September Demonstrator – Tones Briggs

“Tones” (AKA-Dennis Briggs):

Woodturning for me began back in 1998 after meeting Ted Bartholomew at a turning exhibit at Seattle Center. I attended one of Ted’s Saturday classes and was immediately hooked. Subsequently I have had the opportunity to attend a number of symposiums, meet a number of great woodturners, as well as having participated in hands on classes from some of the best. I have also had the privilege and honor of being able to turn regularly with David Schweitzer, a great friend and mentor.

I continue to enjoy turning hollow forms, natural edge bowls, ornaments and finials and strive to hone my skill with each turn I am involved in.

Most recently I have begun to explore the Asian “rice bowl” as its form, function and simplicity continue to intrigue me. I will share some of these discoveries with you as your demonstrator for this month. My hope is that this will stir some of you to explore this area along with me.

Tones

demonstrator / members / Membership Meeting

AAW Message

The following messaged was sent by the AAW on behalf of the Northwest Washington Woodturners

northwest washington woodturners logoNorthwest Washington Woodturners is pleased to announce A DAY WITH DOUGLAS FISHER on October 22 in Anacortes, WA. We invite you to join us and share in this informative day. Douglas will be discussing and demonstrating the details of how he creates his unique turned sculptures. Registration is only $35 and includes snacks, beverages and lunch.

Please find attached a .pdf file which provides all the relevant information. If you have further questions please feel welcome to contact me.

The Anacortes area is a wonderful place to spend a weekend. If you will be staying in our area overnight, a list of accommodations including hotel/motel, B&B and RV is available upon request.

Rick Anderson
Vice President
Northwest Washington Woodturners

VicePresident@NWWWT.org
360-319-7600

AAW / Message / woodturning events

Craft Master 2011

Last April I posted about a new Irish reality show called Craft Master 2011. This show will pit three apprentices each week in an intensive two-week residential course in the discipline of their choice under the guidance of a relevant Master of Craft. There are five different disciplines, including woodturning. The winners of each of the 5 disciplines will then face off in the series finale.

The woodturning segment is Episode 4 which is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 27th. The Mentor for the woodturners is Glenn Lucas who is one of the most established woodturners in Ireland. Glenn sells his own work, conducts woodturning classes in his shop, and demonstrates around the world, including the 2009 Utah Symposium, the 2010 AAW Symposium, June 2011 at Arrowmont, the 2011 Norwegian Woodturning Cruise and numerous woodturning clubs and guilds.

The schedule for the six week series can be found on the Crafts Council of Ireland website.

woodturning events

Dr. Don Avery, Avid Turner, Passes Away

[note]This message was received via Fred Holder[/note]

Just a word to let the club know that Dr. Don Avery has passed away and
they are having an auction of his things on September 11, he was an avid
woodworker and woodturner. Perhaps you can get the word out to your
club. Below is the message from his daughter.

Fred Holder, More Woodturning

Dear Fred,

I was going through my father’s emails yesterday and found your note. I
wanted to let you know that very sadly my father died on July 1, very
unexpectedly of a fast-moving cancer.. He was an avid wood turner and
enjoyed learning about it so much.

I’m back in Quilcene Washington at his house and we’re sorting through
all of the stuff in preparation for an auction next Sunday (Sept 11).
It’s one of those sad but necessary things. There will be a tremendous
amount of wood turning equipment, supplies and tools for sale–I’m not
sure if you are in the area, but if you are, or if you have society
members around that you could let know, please come. The website is
http://www.stokesauction.com/offsite5/offsite5.htm, but I think it
doesn’t do full justice to the quantity of tools and wood that my father
amassed, and I know that he would want it to go to fellow wood turners
who would be able to appreciate it. (And if you have suggestions for
people I should reach out to who would want to know, please let me know.)

Thanks,

Jessica

tools / woodturner profile

What’s Happening at Other Chapters

The Inland Northwest Woodturners will be meeting on September 1st. Agenda was not set yet, but may include finials, Christmas ornaments or finishes.

The Seattle Woodturners meeting on September 8th will feature Avelino Samuel, a turner from St. John in the Virgin Islands. He has been creating wood art for more than 25 years using wood native to the Caribbean, such as mahogany and seagrape. Avelino will also be conducting a day-long class for the SPSW on September 16th.

