Nathalia’s Allan Fowler, 92, has been woodturning with the Woodturners of the Goulburn Valley for more than 20 years.

Yesterday, he passed some of his knowledge onto kinder children at Arthur Dickmann Children’s Centre in Shepparton.

‘‘People from all walks of life enjoy woodturning from bank managers, teachers to farmers,’’ Mr Fowler said.

‘‘When I retired I got into woodturning because my friends were … (and) I really enjoy the social aspect of it.’’

Mr Fowler’s great grandson Jack Barton, 5, was one of the many avid youngsters learning from the woodturning master — who is often mistaken for Santa Clause.

‘‘I grew my beard after my wife passed away … I wasn’t game enough to have it before then,’’ he said.
Kinder teacher Marni Thomson said the children regularly had community members visit the children’s centre.

‘‘We like to hear from locals … they often visit to share their interests with the kids,’’ she said.

‘‘Alan taught them how to put the wooden toys together … he made all the bodies himself and would’ve likely spent hours on them (ahead of his visit).

‘‘We’ve also been talking to the kids about old toys and what to do with them after they are no longer wanted.

‘‘We visited an op shop to see where toys can go and the kids carried them down and dropped them in the donation boxes.’’

Mr Fowler spends most of his spare time making children’s toys which he often gives away to children at Fairley’s IGA in Numurkah Rd, Shepparton.

‘‘I sit in the cafe and give the kids toys compliments of the GV Woodturners,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s just great to see them happy and enjoying themselves.’’

View source and photos.

The West Sussex Woodturners were somewhat surprised when they were joined by a Stormtrooper at their Kids craft activity day in Amberley Museum last Wednesday.

All was going to plan, with children delightedly woodturning their own mini-beasts, before finishing off their creations at the decorating tables when, unexpectedly, a Stormtrooper marched in with his prisoner, Caroline Jeffery, Amberley’s Education Officer.

With the Woodturners believing they had come under attack, all was made clear when the Star Wars character insisted that he too should try his hand at woodturning.

To the amazement of the many children who were making their mini-beasts, the Stormtrooper stood in place at the lathe to turn his own unique mini-beast from a galaxy far, far away.

Keith Greenfield, organiser of the Woodturners events at Amberley, said: “We host many kids’ days in the school holidays throughout the year, but this has got to have been one of the most unusual. The children love turning their own mini-beasts before decorating them and many come back time and time again over the year to create the different items for each themed event. Who knows – maybe the Stormtrooper will too…”

Proceedings were then delayed further as the special guest posed for photos with children, parents and West Sussex Woodturners, Keith Greenfield and Colin Willetts.

Delighted with his achievement, the Stormtrooper then remembered his duties and marched off to join forces with the six Daleks that were also invading Amberley Museum that day.

View source and photos.

The West Sussex Woodturners were given a surprise visit by Stormtroopers at their Kids Craft activity day last week. On Wednesday, children were woodturning their own mini-beast at Amberley Museum before a Stormtrooper marched in with his prisoner Caroline Jeffery, Amberley’s education officer.

With the Woodturners under attack, the Stormtrooper insisted he should have a go at woodturning before standing in place at the lathe to turn his own unique mini-beast from a galaxy far, far away. Keith Greenfield, organiser of the Woodturners events at Amberley, said “We host many kids days in the school holidays throughout the year, but this has got to have been one of the most unusual. “The children love turning their own mini-beasts before decorating them and many come back time and time again over the year to create the different items for each themed event. “Who knows, maybe the Stormtrooper will too.” The Stormtrooper later marched off to join six Daleks that also invaded Amberley Museum that day.

View source and photos.

Minerva’s Market Street Art Spot proudly presents the woodturning work of longtime Art Spot Resident Artist, Marty Chapman with a provocative show entitled “Woodturning: Art, Craft, or Firewood?”

The opening reception for “Woodturning: Art, Craft, or Firewood” will take place Friday, Sept. 8, 5-9 p.m.

According to Chapman, the show will showcase turned pieces he rescued from the firewood pile. He claims with tongue-in- cheek, that a variety of the turned work is destined to return to the firewood stack, if not displayed or utilized by someone.

Chapman noted that his woodturning for this show will consist of new pieces that command display but are not necessarily utilitarian, in his words, “just nice to look at and feel. Some times just looking at the curve in a finished display work and feeling the smooth or rough finish in the wood makes me feel good.”

