2008 AAW Symposium - Part II; Sphere's exhibit

The Professional Outreach Program has sponsored a special exhibit for two years in a row at the AAW symposium. Last year it was the Rice Bowl exhibit. This year's theme was spheres. I was privileged to be invited into both of these exhibits. Approximately 40 turners were asked to use the idea of a sphere to explore their signature styles. The only rule was that the sphere should be 6 inches or smaller in diameter, and the piece had to be able to fit into a 12X12X12 box.

The exhibit was a big hit and the auction on Sunday was very successful, raising more than $80,000. Funds to the Professional Outreach Program will be used for future programs at the AAW symposium, including the artist-in-residence program. I don't have pictures from every entry (some didn't turn out or weren't easily photographed). There's a very nice catalog for this (and last year's) exhibit, available from the American Association of Woodturners. Where I could find them, I added links to the artists' websites.





L to R: Marilyn Campbell, Bill Luce












L to R: Andi Wolfe, Neil Scobie












This and the next two pictures were the ones I had Jerry Anthony Photography take before I shipped my piece to the exhibit. The title is "When I let go of what I am, I can become what I might be." - Lao Tzu







This is about 4.5 inches in diameter, made from redwood burl. The carving was a bit challenging, but certainly a lot of fun for me to do.









I really liked working the redwood for this project. I was able to achieve an interesting surface texture through sanding out the soft part of the growth ring.








Binh Pho's entry raised $15,000 at the auction. This is an amazing piece, best appreciated in person.










L to R: David Nittmann, Christian Burchard












Benoít Averly












L to R: Steve Sinner, Hans Weissflog











L to R: Eli Avisera, Curt Theobald










L to R: Jason Schneider, Betty Scarpino














Mark Sfirri








Top L to R: Joey Richardson, J. Paul Fennell















Marc Ricourt

















Ron Gerton









Jean-François Escoulen



















David Springett
















Bill Smith











Stephan Goetschius












Michael Kehs

















Art Liestman
















David Ellsworth










L to R: Derek Weidman, Julie Heryet












Malcolm Tibbetts












Gerrit Van Ness










Tucker Garrison. I enjoyed having Tucker in one of my hands-on classes last year when I visited the Carolina Mountain Woodturners.

















L to R: Michael Hosaluk, Douglas Finkel










L to R: Christian Delhon, Dale Larsen, Dennis Laidler, Bonnie Klein









Angelo Iafrate












Virginia Dotson










Steve Loar/Stephan Goetschius, Ward Stevens, William Moore












Christian Delhon











There was a good crowd for the Thursday night opening of the exhibit.







Here are a couple of friends, too - Art Liestman (L) and Pascal Oudet (R). Pascal came over from France for the symposium. Art, Pascal and I went to the opening of the Turned for Use exhibit, and then on to dinner. I'll do a post on the other exhibit next.

2008 AAW Symposium - Part I; Jacques' and Bonnie's Top

The 2008 AAW symposium was in Richmond, Virginia from June 19 - 22. I have a lot of pictures to post from this meeting, but it will take me a week or more to finish processing all my images. I'll break this up into several postings, so please stay tuned over the next couple of weeks. I'll try to add something each day, but I'll be heading to Arrowmont later this week, so it may be awhile before I get everything posted.

I arrived Thursday afternoon. I checked into the Marriott and then went across the street to pick up my registration packet and to take my turnings to the instant gallery. It's always great to run into friends on Thursday evening. Jacques Vesery and Paul Fennell were in the gallery when I arrived, and, for the second year in a row, I was able to get a preview tour of The Top - i.e., the collaboration for the Saturday night auction. Jacques and Bonnie have done several of these tops over the past few years, and each new one seems to outdo the previous year's offering.




I love the way Jacques sets up a display to show off the collaboration. This year he had an LED flashlight to illuminate the top. The palette used for painting was displayed along with the top.









The theme for this year's top was the historic landmarks in Richmond. Jacques pointed out each motif on the stand and the exterior decoration on the top box.









Paul seems to be enjoying the story telling that is going on along with the description of the collaboration.









Jacques told us that some of the wood was from historic landmarks, including George Washington's home at Mount Vernon.









It's always amazing to see all the details in these collaborations.

















The top has facades of some of the historic buildings of Richmond carved and painted onto the exterior.
















One can see this statue in downtown Richmond. This is actually a box with a threaded lid - one of Bonnie's specialties.








The interior has a map showing our current location in Richmond, and a view of the night sky.










The one thing Jacques didn't do was to spin the top, so I can't vouch that it's actually a spin top.










The title of the project is "National Treasures." Jacques is pointing to the map location of Richmond, Virginia. "You are here."









More story telling.













The palette.
















Congratulations to Bonnie and Jacques for another great collaboration. The winning bid on this piece was $11,500.

A visit with Clay Foster - Part IV

One of the delightful surprises for me on this visit with Clay was to discover that he is a gourmet chef. When I arrived, he made a wonderful cream of purple broccoli soup and a beautiful salad.

The last evening of my visit Clay made a wonderful pasta dish with saute'ed veggies and salmon. He makes his own pasta. As you look at these pics, check out the kitchen - Clay and Penny designed and built all the furnishings.




A blowtorch in the kitchen?











Yep - for loosening the skin on a red bell pepper. Clay said that removing the skin makes the pepper stay sweeter in a stir fry.









This board has obviously been used for this purpose many times.











Yummy home made pasta ready for the pot.











All the ingredients assembled - it looks beautiful, doesn't it?









Clay needs to write a cookbook. I can imagine the wit he would put into it, and it would be great to have a combination of his essays, recipes and artwork in one tome.








The asparagus and broccoli were started first.












Fresh lemon juice.











The cat's drinking fountain.












Yummmmmm - salmon!










Great lamp there, Clay and Penny!


















A useful pot. . .















The other cat was outside, lounging on one of Clay's tables.











Here's the entire meal under construction. My mouth was definitely watering by this time.










Ahhhhhhhhhh - dinner is served. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with Clay and Penny!