Totally Turning 2024 demonstrators are coming in October 2023.
Totally Turning 2023 Demonstrators
Professional:
Cindy Drozda | Jim Echter | Beth Ireland | Mark Dreyer
Michael Kehs | Glenn Lucas | Hans Weissflog
Local:
Todd Gunter | Jason Nemec | Chris Stolicky
_________________________________________
Click here to see a list of demonstrators from previous years.
Professional Demonstrators
Jim Echter
I am a production turner, instructor and writer that has developed a series of wooden tools for fiber artists that I wholesale around the world. I also specialize in architectural restoration work and turning custom and replacement furniture components. My woodturning started as a hobby over 47 years ago and evolved into a career eighteen years ago. I market my products and services through retail outlets and my True Creations Woodturning web site: tcturning.com. I also conduct private instruction at my studio and have taught and demonstrated for over 70 woodturning groups (both in-person and IRDs). In 2019, I demonstrated at the AAW Symposium in Raleigh and was a featured live demonstrator for the 2020 Woodturners Worldwide Online Symposium where my Sensational Skew program received great reviews by the attendees.
I was the founding President of the Finger Lakes Woodturners Association chapter of the AAW. Prior to the start of FLWT, for two different three year terms, I chaired the Woodturning Special Interest Group for the Rochester Woodworkers Society which, at that time, was the largest woodworking guild in the country. I have been an active member, board member, demonstrator and contributor to the woodturning scene for over 40 years.
My piece entitled “My Kick Spindle” was accepted into the Turned for Use II AAW Symposium at the Richmond, VA. It is a combination of very precise fitting spindle components and several face grain pieces. It is a specialized form of a portable spinning wheel. My drop spindles, spinning wheels and other fiber tools are sold at over 25 fiber shops throughout North America and Europe. “My Kick Spindle” was featured on the Gallary5 poster for the symposium exhibit. The “Portable Kick Spindle”, my second generation design, has been sold to customers in Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada and all over the United States.
The American Woodturner has published several of my articles. They include:
Newel Post Caps – How to Approach a Turning Job – Winter 2009
Things I Wish I Had Known When I Was a Beginning Turner – June 2010
Sharpener Alternatives {The joy of sharp tools.} – October 2012
DIY Belt Sharpener – December 2012
The Sensational Skew – April 2019
Skew chisel pares wood precisely – Woodturning FUNdamentals – August 2019
I have written over 50 tips, articles and “Message from the Chair” articles for club monthly newsletters. Prior to starting my woodturning business, I had an award winning career in sales and marketing of high technology products and built very successful IT Service organizations. I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology and a MS – Service Leadership and Innovation. Recently, I have had the privilege to present at 7 different WordPress WordCamp conferences in the US and Canada on web site development for beginners.
Demonstrations
The Sensational Skew
Jim will take the mystery out of how to use the skew so it becomes the sensational tool in your arsenal. Utilizing a combination of images, large scale models and actual demonstrations, the use of the skew will be broken down into very understandable bites of information. The program will overview skew profiles, edge profiles, sharpening procedures, basic cuts, advanced cuts, and learning exercises. Project ideas will be demonstrated that will help you build confidence with using this sensational tool.
Turning Duplicates
You Want How Many to Look Alike?
Do you break out in a sweat if you have to make two or more turnings the same? Have you turned down requests because you don’t know how easy it is to spindle turn and make duplicates? If so, this demo is for you. Jim will show you all the cuts, tool positioning and body movements used in spindle turning. Then he will take you through the layout and design process he uses to minimize errors and project complexity. Then he’ll show you the wide variety of story sticks he has created for small and large sized projects. Next will be an overview of the tools he uses to layout the different transitional dimensions on a blank. From there, he’ll explain the “point to point” method of turning duplicates.
“Spindling” Your Way to Better Bowls
If you’ve made a few basic bowls or simple platters and now want to progress so you can refine your profiles and add details like beads and coves, then “Spindling” is the easiest way to develop the skills needed. For hundreds of years, woodturning apprenticeships taught spindle turning before face grain turning. The reason is the turner developed much better tool control and a feel for how wood likes to be cut. These skills can easily be transferred to bowl turning, taking your projects to the next level. This program will walk you through the basics on how to teach yourself spindle turning and provide a list of project/gift ideas. The tools and their proper use will all be demonstrated, the project planning process explained and a series of practice exercises will be shown.