He went on to say though, that often woodturning is more craft than art. “While a turner should concern himself with the perfect curve for things like bowls and vases, they are still useful items. The curve in a ring holder, wine stopper, rolling pin or tool handle is just as important as any other. It matters if the tool doesn’t feel good in your hand or look good on the table. Proportion in all things matters but making something useful often matters too.”

Chapman says that turning is not carving. Carvers work on a stationary piece of wood. He points out that turning requires the placement of a chunk of wood on a lathe where it is rotated at speeds approaching 2500 rpm and then the chunk is cut and shaped with a sharp hand held tool.

Chapman is one of the original Market Street Art Spot Resident Artists who together founded the gallery in 2011.

The Art Spot has showcased the work of its Resident Artists and featured local artists as well as 30 to 35 Display Artists from across Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania for more than six ages.

For 79 consecutive months, the Art Spot has held a Featured Artist Opening reception with live music, free food and refreshments.

This month, the guitar artistry of Dr. Tom Freeland of Minerva will bring a variety of the great American Songbook, jazz, blues and folk music to the Art Spot. This month’s sponsor of the opening reception is The Rutledge Family: Jill and Dick Rutledge, Evan Rutledge and Morgan and Joe Gotschall.

The Market Street Art Spot at 217 North Market Street, Minerva, is a collaborative gallery and continues to be open for regular business on Fridays from 1-6 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

“Woodturning: Art. Craft, or Firewood?” featuring the work of Marty Chapman will continue at the Art Spot through Oct. 7.

As they have done for more than six years, The Art Spot’s local volunteers, and Resident Artists will provide outstanding food and refreshments. As always, the reception, music and show are free and open to the public.

In addition to Marty Chapman in the Front Gallery, the Art Spot will feature throughout the gallery, the works of the Art Spot’s Resident Artists Anna Rather (printmaker, painter), Judi Longacre (painter), Susan Crawford (calligrapher,illustrator), Joan Henninger (painter) and long time Resident Artists Michelle Mulligan (oil painter), Laura Donnelly (potter and painter), and Judith Singer (raku potter).

The Market Street Art Spot is a collaborating partner with Arts in Stark and Carroll County Arts, the Village of Minerva, Minerva Local Schools and the Minerva Area Chamber of Commerce.

View source and photos.

The expo opened its doors to the public on August 23 at the Tehran Permanent International Fairground under the auspices of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicraft Organization.

It was about 11 am that I bumped into Deputy Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Ali Yazdani holding talks with various craftspeople on their issues and problems while hearing suggestions to gain a deeper insight into such demanding professions.  

A few meters away, CHTHO Deputy Director Bahman Namvar-Motlaq accompanied by Pouya Mahmoudian who presides over exports department of the organization, were conversing with exhibitors. So do ordinary people and handicraft buffs.

Such face-to-face talks summon up powers of inspiration and enable artisans to come up with a solution to make more and more novel designs. It also paves the way for delicately getting acquainted with tastes of people and actual customers so that handicrafts could find their way back into the real life.

With hundreds of nationwide artisans promoting skills at over 400 booths, the weeklong sales exhibition is expected to deepen cultural bonds and affinities that do exist between nomadic, rustic and modern urban lives.

On the fifth day of the exhibition, the Tehran Times conducted interviews with visitors, exhibitors and officials, excerpts of which come as follows:

ISIPO supports promotion of handicrafts

Yazdani who also doubles as the head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO), pledged the organization’s support for promoting handicrafts and lending a hand to artisans in terms of holding sales exhibitions, free-of-charge training sessions and hosting crafts workshops within industrial districts and townships.

“Any kind of support is necessary for development and promotion of handicrafts that is deeply rooted in history and culture of the country. Meanwhile it is a considerable source of generating [sustainable] jobs nationwide,” he said.

The ISIPO has signed a memorandum of understanding with the CHTHO, based on which great incentives are provided for artisans who set up their workshops within industrial estates and townships. In the field of education and training, we provide free-of-charge sessions with the help of experts in all branches of handicrafts industry, he explained.

“Within the framework of the memorandum, we also facilitate artisans’ participation in domestic and foreign exhibitions,” Yazdani said, noting that up to half of the costs for domestic exhibits are covered.”

Younger generations are coming

“Younger generations of artisans are entering this field, and their number is on the rise. And, thankfully, we are witnessing more practical handicrafts with outdated products being enlivened with more senses of creativity and novelty,” Namvar-Motlaq pointed out.

He also appreciated visitors and artisans for entering into dialogues, saying: “Holding dialogues is one of the most important features of the event during which people share their tastes with artisans.”

Various editions of the National Crafts Exhibition show that artworks are getting better and better in terms of qualitative craftsmanship and aesthetic qualities.

Exports on the rise

The value of handicrafts exports, excluding traditional jewelry and suitcase trade, added up to $237m in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2017), witnessing a 36.3-percent hike in comparison with the year earlier, Mahmoudian told the Tehran Times.

The official declined to reveal the value of exports for the first fourth months of the current year, saying the [promising] figures will be announced soon in a press conference.  She expected that Iran’s annual exports of handicrafts to reach $1b by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (March 2021).

Traditional ceramics, pottery, handwoven cloths as well as precious and semi-precious gemstones were amongst the most handicrafts exported, she said, adding Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany are the main importers of Iranian handicrafts with the U.S. and the UK recently resumed their imports.

Inspired by modern techniques and traditions

Yasser Yami, a member of the American Association of Woodturners, told the Tehran Times that he has successfully launched a production line for woodenware, using state-of-the-art tools and machinery over a span of three years.

Yami has showcased his works at over ten international crafts exhibits in Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Florence, China and the Canary Islands, where he envisioned combining modern techniques with genuine traditions of the motherland.  

He also attached great importance to appropriate packing and branding for Iranian handicrafts as fundamental necessities to global marketing.

Smaller fellow of Chinese counterparts

Zhang Wei, a visitor from China, compared the exhibit to that of counterpart events in his homeland, saying it’s smaller when it comes to the area and the number of booths but still “very good and welcoming”.  He was in search of some exquisite woodwork crafts across the fairground.

Chance for tasting regional dishes

Visitors have the chance to taste variety of traditional and regional snacks and dishes which are usually embellished with fragrant herbs while principally accentuate on freshness, deliciousness, and colorfulness.

The 28th National Crafts Exhibition has put on show woodwork, illuminated manuscript, miniature, textile printing, enamel, leatherwork, handwoven products, calligraphy, traditional musical instruments, metalwork, and marquetry, amongst a lavish patchwork of other skills.

Over the past couple of years, dozens of Iranian handicrafts have been honored with the UNESCO Seal of Excellence. In 2010, a total of 65 crafts on various themes including enamel, tile, metalwork, leatherwork, wood carving received the privilege.

View source and photos.

A business that caters to people interested in learning the art of woodturning and furniture making recently found a new home in downtown Ayden.

The N.C. Furniture School on Second Street, which offers ranging instruction that ranges from single-day workshops to month-long intensive classes, is an outlet for artisan and owner Stuart Kent to share a passion he has kindled for nearly 30 years.

“I started woodworking when I was 15, and I’m 42 now, so it’s been a while,” Kent said.

Over the years Kent has worked in a number of furniture factories and smaller shops. He has produced numerous pieces of furniture for East Carolina University and wood bowls made from trees that formerly stood around the capitol in Raleigh. State government officials give the bowls as commemorative gifts.

Kent earned a master’s degree from East Carolina University, taught university-level courses and had the chance to travel to Costa Rica as a Fulbright Scholar. When he returned from Costa Rica in 2014, he decided to open the school in Winterville.

“People that I met wanted access to the type of classes I was teaching at the university and the college level, so I started out with private classes and then decided to do the school full-time. I was doing furniture on commission and this for a while, but the school is really the focus now,” Kent said.

Originally from west Texas, Kent came to study at East Carolina University and decided to stay. Although he first opened the school in Winterville, he had hoped for some time to find a spot in Ayden.

“My thesis adviser owned a building here, so I came down a lot over the years to help him renovate, and I always loved the historic buildings downtown,” Kent said. “I just walked around and found this one was available and I new I wanted to do it.”

In the new location, Kent hopes to continue catering to a wide range of people interested in learning the arts of woodturning and furniture making. To help with that, he offers everything from one-day classes focused on a specific woodturning technique to week- or month-long courses that teach advanced furniture making skills.

