AAW Symposium 2022 - Part 1

It has been three years since the American Association of Woodturners got together in person for a symposium. This year it was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The attendance was around 1000 - a bit smaller than usual, but still vibrant and abuzz with reunions among friends. There were a lot of fun interactions all through the weekend.

I was the event photographer again this year. I’ve been doing this for the past decade or so. I always enjoy meeting new people, interacting with them as I make photos, and the challenge of finding dramatic lighting and compositions.

The highlight of the symposium for me in terms of making photos was the Battle of the Bowls, which was held after the Saturday night banquet. Stuart Batty and Mike Mahoney have been doing this for years, and I’ve seen several renditions. The set-up and lighting for this particular edition was spectacular for photography. I selected some of my favorites to put into a video set to music. Please enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment either here or on my YouTube video.

A Visit with the Chicago Woodturners

I had a nice time doing an all-day demonstration and three-day hands-on class with the Chicago Woodturners at the beginning of my academic spring break time. I stayed with Rich Nye and his wife, Susan. They have a nice menagerie of animals that I enjoyed getting to know in the limited amount of time available. Both Rich and Sue are exotic pet veterinarians - mostly retired now, but still active in rescue, clinical, and volunteer work.

This was the first time I did a three-day hands-on class with a club (I usually do a one-day class, and restrict it to surface techniques), and I really liked the format as it developed. We spent the first day turning forms to use for surface enhancement techniques, which were covered on days 2 and 3.

The Chicago Woodturners are a dynamic club, and I enjoyed spending some time with them. I finished my visit with a critique of turnings at their regular meeting on the second Tuesday of the month. That was also a lot of fun, given some of the turnings that were on the show-and-tell table, plus their monthly President's challenge (egg forms).

If you have a chance to do so, attend the Turn On Chicago event that will take place in July of this year. They know how to put on a good symposium.

Six of the nine students who were in the class. This was from the first day.

Surface enhancement techniques covered included pyrography, carving and texturing, and coloring. In this image, students are applying acrylic paint to their turnings.

Some of the students who were in the class. We had a fun group!

Here’s the demo piece I did. The top surface was textured using pyrography, the sides were carved. Acrylic paint was used to color the piece.

I carved the sides of the vessel, and used acrylic paint to color it.

Leaf saturation motif. I did this demonstration during the Saturday session for the club.

Side view of Leaf Saturation bowl.

A huge variety of pigeon breeds at the Nye/Brown property. Charles Darwin used domesticated pigeon breeds as examples of how artificial selection can rapidly change the appearance of pigeons. All of the diverse breeds of pigeon were developed from the common rock pigeon.

Pouters.

I love the ruff on this breed.

Frilly feathers!

Rich Nye was a pitcher in Major League Baseball after he graduated from college. That’s a picture of him in action. He has some interesting memorabilia from that stage of his life. It was fun to find out about this side of him.