Photos 505


Lawrence Thomas did a demonstration for us at the June meeting –complete with a turned bowl. Everyone who knows Lawrence knows that he seldom turns a bowl, vase or anything that is plain. His years of experience doing auto bodywork and just trying "something new" have given him a lot to share. Lawrence freely shared everything with us – from using pin-stripe tape to carving those wavy "ruffled" tops that adorn many of his beautiful pieces. In addition to the great instructions, Lawrence kept us all laughing with great stories. We are fortunate to have someone who knows so much about turning and willing to share with anyone who wants to learn.

Here are just a few examples of the unique pieces Lawrence has done.	How Maurice Clabaugh manages to keep his fingers intact, no one knows. It takes real skill to create the art Maurice does routinely. The piece on the left was turned from a Rhododendron burl and he has appropriately titled it "Twisted". The knuckle-buster on the right looks a lot like the torch in Lady Liberty’s right hand, even though a bit unraveled. This one was turned from a piece of Plum stump, Maurice calls it "Patriot Act".

This is a nice well-proportioned Ambrosia Maple bowl. Thanks to Earl Lee Taylor for bringing it in for us to see.	Wow! That’s lots of little pieces. Nevin Newton turned these segmented vessels. Nevin tells me he can turn one in about a week. Compared to regular bowls that is more time but the end result is worth the effort.	This beautiful bowl was turned by Chris Pruitt from a piece of Magnolia. Chris said it only has a buffed finish but it really brought out the color and figure in the wood.

Dilbert Freeman displayed these two small cups turned from Buckthorn. I had never heard of the Buckthorn tree. After looking it up on the Internet, I realized that I have seen the tree often but had mistaken it for Wild Cherry. The two are very similar.	Here is an exquisite piece turned by Bill Hubbard, one of our new members. This Mesquite bowl has an Ash inlay around the rim. The lid is Pecan and though you can’t see it in the picture, it has a knob on top turned from a piece of Cocobolo.	Thanks to Johnny Carpenter and Will Pate for enduring the rain to cook lunch for everyone. Something about having lunch with all the members just makes the meeting that much more enjoyable.