“The classes we offer here have a huge value to the people who come through, and it’s all kinds that we see,” Kent said. “Some are hobbyists who just want a creative outlet, some are professionals with high stress jobs who do it for stress relief, and some are entrepreneurs looking to take up a skill not so many people have anymore as the number of woodworking shops has dropped off.”

Although some craft schools offer woodturning or furniture classes, his is the only dedicated furniture school in the state, Kent said.

“There’s a lot of value in well-made crafted objects, and I’m happy to play a part in keeping that tradition alive,” Kent said.

While many of those who attend classes are older men, he has been excited to see more young people and women taking up the craft, Kent added.

“Millennials are really coming into craft as a whole, and it’s refreshing and exciting to see younger people taking this up,” Kent said. “A healthy portion of the people that take classes with me are women and younger people, so I’m really happy about that.”

For those who attended an open house at the new location on Aug. 18, the prospect of the new school in Ayden was welcomed.

“We’re very excited to have a new business here, especially one that offers unique training opportunities like this,” said Ayden Commissioner Mike Harris.

Ben Trimpi, an instructor at Pitt Community College, had nothing but praise for Kent’s work.

“He does really good work. Not that long ago, I helped him move a reception table he had built into the Belk Building at ECU. It was huge. It took 18 people to move it, and it was great to see something like that built by someone local going into ECU rather than your run-of-the-mill factory furniture,” Trimpi said. “He’s got drive, and if a place like this is going to make a difference, he’s the one to do it.”

View source and photos.

Iran has a long and vibrant history of working with wood in the arts—from Khatam to modern woodturning artists, Persian artists have been transforming wood into extraordinary works of art for generations. And throughout the Diaspora, some Iranians have continued the woodworking tradition with just as much fire and excellence.

Never Cut A Living Tree

Massood and Sasha Nouri are a father and daughter team of wood turners who have molded clumps of wood into functional art since 2009 when they began their business “Under The Chestnut Tree.” Their work is crafted from a variety of wood but always with an eye towards respect for nature and sustainability.

“I will never cut a living tree,” Massood said. “Usually we use wood from broken trees, fallen trees. Or, if a living tree must be cut because it is harming a building or is dangerous, we will use that.”

But Massood doesn’t find it acceptable to simply impose his artistic vision onto the wood cut from a living tree. All living trees must be given voice to express into what they want to transform.   “I think all trees are very much alive. They have feelings just like us,” Massood said. “And when I have a living tree that’s been cut, I like to study the tree. I look at the how the wind has shaped it and the elements, and I listen to what that is telling me, and that is what I do, that is what I create.”

Massood’s creations are made from listening to the wood but also to his daughter, Sasha, who has been shadowing him and learning from him since she was a little girl. Sasha and Massood always had many of the same interests, and over the years Sasha took on a kind of informal apprenticeship with her father. She learned how to turn wood and eventually in 2009 while Sasha was in college, she and her father began their business together. It started small—Sasha and Massood created bowls and other functional art made from wood that everyone loved. “So many people wanted my father’s bowls,” Sasha said. “We just said, ‘you know, we should make this a business’.”

Women’s Work

The woodworking community is dominated by men, and because of that this father and daughter team stands out. “My father is a feminist. All of us are,” Sasha said. “He never stopped me and my sister from doing things that some people thought should only be for boys.”

Massood is a lot more bold about his thoughts on the matter, insisting that not only was it right and normal for Sasha to learn woodworking but that some of the best woodturners are female.

“In my experience, women create some of the most amazing pieces,” Massood said. “It’s true that historically, it has been a very male art but maybe that is because back then, you needed physical strength to pick up a large piece of wood and work it. But also, it is women who create the most delicate and intricate pieces with the most emotion and feeling in them. I say that women are simply better at creating these types of pieces.”

For her part, Sasha is humbled by the opportunity to work with her father. “Nowadays, most people live so far away from their parents,” Sasha says. “It’s not like how I have it. I feel so blessed to be here with my father, working with him every day and learning from him.”

Sasha and Massood hope that their collaboration can continue for many more years.

View Source and photos.

August 24, 2017   Yesterday, the world lost gifted artist, visionary, and friend, Binh Pho. Today, we mourn the loss of a kind and creative spirit who generously supported and influenced so many people in positive ways. We are blessed to have known Binh, and we celebrate his life and honor his legacy. Our hearts go out to Binh’s family. In Binh’s memory, we’d like to share the article below, “Binh Pho: AAW Honorary Lifetime Member,” by Kevin Wallace, which appeared in the June 2017 issue of American Woodturner.

