An interesting thing to observe at art shows and festivals is how the work of two people employing the same medium can be so drastically different.

>Joel Rubin and Tom Lohr are both wood turners who fit that mold. Joel, a former General Surgeon who now practices as an Emergency Room Physician, concentrates more on decorative pieces. Tom concentrates more on functional pieces with a decorative flair.

Eighteen years ago, after experiencing several injuries skydiving, Joel began looking for another hobby. He took classes featuring various power tools at a local woodworking store, but was most intrigued with the lathe. Joel started out, as do most woodturners, making bowls. The surgeons mind took over, and Joel wanted to find other more complex things he could create. He began attending regional and national symposiums and taking classes from nationally known woodturners.

Looking at Joel’s work today, it seems the artist with the most profound influence on Joel was the late Binh Pho. Binh, who after many attempts, finally escaped Vietnam as one of the boat people and arrived in the United States in 1979. Joel’s pieces using Binh’s techniques of turning thin walled vessels, then piercing them to develop complex patterns, and painting them with an air brush are quite simply, gorgeous. All of the processes involved are tedious and require great patience.

Joel said that he gets bored doing the same thing all of the time so he creates some functional items. He glues a variety of different woods together to make unique salt and pepper mills. Using the same variety of different woods, cut into small angled pieces which are then stacked together in rows, he creates patterns in what are referred as segmented bowls. These, along with his decorative pieces, fit Joel’s desire of making things that are “visually appealing”.

Tom Lohr’s love of working with wood started in 7th grade shop class. Tom always loved building things. As a child he spent hours with tinker toys, then an erector set. Shop class taught skills and techniques that were later applied to larger projects. Working with wood also expanded the desire to build things by giving versatility to the design of projects rather than having to use the fixed size restrictions of the parts of earlier toys.

As time and money permitted, Tom slowly amassed a collection of tools, which he used to build over time, furniture, cabinets, and entertainment centers. Tom’s wife Suely, a mosaic and a fused glass artists, was an early member of the Cross Timbers Artist Guild, where several of the other members were woodturners. They kept prodding Suely, “to get Tom to try woodturning.” All it took was taking a beginners class eight years ago and he was hooked. As Joel does, Tom continues to attend symposiums and take classes to expand his knowledge and learn new and different techniques.

Tom’s experience of building functional items like furniture are what probably leads him to take that bent with woodturning. While most woodturners make bowls, Tom likes to decorate them after they are turned. He uses various techniques like dye, paint and pyrography. The desire for a little flair is also evident in the multicolored wood bases in his pepper mills and the multicolored handles of his bread knives.

Joel and Tom are both members of the local Golden Triangle Woodturners and the American Association of Woodturners. They are members of and participate in the annual Cross Timbers Artist Guild Open Studio tour every November.

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We are thrilled to announce the juried artists for this year’s AAW member exhibition, Dia∙Log. Chosen through a blind jurying process by a dynamic trio of jurors, the fifteen selected artists submitted work selected based on a combination of strengths, including technical excellence, creativity, originality and interpretation of the Dia∙Log theme. Fifty-three pieces were under consideration.

 

Dia∙Log will premiere at the AAW Symposium in Portland, Oregon, with an opening at the Portland Convention Center on June 14, at 5:30 P.M. Dia∙Log will also be on exhibit at the AAW Gallery of Wood Art in St Paul, Minnesota, October 7 through December 30, 2018. 

 

Congratulations to Bob Rotche, Steve Loar, James Thurman, Andy DiPietro, Derek Bencomo, John Beaver, Jan Greenwald, Dewey Garrett, James Rinde, Grace Parliman, Jeanne Douphrate, Hal Metlitzky, Betty Scarpino, Jay Shepard, and Mark Waninger (artist work displayed left to right in image above.) In addition, the show will feature work by invited artists Cindy Drozda, Jim Piper, Eric Lofstrom, Guilio Marcolongo, Pat and Karen Miller, Keith Gotschall, Rick Crawford, Marilyn Campbell, and Steve Hatcher.

 

We owe special thanks to all who submitted work, and to this year’s jurors, Michael McMillan, writer and associate curator, Fuller Craft Museum; artist and turner Jim Christiansen, author of Masters: Woodturning (Lark Books, 2009); and Jeffrey Bernstein, collector and former president of the Collectors of Wood Art.

