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Gulf Coast Woodturners Association |
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Don Fluker loves the color red! His tool handles are painted red; his mini lathe is painted red (including all the accessories); and his big lathe is painted red. Not only that, come the holiday season, you’ll often find Don dressed in red clothing. The clothing choice we understand—after all Don does have more than a passing resemblance to a well-known fellow from the North Pole.
Now we know why Don favors red—he’s lazy! That’s not true of course--anyone who knows Don knows that he’s a workaholic when it comes to all things that involve woodturning. He’s also an all-around fine gentleman. So, with a large, red lathe staring at him in his garage, what’s a fellow to do next, we asked Don? His reply: “Up until that point, I had been involved in wood crafts but knew nothing about woodturning so I took a beginning bowl turning class at the local Woodcraft store. I finished assembling the lathe just as I completed the class and I knew then that turning was what I wanted to do. “I began to turn a little using the information I gained from the Woodcraft class, but it wasn’t until I connected up with the Gulf Coast Woodturners that I really got HOOKED!” From our perspective, Don has gone beyond “hooked” and has become a fine, accomplished turner as evidenced by these pictures of some of his turnings.
Feeling like we were on a roll in getting good answers out of Don, but wanting to know more, we threatened to paint his tool handles and both lathes green unless he continued to cooperate. He quickly acquiesced. What’s your favorite wood, and what form do you enjoy making most? “Mesquite is my favorite wood and Cedar Elm is a close second. I recently turned a hollow form from Cedar Elm that turned out really well.” What object do you like to turn most? “I can’t say that there is any particular object that I like to turn most. I am always looking for something new to try.” Who in the woodturning community inspires you? “On a national level, there are so many people who inspire me that it would be difficult to name just one or two. On a local level, as corny is this might sound, the members of the Gulf Coast Woodturners inspire me, because, through their own efforts, they challenge me to do better.” Feeling like Don had copped out on the last question, we reached for the bucket of GREEN paint and asked him who he would most like to spend a weekend with doing nothing but turning…a rather sly way of getting an answer to the previous question ‘Who in the woodturning community inspires you?’
“Actually I think
that there are two. One would be Trent Bosch. I saw his demo
[when he visited GCWA recently] and really liked it. I would
like to spend time doing hands on with him. The other would be Jim
Keller [a venerated member of the Gulf Coast Woodturners]
when he is working one of his big pieces. I have been thinking of
trying some big pieces lately and I am sure that his experience with
big pieces would be very beneficial.” [You can see Jim Keller’s
work in his Gold Gallery, and pictures of his studio in the March
2006 Meeting Gallery.]
“Every year one of our members seems to rise to the top as the “go to” person and our recipient has certainly been that person. I’ve made countless requests of this member and I haven’t been disappointed yet.
And with that, Janice presented Don with the 2005 Luna Ford Award, a recognition that was well deserved, and applauded by all.
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