Binh Pho at work on a vessel of cast glass. BINH PHO: AAW HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBER Kevin Wallace   The AAW Board of Directors at its discretion confers honorary lifetime membership to persons who, in its judgement, have made extraordinary contributions to the American Association of Woodturners and the advancement of woodturning. Binh Pho, Roots of Heaven, 2012, Box elder, cast glass,  acrylic paints, 17″ x 10″ (43cm x 25cm). Combining glass and wood, Roots of Heaven was part of a body of work illustrating the narrative Shadow of the Turning, by Binh Pho and Kevin Wallace. To create a glass piece like this, Binh turns and carves the wood vessel, then makes a mold to cast the glass. Early in his career as a woodturner, Binh Pho made a decision to keep his day job. It was in part a pragmatic decision-he had a wife and children to provide for, and the life of an artist is usually filled with financial challenges. Perhaps more importantly, it was an artistic decision. Binh had worked his way up as an exhibiting woodturner, from church bazaars to craft fairs, and was aware that a professional artist needed to create work for the marketplace. His voice as an artist was still emerging, yet being attracted to the artistic realm, he sought to heed that voice and create what he wanted, whether it sold or not. Ultimately, this unique combination of artistic vision and business acumen allowed him to contribute greatly to the field of woodturning and to the AAW. Binh with mentors and friends, from left: Fletcher Hartline, Binh Pho, Michael Hosaluk, and Randy Glasco, 1997, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Transcending perceived limitations Binh Pho is best known as an artist who has expanded the potential of woodturning, shattering accepted boundaries and transcending perceived limitations along the way. His works utilize wood yet are not limited by the material or preconceptions regarding its use. In a field dominated by an embrace of the natural material and traditional forms, he has placed the idea or story front and center, using whatever techniques and media are necessary to realize his vision. He draws upon traditions of craft and fine art, while combining and reinventing them. From left: Randy Glasco, Binh Pho,  Fletcher Hartline, and Frank Sudol, 1998, Binh’s studio. Today, one is likely to encounter a work by Binh Pho made of glass, yet woodturning remains central to the process of exploring form and utilizing the material. His artistic explorations have not only expanded his own work, they have redefined the field and created a market made up of those who previously collected glass or painting. If for no other reason, Binh Pho deserves to be awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership in the AAW for his work as an artist on behalf of all woodturners. Yet, this is only part of the story. Binh Pho collaboration with Frank Sudol, Heart in Heaven,  2015, White birch, acrylic paints, 14″ x 7″ (36cm x 18cm). In 2007, Frank Sudol’s widow, Lois, gave Binh one of Frank’s blank vessels. Binh finished the piece and titled it,The World of Frank Sudol. The piece sold in the AAW auction that year during the Symposium in Portland, Oregon, for a record $30,000. The bidding between Frank’s doctor, Michael Kowbel, and Dr. Jim York was highly competitive, but the Yorks ended up with the piece. Dr. Kowbel approached Binh after the auction and said he would like to have a similar collaboration piece, offering to donate an undisclosed amount to Lois. So Binh worked on another blank vessel from Frank, pictured here. Heart in Heaven was made in Frank’s memory, and the hearts between the negative spaces are reminders that “we are sending our love to heaven.” Two careers Binh is not the first to decide to maintain a professional career in one field, as well as a second career as an artist. Although it is unusual, he is not the first to have a mind that is equally at home in the realm of the arts and business – or to understand how to apply creativity to the concerns of a corporate executive. One thing that does set him apart is that he has exceptional energy-or Qi, to use the Chinese term-that allows him to maintain both careers with the same commitment of time, while maintaining a generosity of spirit to assist his countless friends in their endeavors. Binh’s ability to work on considerably less sleep than the average person is well known in the woodturning field. John Hill learned this first hand: “When he visits us, I tell him that I am going to bed and he goes down to my shop until the wee hours of the morning, making art and talking to his employees and customers around the world on his ever present mobile phone.” “Knowing Binh and his life story, I asked him several times to agree to serve on the AAW Board, believing that he would do a great job,” Hill continues. “He finally agreed to be nominated and was elected and served the organization for six years with the same enthusiasm, vision, and drive that has made him a war survivor, top engineer with a worldwide company, a successful family man, a world-class artist, and generous teacher. He has done as much for the AAW and the wood art field as any other top leader that we have had.” Former AAW President David Wahl, who met Binh in the early 1990s in St. Louis, when they both started turning, credits Binh’s wife Vi for understanding and supporting his woodturning pursuits. It was a career that called for him to spend almost every night working in the studio, not to mention countless weekends away from home. She was also central to handling the business of marketing DVDs and the tools he endorsed.       Binh Pho,To Be or Not To Be, 2015, Bronze, silver, maple, acrylic paints, 5″ x 8″ (13cm x 20cm). This piece combines wood and metal to express the meaning of Yin and Yang. Binh notes, “Life is filled with wonder. Some things happen for a reason, yet they’re not always as they appear to be. A good thing may not be all good and a bad thing may not be all bad. Life and death, success and failure, love and loss, all present an endless cycle of all things in the balance of Yin and Yang.”   