As a wood turner, who has inspired you to try something you've not done before? What form, method, embellishment, or even comments have made you push yourself?

 

For me, first and foremost is a man most of you won't know, Neil Gloudemans, Neil was our club president when I first joined and is one of the artists featured in this article from Woodworkers Journal.  I once watched Neil turn a cowboy hat, from round blank to ready for the press in just under two hours, still amazing to me.

 

Cindy Drozda of course, admittedly  my finials aren't even a close approximation of hers, she is an excellent teacher and technician.

 

Binh Pho, although I don't really like his interpretation on most of his pieces, he turns beautiful forms to a very thin wall and having that skill is something he has inspired me to learn, results are mixed to this point!

 

Molly Winton, her embellishment with pyrography led me to invest a machine and start learning some wood burning techniques. Like turning, there is a big learning curve and there is always another pen or tip to buy.

 

A lady named Ellen Wolters, she is a you tube author and an amazing zentangle artist, watching her, I knew immediately that art form was something I wanted to incorporate into my pieces.

 

Pablo Picasso, not for his art, most of which I don't understand, ok, I don't understand any of it. To me, his is inspirational for his quotes and his attitudes. You may have noticed, one of his quotes is part of my signature;

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn to do it"

To me, that embodies a wood turners spirit.

 

There are others of course and there will be more but these are a few who come to mind.

So, who inspires you?

 

Steve

 

Good question Steve.  I am my own inspiration to turn.  I was always interested in the workings of the lathe and as you know I started out with a metal lathe.  My sisters husband was given one of the famous tube base lathes by his neighbor and passed it on to me (everyone must start out with one of these lathes).  I got started one year making an ornament from an article in Wood Magazine and I was hooked.  I have never gone into embellishments as I still really enjoy just making small items.  I give most of what I make away which is another joy to me.  I also like to be creative and employ other objects into my turnings.  I have thought about hollowing, embellishing etc but haven't yet.  Maybe someday. 

I'm a self taught turner, living in pretty much isolation, with absolutely no imagination. Everything I turn is a knock-off of what someone else has done.

Like Dan I am self inspired by the "I can do that" and most of the time I can with a little help from You Tube and videos and lately more demos . I have not seen a tremendous number of professionals but from each I pick up some part of my skills. Then there is the "How did he do that"? There is a quote from Thomas Edison "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety -nine percent perspiration". I do not claim genius, but I do believe the inspiration and perspiration applies to all of our work. By the way as a woodturning club member I have picked up a lot of inspiration at meetings and believe that is a fundamental to our growth in our craft.........sharing and listening.

Twas my high school shop teacher...

I then wanted a lathe so bad that I made one 50+ years ago.