Design in Wood Exhibition - San Diego / Del Mar Fair

[Brian Kent]

For the first time in many years I visited the San Diego County Fair (Del Mar Fair) and visited the Design in Wood exhibition. I did not take pictures, but you can see the winning entries on the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association website (sdfwa dot org). Click the button on the right marked "Design in Wood 2011 results".

Of course I was amazed at the quality and imagination at work. I would love to know more about the criteria for winning the prizes. While the winners were all outstanding, I could not figure out why other amazing pieces did not win, or even place.

What a great experience. It gave me hope that I could display a couple of pieces next year, but humbled me enough to know I wouldn't be thinking about winning.:rolleyes:

It was great to see Russ Filbeck's Ancient Kauri ladderback chair. A lot of my woodworking friends told me to go to the fair just to see that one piece - absolutely astounding!

Are there any other creekers who entered this exhibition?

[Randy Gazda]

Brian:

Thanks for the info., a local woodturner in Great Falls, Montana took 1st in the Segmented Division. Rich is a great guy, he teaches his techniques at our local woodturning club.

Thanks again for the website.

[Brian Kent]

That is one outstanding piece!

[Jeff Bratt]

I have worked at this exhibition for a few years now - and the quality and diversity of the entries is truly outstanding. This is a large, juried show - we had entrants from 17 states and Puerto Rico displaying 340+ pieces, and we awarded over $21,000 dollars in prizes. The entry form for 2011 is available at http://www.sdfair.com/pdf/11entry_wood.pdf, this lists the classes of competition as well as the special awards. The classes are judged by a panel of state judges on criteria such as design, selection of materials, workmanship, and finish. Many of the donated and special awards are judged by national woodworking magazines (their editors) or local sponsors - plus there's the People's Choice awards, voted on by exhibit attendees. As to why a particular entry did or did not win a ribbon, there's just a lot a great work on display. I'll say the winners were all deserving - being accepted is an honor in itself - and there were also outstanding pieces that did not win anything.

The sdfwa.org website (http://www.sdfwa.org/diw/2011/photogallery.htm) shows the first place entry winners, but only gives a taste of the many entries displayed. The site also shows winners from previous years (http://www.sdfwa.org/diwawardpast.htm). I took a bunch of pictures last year, but since the last day of this year's exhibition was July 4th, I won't get any from this year. But I can attest that the finish Russ achieved on his the ancient kauri wood rocker (http://www.russfilbeck.net/Kauri%20Rocker.html) was astonishing. That wood, when polished using up to 1200 or 1500 grit sandpaper, has jewel-tone iridescence. The chatoyance resembles tiger eye or sapphire, like no wood I've seen before.

I'll encourage Creekers to consider entering. Past winners have included people like Russ Filbeck, Kathy Wise, Patrick Edwards, Malcolm Tibbetts, and Paul Schurch - to name just a very few. This show gets national attention, and we encourage people that are interested in purchasing to fill out the request forms, then pass on the information to the exhibitors at the end of the fair - and there seemed to be an increase in such activity this year. Where else will you get hundreds of thousands of people to see your work? The entry form for next year will be available on-line starting in Jan or Feb 2012.

[John Shuk]

I try to make that fair anytime I'm in San Diego during it's run. The craftsmanship on display truly is amazing and inspiring.

[Doug Morgan]

A gentleman that I work with lives in Northern California. He does great work and is entering his work in a competition out there.
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[Ruhi Arslan]

Are there any other creekers who entered this exhibition?

I've entered the hall where the exhibit was displayed. Would that count? :)

I can attribute my interest in woodworking to this exhibit when I visited it in 2002. It was hard to choose which ones to vote for.

[James Baker SD]

I entered the "student" competition in the hall next door about 5 years ago. Haven't tried yet to get in with the big boys and girls. I do volunteer in the chair making demo shop most years.

[Don Bullock]

...
What a great experience. It gave me hope that I could display a couple of pieces next year, but humbled me enough to know I wouldn't be thinking about winning.:rolleyes:

...

I had the same feeling Brian. It truly is a humbling but inspiring exhibition.

[Brian Kent]

James, I would enjoy seeing photos of what you entered in the student competition.

[James Baker SD]

Hi Brian:

We live in a strange house with a 12 sided "great" room which has a 6 sided stone column in the center housing 2 fireplaces and a China Cabinet. I made this cabinet 6 sided to stay with that motif. It sits between two chairs in the area I call the "Library".

Wood is walnut (milled by the Palomar College from a local fallen tree) and European Beech (both solid and ply). It was finished by hand sanding multiple coats Liberon Oil into the surface gradually switching to finer and finer grits. It has two dovetailed drawers near the top for pencils etc, and a raised panel door covering two interior shelves.

I tried to keep the grain flowing around the top by using a single long board for the top and cutting triangular wedges out of the make the bends. It worked better at the outside where the wood removal was the least.

The 6 vertical columns were the trickiest parts to machine as they are not square. I had to make a special jig for cutting them and a lot of hand tool work to finish them up. The two drawers fit a little too well. When I close one door, the trapped air forces the opposite door open just a bit and I have to close it again as well.

The piece was made as my main project for the CFT 105 (Machine Woodworking) at Palomar college. It received a Blue Ribbon in the student show, but that is judged on the Scandinavian system where each piece competes against an absolute standard, not the other pieces in the show. There were multiple Blue Ribbons awarded.

[Thomas S Stockton]

This was the second year I entered. I had a Greene and Greene bench in claro walnut. Won an honorable mention and Woodcraft Magazines "Excellence in Design" award. It is a great show and they do a great job of publicity before and after the show.
I didn't see the Palomar college student exhibit this year but checked it out the last two and I thought it was pretty impressive, a very wide range of work from basic cutting boards to some pieces that would have fit well into the design in wood show.
As for judging a show it is all about the personal opinion of the judge, they do a pretty good of picking judges using people that are in the same field as what they are judging, so the instruments are judges by someone who builds them and part of his criteria was also playing them. all the first place winners are eligible for best of show. The special awards are picked by people from that organization,company or magazine. And yes there are always pieces that I think should have been judges differently but they usually do a real good job of getting it right.
Tom
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[Brian Kent]

James and Thomas, thank you both for posting these interesting pieces. Well done.