A friend to all It is not just that Binh Pho has the energy to devote himself full-time to a career in business and that of an artist, but he somehow finds the time to be a true friend to a large number of individuals internationally. Despite the many demands on his time, Binh manages to speak regularly to friends and students, to offer advice to emerging artists, and is truly a life-long friend to those who are fortunate enough to be part of his life. “Binh truly cares about helping people, and will put his plans and desires aside in order to help you do something,” notes Wahl. “In the late 1990s, Binh was invited for the first time to go to the Emma Lake woodturning event in Canada, which also provided the opportunity to visit with one of his greatest mentors, Frank Sudol. He flew to Canada just before the event started, but when he got there he was told that his friend and woodturning mentor Fletcher Hartline had suddenly died in Southern Illinois.Binh left Canada and went to be with Fletcher’s widow and help her with the funeral arrangements.” “The greatest benefit I received for volunteering to serve on the AAW Board was working closely with Binh Pho for six years and becoming his friend,” says former AAW President Dale Larson. “Binh was a source of non-stop proliferation of ideas. He had many ideas every day and could explain why each of them was a good idea. In addition, he was able to explain to the Board how our decisions affected artists and the art world. This was critical to decision-making on the Board. I am honored to say Binh Pho is my friend.” Binh Pho takes the podium at the 2011 AAW International Symposium,   Saint Paul, Minnesota. Contributions Binh Pho’s contributions to the AAW and to the woodturning field include his merit as an artist, teacher, AAW Board member, and his generosity of spirit. Binh has participated in both Educational Opportunity Grant (EOG) and Professional Outreach Program (POP) exhibitions, bringing in more than twice as much as the next highest-selling artist. He was also central to creating the simultaneous online bidding process now used for both POP and EOG auctions, expanding the collector base and boosting the auction proceeds. “Binh personally knows all the major collectors and actively works with them to ensure their continuing support for the AAW,” observes artist Malcolm Zander. Binh Pho served on the AAW Board of Directors for six years. Pictured here, the 2012 Board and staff, from left: Stan Wellborn, Kurt Hertzog, Binh Pho, Dale Larson, Jean LeGwin, Warren Carpenter, Cassandra Speier, Tom Wirsing, Linda Ferber (AAW Program Director), Phil McDonald (AAW Executive Director) and Botho von Hampeln. Binh’s service to the AAW board alone is enough to earn him this honor, as those who worked with him gladly attest. “Binh was a force on the AAW Board,” says Tom Wirsing, who served with Binh for five years. “He was immensely influential and so persuasive he became a powerful change agent. Many of the positive changes in the AAW that have benefited all of us had their genesis with Binh. The AAW underwent great change during Binh’s time on the Board, and he was fundamentally involved in the changes. He is a visionary. He works very hard. He is very smart and perceptive. He understands the art world far better than most. We are all the beneficiaries of Binh’s contributions.” “Binh Pho is one of the most relentlessly positive people I have ever met,” says Jean LeGwin. “We worked together for four years on the AAW Board of Directors and during that very challenging time, Binh always sought solutions that were best for everyone-a win-win where all parties benefited. He never accepted the proposition that something couldn’t be done or wouldn’t work. Instead he chose to look for a way around (or even through) the troubling issue until a solution was found. The same drive that led him to escape Vietnam despite many failed attempts drove him to continue finding solutions-he never gives up. His was never the loudest voice, but it was the most creative and persistent.” “Binh’s support for the AAW is legendary,” notes Kurt Hertzog. “He will donate his time, his work, his expertise, and go to bat for the organization whenever needed. He has always been there whenever I’ve asked anything. He is generous to a fault. When I think of someone I’d choose to have my back, I’d pick Binh as my first choice.” “Binh is a visionary beyond this world, and sees things in a very different light than the rest of us,” notes Curt Theobald, who has worked with Binh in connection with the AAW’s POP Committee, and as an artistic collaborator. “His ideas often work well; when they don’t, the less than desirable outcome gives Binh alternate ideas to explore or be easily modified so the original vision becomes more and more elaborate and exciting.” Binh’s ability to multitask is legendary-something Theobald has experienced repeatedly: “I have spent lots of time with Binh since I first met him, and he can be on a conference call that is muted, talk to me about something else,and airbrush his art simultaneously. He can quickly cancel the conference call mute to express his opinion and how he believes the problem needs to move forward, not missing a stroke with the airbrush. He is similarly a gifted coordinator/manager, and has the ability to keep multiple people on track to achieve a common goal in his day job as well as in his art studio.” “The wood art field is indebted to Binh, as he has pushed the boundaries beyond many people’s comfort zone,” Theobald adds. “He possesses a way of seeing things very acutely and differently intertwined inside his mind. We are all benefactors of his vision. With Binh’s push, along with the founding turners of the modern woodturning movement, wood art is where it is today.”

