Hi all,
I've never been able to get to any of the AAW Symposia(?) due to work load. But this past weekend, the Collectors of Wood Art were kind enough to hold their annual shindig in my home town, Santa Fe, NM. No demos or tools for sale. But a number of wood galleries and turners were present.
General Impressions.
Prior to the weekend, I had only ever had the pleasure of meeting one "famous" turner, John Jordan. This weekend I met and talked with: David Ellsworth, David Nittman, Betty Scarpino, Todd Hoyer, Hayley Smith, Art Leistman, Ron Gerston, Tom Dunne and Bin Phou (sp?). What a treat to talk to all of these down-to-earth, accommodating people willing and eager to share their visions, techniques, etc. Made me proud to be a fellow turner.
Also got to see and touch many turned pieces rather than be content with pictures in a book. There is such a dizzying array of talent that it boggles the mind. Tangential to recent topics about the newer generation of turners, the simple elegance of a Ray Key piece stood up well to some of the more "worked" pieces. It showed me that turnings run quite a spectrum and all pieces are wonderful within the framework of what the turner was trying to do. It was also a little humbling seeing the difference between those pieces and my feeble attempts.
Ron Gerston was displaying what was described as the largest hollowed vessel in the world. Didn't have a tape measure but it was about 15" high and about 4' in diameter. He also does combination bronze casting and turning that were simply incredible to behold. There are a few pictures of this work at Del Mono's web site.
By Saturday evening, I was in sensory overload. I'm so very fortunate that this time, the "mountain came to Mohammed" since this "Mohammed" can't ever get to the mountain. (No religious oriented comments back, please).
Happy turning to all
-- George L. Tanty