The Cascade Woodturners meet on September 15th with a demonstration of carving flutes in a vessel by Avelino Samuel. Avelino is conducting an all-day demo on the 14th at Dale Larson’s shop.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners are meeting on September 15th with a demonstration by GVWG member Marco Berera who might yodel, and will turn a canteen.

The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild will be starting up again, also with Avelino Samuel holding a demo on September 17th and a class by Avelino on September 18th. The regular Guild meeting will be on the 28th of September.

The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island will be starting up for the Fall on Saturday, September 24th.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners are also meeting on September 28th with a demonstration by Donald Derry on coloring. SPSW members will remember that Donald did a similar demonstration at our May membership meeting that was well received.

AAW / chapter profile / woodturning events

News From the AAW

[note]The following is from the latest newsletter of the American Association of Woodturners. There is an amazing amount of activity going on in the AAW to advance the state of our craft, so if you are not already a member please consider joining.[/note]

aaw symposium collageOur 25th Anniversary Symposium was a great success and we want to share some of the highlights with you. We had over 1,700 registered attendees, 83 youth program participants, our largest Trade Show, and a rich Instant Gallery.

In addition to photos and highlights from the sypmposium in this newsletter, take a look at the calls for entry, Board of Directors voting information, and upcoming regional symposia.

We hope that you have had a great summer!

Photos from the symposium can be found on our Facebook page or at aawoodturners.blogspot.com

Remember to Vote for the AAW Board of Directors

The Nominating Committee has presented six candidates to the AAW Membership for their consideration. Find out more information about each candidate here.

Voting began August 1, 2011. Your vote must be cast electronically or postmarked no later than October 21, 2011.

You have two ways to vote:

1) Electronically: Visit woodturner.org/boardvote and log-in using your member number and password

2) Paper ballot: Complete the paper ballot, which is included in your poly-bagged August issue of American Woodturner, and mail using the enclosed self-addressed envelope.

All voting is handled by an audit firm; therefore the AAW office will not be able to send replacement ballots. If your ballot is misplaced, you will need to cast your vote electronically. We encourage you to participate in the voting process and hope that you are able to take the time to help make this election turnout significant.

Book Signing Event at Special Interest Night

The Special Interest Night book signing event was an even bigger success than we could have imagined. Attendees patiently waited in a line that traveled into the hallway to have over 50 artists and authors sign their books. Three of the woodturning community’s latest books were available that night; Conversations with Wood: Selections from the Waterbury Collection; The Cutting Edge: Contemporary Wood Art and the Lipton Collection; and Woodturning Today: A Dramatic Evolution. It was a great chance for people to browse the great new woodturning books, and meet the top artists and collectors.

Woodturning Today: A Dramatic Evolution

The symposium gave us a chance to showcase AAW’s 25th Anniversary book, Woodturning Today: A Dramatic Evolution. The response from members and the woodturning community was great!

This 256-page book is filled with color photographs of beautiful turned art, personal narratives, and a detailed walk-through of the past twenty-five years of AAW. Continue to tell the story of the American Association of Woodturners, and help new turners explore the history of this amazing craft.

We are happy to announce that pre-orders are arriving on the doorsteps of people around the world. Thank you all for your patience. We hope you enjoy your commemorative book!

If you have not yet ordered your copy, please page through this 18 page excerpt from Woodturning Today.

Object Conservation

During the 2011 Symposium, AAW and the Collectors of Wood Art co-sponsored a discussion on object conservation. The discussion was led by conservators, Laura Kubick and Hugh Schockey, from the Lunder Conservation Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC.

The Smithsonian has generously shared their hand-outs from the panel discussion. Two articles are available to view online: Selecting Materials for Wood Art and Preservation of Wooden Objects.

Unseen Pleasures of Turning

Tib Shaw, Curator of the AAW’s Gallery of Wood Art, and Malcolm Zander worked with Vision Loss Resources in Minnesota to organize an event at the symposium for a small group of blind participants to learn more about woodturning.

Follow this link for details and photos from the event.

Thank You 2011 Symposium Volunteers!

On behalf of the entire AAW board and staff, we would like to thank all of the volunteers that worked so hard during the symposium. The 25th Anniversary International Symposium was a milestone in AAW history, and because of the strong support from volunteers, the symposium continues to be a great success! Thank you for all of your dedication and hard work.

Please take a moment to look at the list of 2011 symposium volunteers.

AAW / newsletter