More about Binh Binh’s website The Story Teller, by Delia O’Hara, American Craft Magazine, June/July 2016 VIDEO: Shadow of the Turning: The Art of Binh Pho, John Thornton/The Center for Art in Wood (TRT 12:04) VIDEO CLIP: Binh Pho featured in documentary film, “Last Days in Vietnam” AAW EXPLORE! (You must be logged in as an AAW member for access.) Review: Binh Pho at the Mobile Museum of Art, David M. Fry, American Woodturner, October 2013 Surface Design for Turning, Binh Pho, American Woodturner, Summer 2002 Splash of Color and Light, Binh Pho, American Woodturner, Winter 2000 Cityscape Series, Binh Pho, American Woodturner, Summer 2000 From SOFA to Lathe, Binh Pho, American Woodturner, Spring 1999 Books River of Destiny: The Life and Work of Binh Pho, Kevin Wallace and Binh Pho Shadow of The Turning, Kevin Wallace and Binh Pho

222 Landmark Center | 75 5th St W, St. Paul, MN 55102-7704 877-595-9094 | 651-484-9094 | woodturner.org

After 31 years of service, Albert LeCoff will retire from his role, as of the end of May 2018, as the Executive Director of The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, PA. Albert will stay involved in various activities in an advisory capacity to advance the Center’s mission. A national search for Albert’s successor will be initiated by the Center’s Board of Trustees in September 2017.

From Albert LeCoff:
“As the Co-Founder of the Center with my brother Alan, I had the good fortune of aligning myself with Bruce A. Kaiser, the first president of the Board of Trustees, who understood my vision and helped jumpstart the reality. Many trustees over the years have helped plan and shape the Center, along with many individuals and foundations whose financial supported helped make my “dream come true.” It all started with an original $5,000 challenge grant, matched by artists donating work for sale. Over 40 years, I’ve interacted with hundreds of international artists and enjoyed watching their growth. Dozens of talented staff members and contractors helped create exhibitions and permanent documentation of wood as an evolving art form.  Collaborations with museums and schools enabled me to stage many exhibits before and after the Center scored its own public facility in 2000, and the museum collection has grown by leaps and bounds. I look forward to meeting the next artistic leader whose charge will be continuing the Center’s legacy and championing the innovative efforts of artists who create with wood.”
 
From Board President, John Dziedzina:
“Board members throughout the history of the Center were drawn to it because Albert’s passion ignited their passion. However, the Center is not a one-person show even if it can be traced back to a singular vision. Albert’s collaborative spirit has grown the organization to a point where we can look towards the future. We are thankful for his commitment to the Center’s continued work and we look forward to “writing” the next chapter of this storied institution.”

