How was the symposium in Mesa AZ

[Bill Wyko]

I wish I could have gone but I had family in from FL. In addition we were very buisy last week. Any good pics?

[Mike Vickery]

No good pictures but the show was great, all of the demonstrators were first class. I went to a couple Stuart Batty demos, a couple by Art Liestman, and caught a Trent Bosch and Binh Pho. I wish I had time to catch more of the demonstrators but just caught the ones that were demonstrating stuff I think I will be trying fairly soon.

[Bill Wyko]

Anyone see Malcolm Tibbetts work and demo?

[David Walser]

Before too much time passes, I want to publicly thank Malcolm Tibbetts and Bob Rosand, two of the 10 demonstrators at last weeks Desert Woodturning Roundup. While I'm sure all the demonstrators were great, I was only able to attend demos by Malcolm and Bob. (There are three rounds of demonstrations Saturday and Sunday. I was only able to attend Saturday.)

For those of you interested in segmented turning, you should attend a class taught by Malcolm. His presentation provided a wealth of information. It was very well thought out and obviously the result of a lot of preparation. He used a Power Point presentation to clearly illustrate different techniques for safely and accurately cutting and sanding segments, brought pre-cut segments with which he showed us how to glue up a ring using rubber bands for clamps, showed us how to true up each ring on the sander and then the lathe, etc. His presentation was clear, concise, and filled with good humor, and did a lot towards demystifying the process of designing and creating a segmented turning. To top it all off, Malcolm went out of his way to make himself available to answer questions between demonstrations. He did a first class job. Oh, and he sold me a copy of his book and inscribed it for me. Very cool

I was able to attend two of Bob Rosand's demonstrations. Bob's presentations were a lot of fun. They featured more actual turning time than did Malcolm's (hey, you're not going to make and turn a segmented vessel from start to finish in 90 minutes!). Very informative and full of practical tips that all turners (new and experienced) could benefit from. In the first demonstration, he showed us how he makes his small lidded boxes. In the second, he showed us how to make an oil lamp, a handle for a turning tool, and a ring caddy. As he finished each piece, his wife held a drawing and one of those in attendance got to keep the turning. I thought that was a very nice touch -- even though I didn't win anything! Like Malcolm, Bob was more than willing to answer questions from turners before and after his demos. If you have a chance to attend a class from Bob, take advantage of the opportunity.

Lastly, many of the turners generously donated items to our silent auction. Bob was especially generous in this regard. He donated a couple of Christmas ornaments, a pair of birdhouse earrings (incredibly small), and a lidded box. (That's all I recall, he may have given more.) Thank you, Bob. Your generous contributions will make it easier for us to put on the DWR next year.

[David Walser]

Bill,

As soon as the photos of the instant gallery are up, I'll post a link. I haven't downloaded the pictures on my point and shoot digicam, but if any of those turn out I'll try and post them here. In short, there were some phenomenal turnings on display. Everything from miniature turnings to a segmented platter that was more than 36" in diameter. Oh, and there was the stuff turned by the pros, too. You could spend hours in the instant gallery (which I did) and learn a lot (which I hope I did).

[Andy Hoyt]

Since you guys are talking about the same event, I merged the two threads. Keeps the discussion neat and tidy. Hope ya don't mind.

I saw Malcolm and Bob demo last fall at our local chapter. Both were excellent presentations.

[Martin Braun]

I caught Trent Bosch's demo on "vessels of illusion". I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation style, humor, and the content. I was particularly impressed with the speed at which he turned.

Robert Rosand's lidded box demo was a little on the slow side for me, but it was after lunch. Having said that, his presentation inspired me to go try to make small hollow forms, and I have already made the small straight hollowing tool he showed. So even though it was a little slow, the demo had quite an impact on me. I also want to try his turpentine/sanding sealer method for finish cuts. I think this would be particularly helpful when scraping the inside.

I also caught Stuart Batty's winged bowl demo. I saw it last year too, but I wanted to take my brother to see Stuart demo. The demo was thoroughly entertaining, and the techniques demo'd never fail to amaze me, even after seeing it the second time.

The vendor area was really big and central this time, and the instant gallery had some trully amazing pieces.

All of the volunteers put in a heck of a lot of work, and I thank them!

[Bill Wyko]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to send a piece out for the auction. Between buisness and the inlaws I just had no time. To make up for it let me know the next time I can donate a piece and I'll make something real nice. Again I'm very sorry I didn't get to it in time.

[David Walser]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to send a piece out for the auction. Between buisness and the inlaws I just had no time. To make up for it let me know the next time I can donate a piece and I'll make something real nice. Again I'm very sorry I didn't get to it in time.

