We had a good turnout this at month's meeting and a great Show and Tell. Keep reading to see some pretty awesome pieces and a number of good stories.
One of my favorites of the night was Tom Gall's work. Tom let us in on his never-give-up approach to turning: while making the natural edge vessel, shown below, despite a number of cracks, mess-ups and misfortunes, he persevered and ended up with a great piece. Paraphrasing one of our members- sometimes wood just isn't meant for the fireplace. Tom also shared his fondness Stephen Hogbin (ten style points for that) and his Hogbin-style vessel. And if that wasn't enough, Tom also showed a great Nick Agar inspired bowl. This bowl was not only beautiful, but so light! Tom's technical skills and artistic sensibilities really came together in this piece. With a wink and a nod to Agar's Viking Sunset series, Tom calls this one Senior Citizen Sunrise.
Siobhra DeWar came across some banksia pods recently and made some cool pendants. She explained that she later found examples of these on the web, "They stole my idea before I had a chance to come up with it!"
Fond of Harry Potter, she also made a a wizard's wand with an interchangeable base, and if you didn't know, that is where you put the source of your magic. Siobhra then told a touching story of a young girl who received one of her wands, put a lock of her mother's hair into the wand and sent it off to her father in Afghanistan. Well done, Siobhra.
Here's the tip of the wand, now you select and interchangeable base. Include some unicorn hair and you are ready for some magic.
Ed Ryan, prolific as ever, showed several natural edge bowls, and encouraged us to make some, too, since they are easy to turn-out. Easy for Ed! Here's the slide show of Ed's pieces.
Andy Postlewaite showed his latest turnings made from some Yew, a source that Ron Durr shared with him.
Ron Durr brought a bowl, shown below, that he decorated with a pattern he came up with after seeing Sharon Doughtie's Celtic Knot demonstration.
And in usual style, Ron didn't stop there. Look at the range of his technical and design expertise in the slideshow below: captured ring, segmented turning, complicated inlays, piercing, hollow vessel turning. Wow!
Andy DiPietro shared his expertise and talent as well. His trademark hollow vessels are not to be beat. Click on any of these to see just how great they are.
Here is a Celtic Knot taken to a new level! Joyce McCullough created a box top that is a 3 dimensional knot. And with some encouragement from Linford Sine, that knot became a snake. Click through the slideshow to see other examples of how Joyce takes an idea and makes it uniquely her own.
Tom Hauber brought along a nicely executed salt shaker.
Nate scaled back, but only in size this meeting. We think he is saving up his energy for the big Holiday Fair at Grand Central. He'll be there for 37 days, so if you find yourself in the City, stop by and buy a piece. Nate joked that if he ran out of inventory, he'd be calling fellow members for backup! Knowing Nate's work and productivity makes it tough to say whether he will need to make that call.
Matt has had a number of weddings this summer, so he's been busy making his customary wedding goblets. And he's made a few beauties. Here's a piece of wood that had a defect that Matt turned into a gem!
Saving one of the best for last, here's the latest work by Michael Kehs. Michael talked about getting inspiration from Michael Hosaluk and Nick Agar for his horns. These are even more impressive up close- a perfect marriage of technique and decoration.
Michael also presented a number of spheres that he's been working on- beautiful solids and surprising boxes. Michaelalso showed an elm burl vessel and an early Christmas ornament, too.
Check out his spectacular Don't Gogh, Michael's nod to the artist Van Gogh in a base that supports his wonderfully decorated bee box.