A CRAFTSMAN is packing his bags for India to help mentor a business in the art of pen making.

Six months ago, woodturner Ron Caddy, of Acorn Crafts, was asked to mentor an Indian man who has a passion for pens and wanted to learn the craft to create a luxury handcrafted pen business.

On Tuesday he will be flying to Kochi, in southwest India’s coastal Kerala state, to officially help launch luxury brand Rytol Pens working with entrepreneur Sreenath Vishnu.

Ron said: “I thought this opportunity was too good to be true.”

 The Indian entrepreneur’s love of pens was inspired by his grandfather’s collection of over 2,500 writing implements.

Having already sold 15 luxury handcrafted pens to Rolls-Royce India, Sreenath reached out to Ron to help him improve his technical pen making skills.

Ron’s woodturning journey began in 1990 after his wife had secretly booked him onto a course as a Christmas present.

For the past 14 years, Ron has worked out of a unit at the Fairground Craft Centre, in Weyhill, but recently moved to a purpose-built workshop which is operating from his home.

Ron said: “Wanting to create something more useful than bowls, I had previously started making pens, using the Bic, discarding the plastic outside.

“The move to the centre developed the pen business and I now produce more pens than what I would call general woodturning including turning finials for cottages along the river at Ower.”

The expert craftsman has created his bespoke pens for several international companies.

He has enjoyed teaching others his craft throughout the years and is part of a nationwide team teaching teenagers the craft of woodturning alongside being the national coordinator for youth training for the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain.

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During his professional life he was an assistant professor in dentistry at Tufts College of Medicine and Dentistry and also at the New Jersey College of dentistry. He practiced in San Francisco, Iowa, New Jersey, Needham, Massachusetts, and finally, in Standish, Maine, since 1975.

Housley and his wife, Jeanine, reside in Limerick.

Housley’s after-hours hobby has always involved wood and in the past decade he has turned nearly exclusively to wood turning. His main interest is experimenting with new and different woods, techniques and tools for embellishing his turnings.

Housley is the only known Maine wood turner to employ a “Rose Engine,” a 19th-century lathe that was made by the British during the Industrial Revolution. He is embellishing many of his bowls, vases and lidded boxes with Rose Engine art and experimenting with softer woods and adding color, something not done in 19th-century Europe.

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It’s a quirky, little-known hobby.

But now a group of woodturners are opening their doors to newcomers and are inviting anyone to take a spin on their equipment.

The North London Woodturners club meet in the Arkley Village Hall, having moved from Muswell Hill to be closer to their members.

Not all members have worked with wood before, so some took on the role of mentor, coaching people on their lathes, a device which can spin a piece of wood to a 1000Rpm.

Items that can be made on the lathe include rolling pins, chair legs, door knobs, egg cups, and lamps.

 It is open to people of all ages and sexes.

David Gerrard, 81, an architect from Elstree, said: “It keeps you active, some here are professionals others do it as a hobby, I just love it so much.”

“I always had been handy with wood, and I met a friend at a wedding and he told me he was a wood turner and I thought fantastic, someone here taught me, gave me the training and now I got a workshop in my shed.

“You got to do stuff, keep active.”

Chairman Jeff Hyams, 75, from Edgware, joined the club in 2009 and became chairman in 2012.

Mr Hyams said: “I got into wood turning when I went on holiday with some pals and they got me a magazine about wood working for my 65th birthday.”

“I always liked to play around with wood but I saw what woodturning was and got on a course, then I bought a lathe.”

“We’re looking for members and we are happy to teach you.”

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Wood turners raise much-needed funds for, and awareness of, organ-donation.

Every year, respected wood turner of national renown Willie Creighton and a group of other skilled craftsmen from Mayo’s Craobh Eo Woodturners create fabulous pieces of work to raise much-needed funds for worthy causes. Past beneficiaries have included Mental Health, Enable Ireland, Pieta House, the Centre for Alzheimer’s in Ballindine and Cancer Mayo.

This year, their chosen charity strikes a chord with Willie’s personal health journey. Willie has kidney disease and gradually declining kidney function. The proceeds raised will go to the Irish Kidney Association.

