February 18, 2024
I taught at New Mexico State University for 28 years, retired in 2016, and took up woodturning about 2 years later. I was a self-taught, solitary turner for 3 or 4 years, then joined Arizona Woodturners Assoc, where I got some instruction from experienced old pro’s and exposure to some amazing turnings. At the “show your recent work” table at AWA’s monthly meetings, J. Paul Fennel displayed some of his beautiful pierced vases and urns, while Brian Lensink and others showed off some of their segmented and basket illusion pieces. Segmenting drew me in for several reasons. I could use up the many scraps of wood I’d accumulated over the years; segmenting requires jigs, and building jigs is fun; it’s part engineering, part art; and the design possibilities are endless. I was pretty clueless about how to proceed but fortunately found the Segmented Woodworkers club, where I got invaluable help from Russ Braun, Steve Bonny, and several others. Tom Lohman and Jerry Bennett have also provided support and encouragement. I’ve been churning out a new bowl or vase from my small garage workshop every few weeks for friends and relatives, who love them. So far my designs and production techniques have been fairly basic, but I expect to begin experimenting with new methods and designs next year. I’m looking forward to attending the turners’ convention in Portland in May 2024 to buy toys, attend demos, and meet other segmenters.