeting next on May 24th. This is the annual General Meeting with executive elections. Also, Lin Bayford will demonstrate pen turning.
The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. are meeting next on May 28th. Dennis Cloutier will be presenting “From Tree to Bowl”.
The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners will be meeting on May 28th. The program for the evening has not been announced.
Do you participate in craft fairs? Do you have an interest in craft fairs but aren’t sure how to find them or if they are worth your effort?
There are several places on the web to get information, but you may not have thought about LinkedIn, the business networking site.
There is a Woodturning group on LinkedIn that has quite a bit of activity. One of the discussions is titled: Craft Fairs – are they dying out? Some of the comments seem to indicate the indeed, craft fairs are dying out. But other comments show that you can still do well at a craft fair, but people’s tastes are changing and what you offer needs to change as well. There was lots of great discussion here.
Another discussion is titled: First Craft Fair this season. This discussion includes times of the year that seem to be best and a discussion of Etsy as a platform for selling your work.
So there you go. Don’t limit your research to the woodturning sites. There are great discussions elsewhere.
This month we having this year’s first Mini Symposium of the year. We have a
great line up of demonstrators. There is always something that each of us can learn
from our other members. This is a very popular event.
Here is this month’s list of demonstrators:
Carol Zandell – Something Fun (what else would you expect from Carol.)
Pat McCart – Stone Inlay
Bill Bender – Finials
Paul Crabtree – Hollowing
Bob Sievers – Rose Engine
Andy Firpo – Safety
Dave Schweitzer – Sharpening (if he can make it and we hope he can)
And, perhaps, a surprise demonstrator or two.
Don’t forget to bring your dull tools. This is your opportunity to get them
sharpened by an expert. When you get home, you will be amazed at what is like to
turn with sharp tools.
You’ll want to attend AAW’s 28th Annual International Symposium June 13 to 15 when members and demonstrators from around the world will converge on Phoenix to learn, share and celebrate a passion for woodturning.
Learn from the world’s top woodturners. Our symposium packs in more high-quality learning opportunities than any other event. (For a complete list of demonstrators, see the bottom of this post.) With more than 59 woodturning aficionados and more than 130 sessions, you’ll:
Spark your creative inspiration and imagine the possibilities. Our symposium features a broad selection of work displayed in our enormous Instant Gallery and juried international exhibitions are sure to invigorate and feed your creativity. You’ll be able to connect and socialize with colleagues that share your passion for woodturning, as well as observe and rub elbows with professional turners like J. Paul Fennell, Christoff Nancey and Douglas Fisher.
See and test the latest woodturning products. You’ll be able to explore of the largest array of state-of-the-art woodturning products under one roof including tool and lathe manufacturers, wood suppliers and others in our tradeshow. With more than 30,000 square feet of exhibitor space, you’ll observe an assortment of ongoing demonstrations that let you see tools and machinery up close and in action. Many of the exhibitors will also offer special symposium deals you won’t want to miss.
Join us. No other conference packs in more high-quality learning opportunities like AAW’s 28th Annual International Symposium. We hope you’ll be part of the convergence on Phoenix to learn, share and celebrate your passion for woodturning.