Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

June 2011 Meeting Gallery

June ushered in two changes for the Gulf Coast Woodturners--a new president and a new judging category.  Reggie Keith took over as president from Steve LeGrue and a "Kit" category was added as an option to Show & Tell.  At the same time, the "Enhanced" judging category and the "Segmented" judging category were combined to create (are you ready for this?) the "Enhanced/Segmented" category!  To be fair, we also elected some new board members and you can read all about them on our Executive Committee page.

June's Gallery, in addition to featuring the award-winning turnings from our regular Show & Tell competition, also features a very special item: "Fire on the Mountain," a multi-piece segmented sculpture by nationally recognized artist and woodturner Jerry Bennett, who just happens to be a member of the Gulf Coast Woodturners Association.  See the bottom of this page for a real treat!

Pictures of Dennis Ford's demonstration on turning a natural edge, thinned stemmed goblet
from green wood  and  "Faces in the Crowd" are at the bottom of this page.
 

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

1st Place Ed Piene Mesquite Hollow Form 9-1/2"W x 7"H

2nd Place Dennis Ford Walnut Hollow Form 8"W x 5"H

3rd Place Larry Zarra Three Boxes of  various  woods ~1"W x ~2"H

Enhanced/Segmented Category
(Items that incorporate embellishment or made from more than one piece of wood by advanced turners)

1st Place Delbert Pond Ebonized Elm Vase  w/ pyrography  embellishment 3-1/3"W x 5-1/2"H

2nd Place Kendall Westbrook Dyed Maple Bowl 5"W x 2" H

3rd Place Marty Kaminsky Carved and Dyed Ash  Fish Sculpture 4"W x 5"H

Intermediate Category (Items made by intermediate turners)

1st Place Aaron Gilbert Oak Burl  Open Form 3"W x 4-1/2"H

2nd Place Derek Powers Natural Edge  Pecan Bowl 3"W x 7"H

3rd Place Doug Grissomi Black Walnut Dish 1-1/2"W x 7-3/4"H

Beginner Category (Items made by beginning turners)

1st Place Mike Breland Ambrosia Maple Bowl 5-1/2"W x 2-1/2"H

2nd Place Ron Brewer Found Wood Bowl 4-1/2"W x 2-1/2"H

3rd Place Steve Driver Tool Handle of  Unknown Wood 10-1/2" long

"Kit" Category (Items made from kits by turners of all levels)

1st Place Jerry Harmsen Acrylic Roller Ball  Pen

2nd Place Dennis April Inlayed Celtic Knot  Cigar Pen

3rd Place Don Fluker Ambonia Bottle  Stopper

Other Worthy Entries

gallery photography by Paul Millo

Judges

Greg Gonsalves and Tommy Joe judged June's Show & Tell.

Dennis Ford's Demonstration on Turning Natural Edge Thin Stemmed Goblets from green wood

Dennis Ford showed June meeting participants how he creates natural edge thin stemmed goblets from green wood. Dennis began defining the goblet portion first. June's meeting was held in Houston's Bayland Community Center. Dennis discussed the process as he worked through the various stages of the piece. He worked quickly as would be expected from an experienced turner, but he explained each step.

GCWA tries to ensure that all meeting participants can view the demo and uses a camera and LCD projector/screen arrangement. Dennis used a small portable light to help him define the thickness of the goblet portion of the piece. Here's a better view of the projection arrangement to help members view the demo. Lane Bradford did a great job working the camera.  Not seen was Tom Irven who over sees our A/V equipment. Dennis' notes on turning natural edge thin stemmed goblets can be viewed here.  (PDF)

Faces in the Crowd

New GCWA president Reggie Keith took to the floor for the first time (as president) at June's meeting.

As always, there was a large selection of turned items for the judges to choose from.

A time-honored ritual: checking out the competition!

Frank Campbell checks out a hollow form.  Frank also acts a Show & Tell recorder.

It's always amazing the variety of turnings that appear at each meeting.

Bill Berry handled the Master of Ceremonies function for Show & Tell at June's meeting, a task which he  thoroughly enjoys..

Mike Breland talked about his "Beetle Juice" Ambrosia Maple bowl, which took first place honors in the Beginner Category.

Steve Driver was obviously proud of his elegant tool handle, which won a ribbon in the Beginner Category.

Aaron Gilbert joined the club in January and has already advanced to the Intermediate Turner category!  Nice piece, Aaron!.

Barbara Gaynor started this piece as a hollow form but decided that a lamp was the way to go.

Marty Kaminsky had a lot of fun with this piece.  See a close up of it above in the Enhanced/Segmented Category.

Larry Zarra, who is no stranger to the winner's circle at Show & Tell, talks about his elegant hollow form.

Likewise, Ed Peine, graces the winner's circle often, usually for a large hollow form.  The one above is just a "baby-sized" effort compared to what Ed usually brings to the meetings..

And then there is Paul Millo, the best table-top photographer around.  Paul is also a first-class turner.  Click on his name above to see his turnings.

Here's a shot of Paul's "studio."  It's all done with incandescent 200W - 300w lamps on rheostats--one from each side and one overhead.

Visitors to Houston area Woodcraft and Rockler stores will soon be able to help themselves to a free GCWA newsletter from special display vases created by Ed Peine and Ric Taylor.  Classy!

A Special Piece by a Special Turner

Jerry Bennett is one of America's premier segmented woodturners.  He creates amazingly complex sculptures, which often contain thousands of pieces of wood. At left is Jerry's latest creation "Fire on the Mountain."  After display at the 25th Annual AAW Symposium, the piece is off to a gallery for some lucky patron to acquire. Nice work, Jerry!. (You can see more of Jerry's work in his Gold Gallery, here.

 candid photography by Ric Taylor and  Dale Barrack