What started as a “passion project” resulted in a nonprofit organization that is now recognized as one of the foremost authorities on wood art and one of the most dedicated advocates for artists who work with wood and other materials. Albert’s early entry into concentrated study and appreciation of wood turning stemmed from his experience as a professional wood turner and his background as a teacher and educator. Before incorporating the Center as a nonprofit in 1986, co-founded with his brother Alan originally as The Wood Turning Center, Albert and Alan organized wood turning symposiums, ten years prior, that became acclaimed forums for makers from all over the world.

Realizing the tremendous growth of the wood turning field over the course of the symposiums, and wanting to increase public awareness, in 1981 Albert staged his very first exhibition and publication, Gallery of Turned Objects: The First North American Turned Object Show. More than one hundred exhibitions and twenty publications later, The Center for Art in Wood has continued to thrive, from the original symposiums through the Wood Turning Center in the house Albert shares with wife Tina LeCoff, to an Old City institution.

The Center now sponsors four to five exhibitions during the year; has a twenty-two year old annual international residency program, that hosts six artists, a photojournalist and a scholar; has a comprehensive library of resources dedicated to the study and documentation of wood turning, woodworking and wood artists; and houses a museum collection of over 1,100 objects.

Throughout Albert’s tenure, he has played a leading role as an advocate for emerging, mid- career and established artists in the field. In 2011, the Center’s mission was purposely broadened to signal a departure from solely wood-turned objects to a more expansive recognition of wood art in all its forms, facilitated by various techniques and multiple materials.
 
He is widely regarded for his skills in evaluating quality, craftsmanship and artistic achievement within the field of wood art.

The Board of Trustees and the Center’s staff express their deep gratitude for his leadership and personal contributions to the organization, and look forward to honoring his vision and his devotion to the field going forward.

 

View source and photos.

Steve Dyni would never knock wood.

The Sault Ste. Marie artisan appreciates all the possibilities the material offers his creativity.

When he was an apprentice machinist, Dyni put “a big chunk” of birch on his lathe.

“That made a mess, but I made a bowl out of it,” he told The Sault Star. “I’ve always had the interest.”

He bought a wood lathe from a friend about two decades ago.

“Wood turning is very much like metal turning,” said Dyni of his 30-year trade at Essar Steel Algoma. “It’s even a little bit easier.”

He’s used his talent to make items for around the house and gifts. The Sault native started attending art sales six years ago. The wood turner will be at Art on the Bay at Voyageurs’ Lodge and Cookhouse in Batchawana Bay on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With two lathes in his garage, Dyni makes bowls ranging in size from two to 11 inches in diameter, decorative hollow forms, wine bottle stoppers, rolling pins, salt and pepper cellars and more.

“I’m trying to make a variety of items that’ll keep people looking at my art a little bit longer,” said the American Association of Woodturners member.

More recently, the father of two started to craft magic wands.

“It’s been fun to do some different items,” said Dyni. His wands, priced at $20, feature beads and coves to add more detail to his work.

The artisan is also dyeing some of his wood art with yellow, orange, red and blue, or a combination of colours, since last fall.

“I’m really anxious to see how people react to these,” said Dyni.

He gets his ideas from several sources including requests from browsers, the Pinterest website and attending several AAW symposiums.

Dyni partners with Ontario Wood. The province’s wood offerings are “some of the nicest,” available he said.

His experience has highlighted softwoods are easier to turn on his lathe, but he’s not keen about their grain compared to apple or sugarplum. The grain, after all, “makes the bowl.” His bowls are priced from $10 to $120.

When logging was done near his camp at Old Mill Bay north of the city, Dyni got the OK to check wood left behind. He found burls, knots or balls on a tree, that offer him “unusual colours, unusual hues, different textures, different densities” to work with.

“They make a really interesting bowl,” said Dyni. “One burl is different from the next.”

Dyni registered his business, Be Good Turn Wood, in February. His website, www.begoodturnwood.ca, is under development and expected to launch by mid-September.

Dyni has other ideas he’s keen to pursue. He wants to make wood art. Christmas ornaments are also on the way.

“I’m always thinking,” said Dyni. “There’s always something new.”

Upcoming appearances for Dyni include Canadian Bushplane Heritage Museum on Nov. 11 from 2 to 8 p.m. and at Sylvan Hall during Sylvan Circle Tour on Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More than two dozen artists, including Steve McGarry (air brush paintings), Bev Hamel, Gwen Goulet (jewelry) and Lisa Macdonald Waite (handcrafted teddy bears) will also participate art Art on the Bay.

View source and photos.