Willie, who hails from Aghamore, is the National Chairman of the Irish Woodturners Guild, and nine others have produced an incredible replica of a Belle cement mixer made entirely out of wood. It is being exhibited at various locations around Mayo before its final destination of the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life in Turlough.

Proceeds from public contributions for the exhibitions – collected in an aptly kidney-shaped  collection box – will go to the Irish Kidney Association, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. When the art piece is eventually sold some of the proceeds will also go to the association also.

The highly accomplished wood turners have also donated several smaller beautiful crafted-wood items this year to the Mayo branch of the Irish Kidney Association for auction or raffle. These   include a bowl, clock and candle holders.

The Craobh Eo group presented a carved wooden Gaelic football to the Mayo team on winning five in a row, with the proceeds from fundraising going to the Centre for Alzheimer’s in Ballindine.

Cancer Mayo was the charity that benefited from the Chapter’s previous activity, a full-size Raleigh bicycle made entirely out of wood, which now takes pride of place in the foyer of Mayo University Hospital.

Craobh Eo
The Craobh Eo Woodturners, established in 2004, are a chapter of the Irish Woodturners Guild. Located in The Old School House, Aghamore, the group’s members are from all walks of life and from all over the county.

Their aim is to promote woodturning by giving new and experienced woodturners a platform to enjoy their passion. They do this by holding monthly get togethers where they can compare their ‘turnings’ and share their experiences, as well as organised seminars and demonstrations. They also hold workshops that are open to outside woodturners, who are welcome to join them.

“The work we do as a group is very therapeutic, and it’s nice to be able to help others with the fruits of our labour,” Willie explains. “When you put your hands to work, your brain gets to work!”

Willie’s story
A father of three, Willie runs his own wood turning and carpentry business. During his career, he has worked on various important projects, including the restoration of the 1916 Boland’s Bakery building in Dublin and the ceiling and roof at St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina.

“I was diagnosed in 2007 with kidney disease, but thankfully my condition was spotted early enough so that its progression could be slowed down by medication and adopting lifestyle and dietary changes. However, it is to be expected that I will be in end-stage kidney failure and, like almost 2,000 other people, will end up receiving dialysis treatment.

“I know people who have benefited greatly from organ donation. I would encourage people to carry a donor card, as God forbid, anything might happen [and] they might be able to give something back and save lives. An Irish phrase which I think sums up the importance of giving something back when translated is ‘We will get back eight times from God, if we give a little of what we’ve got back’.”

Forget them not
Approximately 550 people in Ireland are awaiting life-saving heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants. Thanks to the gift of organ donation, almost 3,500 transplanted people in Ireland are enjoying extended life today.

The focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week – which this year takes place from this Saturday, March 31, to Saturday, April 7 – is to raise awareness about the ongoing and ever-increasing demand for organ transplantation, which relies on the public for organ donation.

Its key message is that families need to talk to each other and keep the reminders of their willingness to donate visible by carrying the organ donor card and permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver’s license.

Organ Donor Awareness Week also serves as a fundraising exercise for the Irish Kidney Association. For the week the association’s volunteers will be out on the streets and in shopping centres throughout the county, distributing organ donor cards while selling ‘forget-me-not-flower’ emblems, brooches, pens and shopping trolley discs.

All proceeds will go towards the Irish Kidney Association’s aid for patients on dialysis and those patients fortunate enough to have received a kidney transplant.

Meanwhile, the Mayo craftsmen’s hands will not be idle. They will soon be starting a new project for another charity to benefit next year: An intricate wooden ferris wheel.
 
Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association, tel 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050 or visiting the Irish Kidney Association website at www.ika.ie/card. For more on the Craobh Eo Woodturners and their work, visit craobheowoodturners.com.

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Ronald Fleming is recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Professional Member in the field of Art in recognition of his role as Artist and Owner of Hearthstone Studios.            

