Allen Neighbors
10-19-2009, 9:39 PM
Well, I made it to SWAT, and I still have my wallet. I ended up with about 12 hours of really good instruction, from such demonstrators as Don Ward, Janice Levi, Mike Mahoney, Jimmy Clewes, Stuart Batty, and Anthony Harris.
I discovered that Mike, Stuart, and Jimmy, are not only gentlemen, and exceptional turners, each of them is also genuinely nuts. I laughed a lot, while I was learning.
As at the previous SWAT Symposium, the Instant Gallery was stacked with a lot of carved, pierced, and otherwise enhanced turnings, but the conventionally turned pieces were beautifully done... well, except one... mine. Mine was a crude-looking vase, and I didn't intend to put it in the gallery. I took it to show to my niece, who lives in Wichita Falls. Because it was strange wood, I showed it to a fellow Creeker, Tom Canfield, and he and a couple of other fellows coerced me into putting it in the gallery.
I think it was because of the type of wood, and the way it was turned. It was turned from a piece of Bristlecone Pine.
Bristlecone Pine is the oldest living tree known to man... many living as many as 6,400 years. It mostly grows between 9500 feet and the treeline. The average growth is about 1 inch in 100 years. The piece I turned is from a tree that was in a forest fire back in 1897, and was dead, but still standing when it was cut down. I counted from the pith, 179 rings, and because they were so close together, I lost count and quit. I'll try to get a pic of it to post one of these days.
I really enjoyed getting to be friends with Tom Canfield; He's really a nice man; and he also had some beautiful pieces in the Gallery.
I'm disappointed to find out that this was the last SWAT Symposium that will be held in Wichita Falls. Against the wishes of many (so I heard), they signed a 5 year contract with the Convention Center in Waco, TX, so it'll be at least 5 years before they could come back here.
I discovered that Mike, Stuart, and Jimmy, are not only gentlemen, and exceptional turners, each of them is also genuinely nuts. I laughed a lot, while I was learning.
As at the previous SWAT Symposium, the Instant Gallery was stacked with a lot of carved, pierced, and otherwise enhanced turnings, but the conventionally turned pieces were beautifully done... well, except one... mine. Mine was a crude-looking vase, and I didn't intend to put it in the gallery. I took it to show to my niece, who lives in Wichita Falls. Because it was strange wood, I showed it to a fellow Creeker, Tom Canfield, and he and a couple of other fellows coerced me into putting it in the gallery.
I think it was because of the type of wood, and the way it was turned. It was turned from a piece of Bristlecone Pine.
Bristlecone Pine is the oldest living tree known to man... many living as many as 6,400 years. It mostly grows between 9500 feet and the treeline. The average growth is about 1 inch in 100 years. The piece I turned is from a tree that was in a forest fire back in 1897, and was dead, but still standing when it was cut down. I counted from the pith, 179 rings, and because they were so close together, I lost count and quit. I'll try to get a pic of it to post one of these days.
I really enjoyed getting to be friends with Tom Canfield; He's really a nice man; and he also had some beautiful pieces in the Gallery.
I'm disappointed to find out that this was the last SWAT Symposium that will be held in Wichita Falls. Against the wishes of many (so I heard), they signed a 5 year contract with the Convention Center in Waco, TX, so it'll be at least 5 years before they could come back here.