First State Woodturners

by Eric L. Krum

First State Woodturners in coordination with the Fairs Arts & Crafts area lead put together a display of work from Chapter members that also included information about the Chapter and how to become a member. Chapter members had the option of submitting items for Judging and hopefully the awarding of ribbons for the winning entries. In conjunction with the ribbons winners receive a cash prize.

The Figure 1 illustration shows the FSW display during the displays setup on July 13, several days before the Fair opened to the public. Members provided all the items for the display that were set up in conjunction with information about the Chapter and the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). The display was viewed during the fair by hundreds of people who were visiting the fair.

Figure 2 shows the other side of the FSW Display at the completion of the display’s setup. Of note are the orange and green cards that told about the items submitted by member, Margret DeMarco. Margret provided information on the first bowl she had turned to include a mirror to view the underside of the bowl and how she had repurposed wood to turn a tool handle from one of the How-To sessions held by the Chapter in 2018. The Fairs Arts & Craft’s lead stated that the FSW Display has continued to be a big crowd pleaser with hundreds of people visiting and commenting on the display and the variety and beauty of the turned objects. One written comment from the public stood out this year, the request to provide a small placard that provided the artists name and the species of wood used was submitted. Something that will be incorporated in preparations for next year’s Chapter display.

Members are encouraged each year to submit items for Judging to help build up the Arts & Crafts overall public display. The award of ribbons and the receipt of the corresponding cash prizes are also a great reason for members to submit items for judging. Thanks to Paula Krum for taking the lead in setting up and taking down the display.

This year the Chapter submitted a variety of items for judging. The judging categories for turned wood are limited to just the three illustrated below. Should the Chapter work to submit several new categories, if so what categories should be added?

Below are pictures of the winning entries listed by judging category. There is only one category for turning wood, and that is Bowls. All the other wood related categories can include round and flat wood items. First State Woodturner members wood all the ribbons for Bowl’s, Christmas ornaments, and Miscellaneous.

Bowls Category

Miscellaneous Category

Christmas ornaments

This is the third year the Chapter has setup a display table and thanks to member participation the display has gotten better each year. Next year, 2020 should be even better.