Amassing over sixty years of experience in the field of Art, Fleming is an illustrious expert within his field. In his current capacity, Fleming is both Artist and Owner at Hearthstone Studios. Throughout his career, Fleming attained experience within the areas of illustrations, mixed media, public art, painting, crafting, art direction, art history, exhibit design, fine art photography, abstraction, pottery, logo design, graphics, curating, murals and art administration. Specialized in artistry, sculpting and wood turning, Fleming has also attained experience as an airbrush artist for the past thirty nine years.

As part of his body of work, Fleming began his career working as a Draftsman for the State Bridge Department in 1959. He has also worked on jobs for Douglas Aircraft, and worked on a famous project titled Dragon Dance, a turned and carved vessel. With the capabilities of manipulating, “wood so as to emulate images,” Fleming states that “It is never my intention to copy nature exactly, but to give my interpretation of what I see.” Furthermore, Fleming has produced a great deal of advertising material for nonprofit organizations from 1961 – 1996 through the Graphic Association, Inc.

Throughout the course of his education and training, Fleming attended Putnam High School and Oklahoma City University, where he studied Civil and Mechanical Engineering. After attending the university for one semester, Fleming decided that his passion lied within the areas of art. He participated in art-related activities and the Annual Report Group as a student.

To further his professional development, Fleming is an affiliate of several organizations including the American Association of Woodturners, the Graphic Association, Inc., the Center for Art in Wood, AAW and NEOWA.  In addition, Fleming has been featured in numerous art-related publications for his outstanding work to the field.

In recognition of his professional accolades, Fleming was awarded the 1991 American Crafts Award, and has been honored by the White House Collection of American Crafts as well as the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In looking to the future, Fleming hopes to continue his wood carving business as well as his airbrush illustrations.

When not working, Fleming enjoys spending time in nature.

Fleming dedicates this recognition in the loving memory of his wife, Patti.

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Members of the Hauraki Wood Turners Club went back to school recently to help with an historic renovation project.

President Janice Kwak said the club was contacted by a roofing contractor to see if members could replace four of the finials or decorative ornaments on the roof of the Karangahake School buildings.

“The finials were made by club members, replicated exactly from one of the ones needing to be replaced,” she said.

“Work has now been completed and the finials are in place. The school looks awesome in the bush setting in the hills above the gorge road.”

The school was a “hidden gem” in the Karangahake Gorge in the hills opposite the Karangahake Reserve parking area, she said. Built in 1889, it has recently been repainted and reroofed.

The school, which has a roll of about 40 pupils, was undergoing renovations which included reroofing repainting and the replacement of 4 finials that were rotting and two others had already been replaced previously.

Their wood burning fire, which is their winter method of heating, has also been replaced.

Kwak said other community based projects the turning club had been involved in included providing wood turned and scroll saw Christmas ornaments and wood turned toys for the Khaki Miners of World War I Christmas display in Waihi, part of the Oceana Gold projects.

The club currently has a home school student learning scroll saw skills and would welcome another one or two students, she said.

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A blind woodworker’s YouTube channel is drawing attention from the internet due to his stunning creations.

Christopher Fisher, founder of the Blind Wood Turner YouTube channel, lost his sight in 2008 due to a condition called toxoplasmosis.

Incredibly, Fisher learned his trade by listening to YouTube videos.

A blind woodworker’s YouTube channel is drawing attention from the internet due to his stunning creations.

Christopher Fisher, founder of the Blind Wood Turner YouTube channel, lost his sight in 2008 due to a condition called toxoplasmosis.

Incredibly, Fisher learned his trade by listening to YouTube videos.

After the first year of being blind, the tables were turned and I suffered with very severe anxiety.”

Thanks to help from the Royal National Institute of Blind People and other professionals, Fisher got back on his feet, building his YouTube channel to more than 4,000 subscribers.

Fisher uses a process of “start, stop, listen, touch, feel” to create his works, which include bowls, key rings and candlesticks.

“Obviously I’m listening all the time for auditory cues. There’s good and bad sounds and I’m listening to make sure a piece is balanced, safe, running smoothly,” he said.

“I’ll be able to tell by the interaction between the tool and the wood if there is a flaw in the wood or a crack.”

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In 2008, Christopher Fisher from Chorley lost his sight over a period of four weeks and is now completely blind. Despite his sudden loss of sight at just 39, he started using YouTube to learn woodturning and is now an incredible craftsman.

 

 

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