Open Studio Columbus Weekend

I've been in my timber frame barn for several months now, and am excited that my first Open Studio is fast approaching. For three days in October, the Columbus Holiday weekend, (Saturday, October 10th through Monday, October 12th) my studio will be open to the public, from 10 am to 5 pm. Watch while I create my turnings on the full-sized lathe. You'll also have an opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping, and be the very first to see and own some of my latest creations. You can view some of my latest designs at my website. http://livealifelessordinary.com

Joining me that weekend will be two other artists, Bruce Haber, who creates stunning pottery, and Jill Haber, a talented pen and ink and watercolor artist.
Below are samples of their work:








Weather permitting, Bruce will be working on one of his pottery wheels. If you've never seen how these are made, it's fascinating!

Is there a better way to spend an October day? Hop in your car and take advantage of the beautiful fall colors. After all, isn't this why we put up with those bitter harsh New England winters? And while you're out, stop by the studio for some apple cider, Bruce and Dave's yummy cookies and one-of-a-kind hand-made artwork.

What Color is Your Rainbow?

I stumbled on this site, after reading another woodturner's blog. I took the quiz, "What Color is Your Rainbow." This is my result. What's your color?

Your rainbow is shaded indigo and green.

What is says about you: You are a proud person. You feel strong ties to nature and your mood changes with its cycles. Friends count on you for being honest and insightful. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.

http://spacefem.com/quizzes/rainbow">Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

What's on the carving table 7/09

As many of you know, I love to carve, spoons mostly. If you've visited my webpage and read the Artist's Statement, this will sound familiar. There is almost nothing more satisfying to me than sitting outside in the evening with a block of wood and a hand-held carving tool; it is a simple but gratifying pleasure.

I'm experimenting with some different designs. Here's what I'm working on this month, a black walnut ladle. I imagine it to be decorative only, because of the bead at the bottom of the scoop. I also intend to carve a stand that will compliment and mirror the design of the ladle itself. These take a long time to make; from this point, it's a lot of sanding by hand. When the ladle is done, I'll post the finished product.

MOVING DAY!!

After three long years it was time to move into the new studio. Here's how we moved the lathe.

This is the spot where my lathe will live -- and apparently where I will, too!

But the lathe wasn't the only thing to move that day. To get all the equipment moved, I once again called on the woodturning community. On Saturday, May 16, 2009, several friends gathered to help me with the move.

A few pieces of equipment -- the noisy ones -- were put on the second floor. Here's how we got them up there. A brace was constructed in the door opening at the top, and two block and tackles were rigged. Chains and ropes were secured around each piece; with one group on the bottom pulling on one rope, the block and tackle rigging moved the piece up, where another group at the door opening grabbed the equipment and pulled it through the door.

If you're interested in how this all came about, here's a link to the website, that contains a photo journal of the entire project over the three year period.

http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o317/Donnaturns/

Getting used to posting on a regular basis isn't a habit that I've developed yet. Well, last fall, one of my turning clubs brought in JoHannes Michelsen, a woodturner from Vermont, to demonstrate how to turn one of his signature wooden hats. These are turned from a single block of wood, very green, and made to fit. On Saturday, Hannes turned a full-sized hat, and on Sunday, a few of us spent the day learning to turn a 'mini hat'. The full-sized hat turned on Saturday was raffled off during the lunch break...and guess who won the raffle? Yup. So that hat was turned to fit me.

A couple months later, in November, I traveled to Manchester, Vermont and spent three days in Hannes' studio, where I learned how to turn a wooden hat. Above is a photo of the pair; the hat on the right is mine, which was turned by Hannes, and the hat on the left was turned by me in Hannes' studio. It is made to fit Dave, and yes, he can and does wear it.

Turning a hat from a single block of wood requires some specialized equipment; the grind of the tools is different than anything I've done, but can now recreate that grind easily. Holding the 'hat blank' on the lathe required a special chuck, that allows light to pass through it...that's how thin the hat is. In the beginning, the block of wood weighs more than 50 pounds, and finished, the hat weighs a few ounces. So as I am turning it, I can tell how thin the walls get by the amount of light that I can see as I'm turning. Dave and another woodturning friend (Mike Green) made one of these chucks, and Mike also made the curved tool rests needed to access the inside top of the crown. So, I'm all set to try another one....hope I didn't forget everything I learned last November!

A Good Day

The dogs let me sleep 'late' -- I got up at 7:00 a.m.

The sun had already been up for awhile. After taking care of some inside the house chores, Eddie, Max and I headed outside and were greated with 41 degrees of sunshine. Followed the usual morning ritual of throwing the tennis balls and poop patrol (don't ask), I split some firewood. Pulled out the chainsaw, and cut some more cherry and heritage oak, for rough turning bowl blanks in the shop.

This was the first time this year that I could work in the shop with the overhead door open. Without the pressure of needing to create inventory for an upcoming show, I could spend some time focusing on shapes and refining some cuts.

Later in the afternoon, a few more sessions of tennis ball throwing, more firewood splitting, a little yard work on the blackberry bushes that tend to creap and take over the yard, and finished up with a couple hours of spoon carving.

That's my definition of a pretty good day.

Although Dave is back to work after several days off, we still took time this morning to snow shoe in the 'back 40' again. The first day of 2008 brought another snowstorm, dropping another six inches. This time I took the camera with me, and took some photos.

The snowfall was heavy and wet, forcing the smaller saplings to bend and fall over the trails. Dave took the lead on the walk, and knocked the snow off the trees. Part of the trail was completely covered by the snow-bent trees, and most of it had snow tunnels that had formed because of the trees.

We'll now feel the temperatures drop this afternoon as we enter a cold snap. As I write this, the temps have been dropping steadily, and will plummet to below zero F by tonight. This will be a good test for our new source of heating the house -- entirely by the woodstove. I'll keep my turtlenecks, wool sweaters and the dogs close by, as back up.