August, 2005

Meeting Information: Saturday, August 27th, from 9 am to Noon

Jim Rinde: Turning a hollow form with a boring bar

At Levi Mize Woodcraftsman’s Shop

162 Aviador Street #17+18, Camarillo, CA 93010

Aviador Street is N. of the Camarillo Airport and is reached from the Central Ave. exit off of US 101: go S. and turn left on Ventura Blvd. then right on Aviador St.  About three-quarters of the way to the dead end, on the left is a long building.  Levi’s  shop is the last two doors on the left on the S. side of the building.  Please park directly in front of or behind his shop or against the curb on the N. side of the building and not in front of other shops.

BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR OR SIT ON THE FLOOR

July was a busy month with Kevin Wallace visiting us on the 16th and several of our members attending the annual AAW Symposium on the 22nd-24th in Overland, Kansas.  The Ventura County Fair entries were that same weekend and the judging took place on July 26th.  The results of the fair with photos will be posted after August 3rd when the fair opens. Ventura County Fair 2005

Al Geller summarized Kevin Wallace’s presentation on July 16th as follows: [see the July 2005 newsletter for information about Kevin].

Kevin spoke about how turners get their inspiration from their surroundings, i.e. natural forms, trees, leaves, plants, fabric design motifs, architecture, etc.  He spoke of how the wood artist tried to emulate and/or embrace what he or she experienced and then integrate it into his/her work.  He felt that our job is to be a communicator to the viewer through our work.  The better organized and executed our work is, the more successful we will be in having people like and respond to our turnings.  He showed slides of various pieces of wood art as examples of how artists tried to capture the feeling of swirling water or the texture of a sea urchin, etc.

He evaluated our turnings and made these observations:

1. The finish should match the texture of the piece, i.e. use a matte finish with a rough or natural edge piece and shiny finishes with very smooth textured finish.
2. All elements should relate together.  Form, color, grain pattern, shape, foot vs. opening, the curve of the foot should complement the curve near the opening, etc.  Where different woods are used, the form should continue across the joint without a break or offset.  Avoid abrupt steps or changes unless these steps are a deliberate part of the design.  If highly contrasted woods are used (ebony and maple for example), it may be better to “balance” the piece by putting some on the bottom as well as at the top.
3. Typically, most turnings need a “pedestal” to provide “lift” to a piece.  Most pieces are enhanced if the turning has a small foot.  Unless this is your deliberate design feature, try to avoid having the major diameter of the bowl at its base since it will appear to be “heavy”.
4. “Form follows Function.”  For utilitarian bowls, the base should be relatively large so the bowl isn’t tipsy.  For esthetic pieces, the base can be very small.
5. If a color or other ornamentation is going to be used with a turning, the color selected should harmonize with the natural wood color.  Black is a safe color for most light woods.

Photos from Kevin’s presentation with slides:

Photos from Kevin’s discussion of member’s work: