Symposium Demonstrators
Trent Bosch
Trent Bosch has been focused on woodturning professionally for more than 30 years. Over the years he has enjoyed many facets of this medium, from production woodturning to sculptural one of a kind pieces to demonstrating and teaching hands on classes. More recently he has devoted more time to developing, designing and manufacturing unique tools for woodturners, as well as fostering the growth of his artistic children. Trent has taught and demonstrated his techniques for turning and sculpting wood throughout the world.
Handouts to download:
End grain and face grain diagram
Notes on turning and sculpting wood
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Joe Fleming
Artist's Statement -Woodworking provides me with an outlet for my creativity. I enjoy finding a piece of wood, envisioning what it can become, and then transforming it into a beautiful art or craft piece. I make both art pieces and functional pieces, but I always strive for beauty. My woodturning consists all types of turning disciplines including bowls, hollow forms, platters, vases, boxes and furniture components. I use a variety of wood species in my work, including local urban forested woods like eucalyptus, and other reclaimed wood. I also use wood from certified forestry projects in the Pacific Northwest, Central America and Australia.
Woodworking Biography -I have been an amateur woodworker for over 45 years and an amateur woodturner for more than 20 years. My skills are primarily self-taught with assists from various class work, from woodworking publications, and through participation in various woodworking clubs. I have studied with many noted wood artists including, Allan Batty, Stuart Batty, Christian Burchard, Jimmy Clewes, Don Derry, Michael, Hosaluk, John Jordan, Binh Pho, Richard Raffan, Merryll Saylan, Susan Working and many others. My dad gets the credit for instilling in me a passion for hand-made wood items.
I am a member of: • The San Diego Woodturners • The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association • American Association of Woodturners
Handouts to download:
Making a suction fit end grain box
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Barry Gross
Barry's recent work, creating fine writing instruments from re-cycled material, has lead to his receiving a Readers’ Choice Award from Pen World Magazine. He has published over 50 articles in several woodworking magazines, is an author of three books on turning and just released his second DVD. He is a member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), Bucks County Woodturners, Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsman, Pen Makers Guild and was chosen to join the National Register of Who’s Who for executives and professionals.
He is a guest speaker / presenter at many woodworking shows and turning clubs throughout the northeast and has twice been chosen twice to demonstrate his pen techniques at the most recent AAW symposiums in Albuquerque New Mexico and Hartford Connecticut.
He was featured by Pennsylvania Cable Network and Ebru TV for his unique style in using recycled material to make pens. Both of the premier international pen magazines, Stylus & Pen World, have written articles on this independent pen maker.
Barry was commissioned by the “White House” to make pens as gifts for former Vice President Cheney and his pens can be found in the pockets of several famous individuals including Steven Spielberg, Jimmie Buffet, Greg Norman, the former Speaker for The House of Representatives Dennis Hastert, Norwegian concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and many local and state politicians.
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Kristin Levier
I create minimalist contemporary sculpture inspired by my deep fascination with the natural world, and my mission as an artist is to tell a story through work at the intersection of art and science. I’m driven to make art that excites curiosity and connects us to the extraordinary, strange beauty of the world around us.
The two decades I spent as a research molecular biologist allowed me to explore the complexity of our world, and I continue to view my surroundings through the eyes of a scientist. The structure of a leaf or the movement of a bacterium can be astonishingly beautiful, and I sculpt with the aim of illuminating the subtle and the tiny.
Through my work I hope to deliver scientific content viscerally to encourage curiosity and a desire to look more closely at the smallest details of the fantastically rich and beautiful world around us.
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Bob Rotche
Virginia based woodturner, Bob Rotche, has been interested in working with wood for most of his life but it wasn’t until 2010 when he started spending significant time with the wood lathe that his passion for making really took off. Initially focused on revealing the natural beauty of the wood with bowls and hollow forms, he soon became fascinated with the creative possibilities afforded by surface enhancements including carving, texturing and coloring. A big proponent of the craft school experience as well as national and local woodturning symposia, Bob’s skills were honed with the help of a variety of gifted and talented wood artists who were willing to share their knowledge.
At this point, he is taking those skills and applying them to his current interest in sculptural forms. Fascinated by shapes and curves, positive and negative space, color and texture and the limitless ways in which they all can be combined to create visual interest.
Bob’s work has been featured in numerous juried exhibitions across the country as well as several magazines. For more information, check out his website at www.bobrotche.com
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Linda Ferber
I have early memories of working on craft projects,
mostly revolving around spending time with family. I
love to make items that capture a moment or emotion.
The first part of the process is the material and
shape, selecting the wood, turning the shape. The final
step is the application using woodturning and applying
color to bowls and pin jewelry.
Inspiration
is drawn from my surroundings as well as memories. It is
making a connection to these experiences and attempting
to interpret them through the shape and color of a
piece.
Handouts to download
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Barbara Dill
Barbara has been working with wood since 1987. After buying a lathe in 1990, she became fascinated with multi-axis turnings and began experimenting with multi-axis turnings on spindles. For several years she was delighted with the whimsical forms. Along with the fun came frustration of not knowing what to do next. In 2006, she decided to isolate herself and figure out what these spindles had in common, if anything.
