April 2023 Newletter

I apologize for taking this long to get the newsletter out. I’m not sure if it is an excuse or a reason, but we had a busy Easter weekend and then the weather turned beautiful and we have been busy in the yard and the garden. However, if I don’t get this done soon, it will be time for the May newsletter.

We had a good Remote Demo on April 2. Rick Urban demonstrated his “Creating lenticular forms with Lost Wood” techniques. Rick presented a fun demo, including a “perfect cleave,” where the vessel split with paper on both sides of the joint and no tool marks.  We had around 25 people in person at Woodcraft and as many as 30 on the Zoom feed.

And we do have some news!! After talking about it for many years, we have scheduled a workshop for newer turners for this weekend on Saturday, April 15. The emphasis will be on bowl turning. We have had a good response from both newer members and longer term members who are willing to work as mentors. Please let me know if you would like to participate.

More news!! I am very grateful to Kevin Seigworth who has stepped in to help me with Program Coordinator duties. He has been able to schedule demonstrations for June and September, which means the year is pretty well filled up. We still need to schedule a couple months this late fall, but we are pretty sure we have demonstrators lined up for those slots, we just haven’t finalized the scheduling.

A few upcoming dates as reminders:

• April 21-22 – Midwest Pen Turners Gathering – Emphasis is on Pen Turning but other small turning demos will be included this year.
• May 1 – MAWT Meeting – Club Member Leigh White demonstrates an off-center bowl
• May 14 – IAP Chapter Meeting at Woodcraft – Mark Dwyer presenting
• June 5 – Dennis Clayton (member of Madison Club) presents Photographing Your Wood Art

I hope this finds you able to get into your shops and make an item or two on your lathes. Keep on turning!