Bill, we'll have another auction next year. Start work now! (Just kidding.)

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

David, thank you for so such a glowing write-up. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, but it flew by so quickly. I briefly met many people, but never really got a chance to get to know anyone. The DWR was a first class event all the way. All those involved should be proud of their efforts.

[David Walser]

Bill,

As soon as the photos of the instant gallery are up, I'll post a link....

Here's the promised link: http://azwoodturners.org/v-web/gallery/DWR-2007-Instant-Gallery.

So far, only the first 47 pictures have been up loaded. (If you had something in the instant gallery, please add a comment to your picture describing the size, wood, and finish of your turning.) For the truly adventurous, you can see my turning -- number 45. The others are much more worthy of your attention.

[David Walser]

David, thank you for so such a glowing write-up. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, but it flew by so quickly. I briefly met many people, but never really got a chance to get to know anyone. The DWR was a first class event all the way. All those involved should be proud of their efforts.

Malcolm, your presentation deserves an extremely positive review. I give a lot of public presentations and know how difficult it is to capture and keep a group's attention. Granted, the topics I address aren't as intrinsically interesting as segmented turning (If your group wants to learn more about charitable remainder trusts, I'm your guy.), but you made talking in front of a large group look easy. It's not. You do it very well.

I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to get to know anyone very well. While the surveys attendees completed have been overwhelmingly positive, one complaint is that there was too much to see and do! If you (or anyone else) have a suggestion on how we could allow more time for people to just meet and greet, I'd love to hear your idea.

[David Walser]

Bill,

Since I replied to your original question, "How was the symposium in Mesa AZ", I've received a copy of the survey results. They were very positive. For example, in response to the question, "Would you recommend this symposium to a friend?", 107 said yes, 2 said maybe, 6 said no, and 6 did not answer the question. 107 out of a possible 121 ain't bad. We still have work to do, but it ain't bad.

[Kevin McPeek]

I thought it was a great event. I saw Bihn Pho, Stuart Batty (twice), Trent Bosch, Don Derry, and Bob Rosand. I can never get tired fo seeing Stuart Batty. Trent Bosch was pretty entertaining also. All of the demos I went to were informative and well done.
The vendors didn't get too much of my money.
My only disappointment was Sunday's lunch.

I was so inspired I mounted up a 3 wing bowl last night that is the biggest and knarliest piece of wood I have put on the lathe. All knuckles are still intact.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

David, don’t get me wrong – I had a great time. As a demonstrator, it’s not unusual to be so busy, that you don’t have time to do much else. Speaking to a few of the other demonstrators, there was certainly a desire to have an “open” time slot each day. This would require that the rotation schedule have four time slots each day instead of three. While demonstrators are paid for their services, they are hardly getting rich doing what they do. Having an “open” time slot in order to attend someone else's demo would add a lot to the demonstrator experience. Just something to thinking about and possibly discuss as the organizers do a self-critique. Thanks again for a great event.

[Nancy Laird]

Here's the promised link: http://azwoodturners.org/v-web/gallery/DWR-2007-Instant-Gallery.

So far, only the first 47 pictures have been up loaded. (If you had something in the instant gallery, please add a comment to your picture describing the size, wood, and finish of your turning.) For the truly adventurous, you can see my turning -- number 45. The others are much more worthy of your attention.

Some of those pieces are just gorgeous - yours too, David. Question: were any of these for sale or did the makers take them home or did they go into an auction? There are a couple I'd like to make a deal on.

Nancy

[Martin Braun]

Nancy,

I know that a good number of pieces were for sale in the instant gallery. We don't have a price list or anything like that on the DWR website. I'm not sure but I think there might be tax-exempt status ramifications if we did something like that. However, feel free to contact the artists directly. If you would like contact information for a particular artist who was not a demonstrator, submit a query on the DWR website and we can get you a contact email, etc...

- Martin

[David Walser]

Some of those pieces are just gorgeous - yours too, David. Question: were any of these for sale or did the makers take them home or did they go into an auction? There are a couple I'd like to make a deal on.

Nancy

Nancy, thanks for the kind words. I'm properly proud of my work, but I'm honest enough with myself to admit that there were on display many finer examples of the turner's art. About half of the items were offered for sale. The other half were not.

Be sure to go back and see what Jason adds to the gallery over the next few days. I'd estimate he only has about 1/3 of the items posted. You could easily spend a couple of hours gawking -- I know 'cause I did.

[David Walser]

Malcolm, thanks for the suggestion. It would accomplish a number of good things, it would allow demonstrators to have a break, it would allow attendees another chance to see a demo, and it would allow more opportunity to visit the vendors. I enjoy talking with the vendors almost as much as watching the demos.