Her discoveries led to a systematic way to think about
multi-axis spindle turning. Her first articles were
published in American Woodturner in 2007, and she became
a sought-after instructor. Teaching has led to a deeper
understanding of this complex area of turning, and more
articles were published in American Woodturner during
2010, 2011, and 2013. She self-published a shop guide to
multi-axis spindle turning and has made some videos of
her teaching that can be accessed through her web site.
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Andi Wolfe
Andi Wolfe, an evolutionary biologist, dedicated her career to delving into the intricate tapestry of plant diversity, finding inspiration in the natural world's minutiae when viewed through a lens of high magnification. While her professional journey traversed the realms of biological exploration, her passion for artistic expression found an outlet through woodcraft.
Following her retirement in late 2022, Andi’s artistic pursuits have centered on the fusion of wood and glass in sculptural forms. Drawing from her background in biology, she integrates botanical motifs into her creations, utilizing surface enhancements to bring forth the intricate beauty of plant life.
In her wooden creations, Andi’s craftsmanship shines through in the meticulous carving of botanical designs, ranging from the macroscopic to the microscopic, capturing the essence of plant cellular structures with a keen eye for detail. Her work in three-dimensional botanical carvings, particularly maple and oak leaf designs, showcases her artistic vision.
Driven by a spirit of experimentation, Andi has embraced the challenges of working with glass, immersing herself in a spectrum of techniques including glass blowing, kiln-formed glass, glass casting, and flameworking. Mirroring her approach in wood, she infuses her glasswork with biological motifs, sculpting organic forms that echo the intricate wonders of the natural world.
Through her interdisciplinary exploration of wood and glass, Andi Wolfe seamlessly intertwines her scientific background with her artistic endeavors, making captivating pieces that bridge the gap between biology and artistry.
Handout to Download:
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Nick Agar
Nick is renowned for his Viking Sunset Bowl, a multi-textured work that combines woodworking and professional artistry. His signature design, the bowl merges the elegant finish of turned wood with elaborate surface treatments that look like ancient pewter.
Nick’s work is influenced by organic forms, pottery, sea life, ancient cultures, and the natural surroundings. He specializes in hollow forms, large diameters, and surface enhancement.
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Donna Zils Banfield
Working with wood has been a remarkable journey of community and connections. Connecting with the materials and the pieces I create; communicating with other makers who have become my family, friends, and mentors; and most of all, deeply connecting with an intense and passionate need to make wood art.
That realization became clear when I walked away from the legal profession after only two years of woodturning. It might seem like a completely unrelated and massive career shift, but lawyers obsess over tiny details and minutiae. I discovered my finely tuned skill of obsessing over the minutiae easily transferred to my new path. It wasn’t just the constant seeking of the perfect curve, or the best finished surface possible. It happened in a euphoric moment in the first workshop I took with Binh Pho; I knew with absolute certainty where my path would lead.
I was inspired by his incredible story. I was driven to learn how to use those delicate tools; compelled to explore the use of colors, texture, and negative space in his work, and incorporate those techniques into mine. Obsessive focus became my mantra. Because of that connection, my work today features bold colors, patterns, and textures that I use to tell my story. Today, I draw inspiration from the historic towns, the majestic mountains and rocky seashores of New England.
Handouts to download:
The Soul Series Description and Equipment List
Wood Ffolkkes Description and Equipment List
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Willie Simmons
A second generation woodworker from Fincastle, Virginia, I spent hours a day in my father's shop as a child. We refinished and repaired furniture. My first experience on a lathe was replacing a rung on a chair. From that moment on, I knew that turning was my calling. I’ve been to many symposiums, classes, and demos over the years. I enjoy teaching and sharing what I’ve learned.
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Jeff Hornung
Jeff became a full-time professional turner in 2016 and is a woodturning instructor at Craft Alliance (St. Louis, MO), the John C. Campbell Folk School (NC), and MADE (St. Louis, MO).
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Steve Schwartz
To distinguish my work from others I have been using computer generated adhesive stencils to define positive or negative space. I emphasize this space with pyrography and paint to give the images a textural feel & increase contrast. I commonly use this technique on wide rim bowls, the sides of tall bowls and funeral Urns. Generally, I sell my art at juried art shows, teach classes at my shop, and take some orders for custom architectural turnings.
Handouts to Download:
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JoHannes Michelsen
A woodturner since 1954, JoHannes enjoyed working with wood and specialized in custom stair building, until an article about woodturner David Ellsworths hollow forms inspired him to become a vessel maker. He learned to turn green wood and produced bowls that distorted as they dried. In 1990, Michelsen attended a cowboy-style wedding and decided to make a turned wooden hat for the occasion. It was so well received that he now specializes completely in hats that can be either worn or displayed as pieces of sculpture. He has demonstrated the techniques of creating them at many clubs, symposiums and events.
Ron Wadel
Although a turner for over twenty years, it wasn’t until I saw Johannes Michelson turn a wooden hat at a show in Baltimore, MD that I became really fascinated with turning. Since attending one of Johannes’ workshops, I’ve turned about 300 wood hats. I was honored to be published in American Woodturner in April 2020, “A Gallery of Wood Hats” in just my third year as a full-time turner. I’ve been traveling with Hannes for the past couple years to shows and symposiums, assisting him during his demonstrations and at his booth. I really enjoy turning hats. It’s always interesting what type of hat lives inside that piece of wood. Some of my favorite hats come out of what other people would consider to be unusable wood. But that “unusable wood” often brings out the best character in the hat!
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