Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

September 2009 Meeting Gallery

Pictures of James Johnson's demonstration on "squirts," Faces in the Crowd,
and a new feature called "Head Shots" are at the bottom of this page
LOTS of pictures this month--be sure to look at them all!

Advanced Category (Items made from one piece of wood by advanced turners)

1st Place Larry Zarra Soft Maple Bowl 11-1/2"W x 14-1/2"H

2nd Place Dave Greenawalt Yupon Bowl 5"W x 2-1/2"H

3rd Place Ed Peine Red Cedar Bowl 13"W x 4-1/2"H

Honorable Mention Jerry Collins Bowl with Epoxy Finish 12-1/2"W x 5"H

Segmented Category (Items made from more than one piece of wood by turners of all levels)

1st Place Jerry Collins Beech, Maple &  Purpleheart Bowl 10"W x 4-1/2"H

2nd Place Eddie James Mesquite, Walnut  Maple, Ebony Urn 16"W x 7-1/2"H

3rd Place Eddie James Seven Pen Set Mesquite, Walnut  Maple, Open Form 10"W x 5"H

Honorable Mention Ed Spicer Maple, Wenge, Mahogany Vase 5-1/2"W x 9"H

Enhanced Category (Items that incorporate embellishment of the item by turners of all levels)

1st Place Dale Barrack Carved & Dyed  Pecan Bowl 8-1/2"W x 4"H

2nd Place Kendall Westbrook Baltic Birch Goblet 4-1/2"W x 8"H

3rd Place Bill Pottorf Mesquite & Maple  "Space Creature" 4-1/2"W x 7-1/2"H

Honorable Mention Paula Haymond Pierced Poplar Plate 10"W x 1"H

Intermediate Category (Items made by intermediate turners)

1st Place Paula Haymond Amboina Bowl 5-1/2"W x 2"H

2nd Place John King Unknown Wood Bowl 10-1/2"W x 5"H

3rd Place Frank Campbell Poplar Plate 10-1/2"W x 1"H

Honorable Mention John King Box Elder & Tulipwood   Ice Cream Scoops 8"W x 1-1/2"H

Beginner Category (Items made by beginning turners)

1st Place Jesse Tabares Cedar Goblet 1-1/2"W x 5"H

2nd Place Jesse Tabares Crepe Myrtle Vase 2"W x 4-1/2"H

3rd Place Jesse Tabares Crepe Myrtle Cup 2"W x 2"H

Honorable Mention Jesse Tabares Cedar Goblet 3"W x 7-1/2"H

Other Noteworthy Items entered in September's Show & Tell

gallery photography by Paul Millo

Judges

(No Picture Available)

Cliff Harris and Kendall Westbrook judged September's Show & Tell.  (A special note regarding September Meeting judging: Kendall Westbrook recused himself from judging the Enhanced category in which he won Second Place to avoid any conflict of interest.)

Faces in the Crowd and James Johnson's Demo on "Squirts"

September's meeting was held at the Harris County Mercer Arboretum.

Mercer Arboretum's many plants and trees offers a pleasing setting to hold a meeting.

As usual, GCWA members had many well turned items for the Show & Tell tables.

Curiosity always runs high over who made what...

...but all signatures are taped over until Show & Tell judging is completed.

Club president, Steve LeGrue, reminded members about the upcoming SWAT Symposium and introduced guest turner James Johnson..

The Mercer Arboretum facility was covered, but open to the natural surroundings.

Jerry Bennett showed a bowl he was inspired to make a number of years ago after watching a James Johnson demo.

James Johnson is a founding member of the AAW and the dean of Texas woodturners.

The club tested out a new sound and video recording system in preparation for its use at October's SWAT meeting.

James's demonstration was on what he calls 'pods', or 'squirts.' Two finished versions are shown here.

Squirts are multi axis turnings made with 2 pieces of 8/4 x 4 x 8 wood screwed together lengthwise to make a 4 x 4 x 8 blank.

The blank is turned to a tapered cylinder, leaving about an inch on the ends unturned (where the screws are).

James is not only a great turner, he's also a great story teller and had GCWA members laughing through out his presentation.

James sanded the tapered form before the next step.

He then unscrewed the halves and inverted them, putting the turned faces together, and reconnected the two halves.

Here's a picture of the inverted halves back on the lathe.

James then turned another taper to yield two multi-tapered objects.

James removed the two nearly finished squirts from the lathe and used a band saw to remove the ends.

He then used a pocked knife to create the desired taper at the end of the squirt, which are perfect for experimenting with color, texture or pyrography.

More Faces in the Crowd

Paula Haymond talks about one of the two items she entered in Show & Tell that won awards.  Larry Zarra hosts monthly Show & Tell discussions.

Unfortunately, Ed Peine's beautiful bowl did not get photographed for the Gallery, but here he holds for all to see.  Ed has been asked to bring the bowl back next month for photographing.

Dale Barrack discussed the finishing process he used with his carved and dyed bowl (it was Waterlox, Prismacolor markers and Polyurethane and Acrylic water-based finish).

Ed Spicer explained how he put together his segmented vase.

Ric Taylor is one of GCWA's premier turners and used to winning top honors, but, as you can see in this picture, he was thrilled with the Best of Show recognition.

New Feature--HEAD SHOTS!

Hunter Malson

Bill Metzger and Gene Volentine.

Don Fluker

Dave Greenawalt

Luna Ford

A Bill Tilson Homage

Bill Pottorf and Jerry Bennett collaborated on two pieces to pay homage to Bill Tilson, who recently passed away, by creating a funeral urn and a piece that incorporates one of Tilson's "flowers."

Bill Pottorf and Jerry Bennett with their special pieces.

 candid photography by Ric Taylor and Dale Barrack