Michael Kehs
Michael Kehs, from Bucks County, PA, has exhibited in several US shows. This includes the Challenge V: International Lathe Turned Objects Show and the National Speleological Society’s Fine Art Salon. Additionally, as an accomplished wood turner, he has won multiple awards. Likewise, he has made specialty crafts for important people and events.
His work is renowned throughout the country. In fact, one major accomplishment was that he turned an ornament for the Clinton White House during the “Year of the Craft.” Michael Kehs has won awards in many art shows and craft shows locally and nationally. This includes several Best of Show awards. He has also judged several wood carving shows. In addition, he has written for the American Woodturner, the journal of the American Association of Woodturners. Michael Kehs’s involvement in the woodturning sphere has earned him a place among the most talented in the country.
Michael Kehs is a self-taught, expert craftsman who has been turning and carving wood for 27 years. He has been active in both local and national turning and carving clubs. He owns a studio in Pennsylvania where he demonstrates and teaches wood carving and turning. Michael Kehs has a true passion and expertise in woodworking. As a result, he has helped students of all ages and skill levels develop a niche and excel in the hobby of woodwork. To this day, he continues to inspire his beginner and advanced classes to create beautifully unique works of art.
Demonstrations
Burn Texturing
In this demo I’ll show the burn texturing technique I use to embellish turned surfaces. I will cover laying out a framework in which to put the textures, and some design ideas. I’ll show the use of Pyrography tools consisting of self made tips, (branding irons), carving with a burning pen, and the use of cup burs, all this to create a coherent random design. I call this ‘random with rules’. Some textures are burned in with friction.
Carving Leaves on Turned Objects
I will show that using the right shape of turning to best show off the subject of your carving is the first place to start. Making templates to aid in drawing your patterns is an important aspect of my method. I am going to show how to lay out your pattern with an eye for detail and design. The correct process of executing the carving, i.e. (where to start and what to consider as you progress in your carving) is expressed.
Fire Sanding
Fire sanding is using a torch to give texture to turned surfaces which I then color with gilders paste from Chroma Craft. This process can turn an otherwise plain piece of wood into something with texture, color and flair. This technique is so easy to do you’ll be making beautiful pieces in no time.
Glenn Lucas
Glenn Lucas has an international reputation for his proficiency at the lathe and his ability to pass on to students the skills and knowledge he has gained. He balances his production of classic bowls turned from native Irish wood (set up in 1995), with an extensive teaching programme run from his County Carlow ‘Woodturning Study Centre’ (since 2005) in rural south-east Ireland.
In January 2021, in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Glenn moved into a purpose-designed woodturning training centre. Unable to have students visit the centre in person, he has a dedicated Zoom-room and runs a busy private tuition schedule as well as a remote demonstration programme to clubs and groups using high-definition cameras to show every turning and tool detail. ‘It’s just like being there, without the jet lag!’ Since August 2021 the woodturning centre has welcomed woodturners on 3-day classes, 5-day classes and private classes.
In May 2013 a range of Glenn Lucas Signature Woodturning Tools was launched by Craft Supplies USA. Glenn’s love of video-making and photography can be seen in the short video clips he makes showing how things are made. See his YouTube channel for short clips.
Until 2020, Glenn was a frequent guest demonstrator at overseas conferences; he also gave Turning Masterclasses at international arts and crafts schools. This now happens through remote demonstrations and virtual symposia. In October 2010 he produced the first Irish woodturning DVD ‘Mastering Woodturning – Tools and Techniques’ and in June 2011 launched ‘Mastering Woodturning – Bowl Turning Techniques’. In November 2014 ‘Mastering Woodturning – Sharpening Techniques’ was added to the series.
The fourth DVD ‘Mastering Woodturning – Traditional Irish Platter’ came out in December 2015, the fifth in Jan 2016 is ‘Mastering Woodturning – Dublin Viking Bowl’ and the sixth ‘The Beaded Bowl’ was completed in 2018. All six DVDs have been favourably reviewed and are stocked by outlets worldwide. All are also available to download so that Glenn’s tuition can be brought into the workshop on your device. All these videos are available as downloads along with, in 2020, many videos of Live Remote Demos – subjects include: Sharpening, Bowl Coring, the Salad Bowl, Closed Form Bowl, Thin Wall Bowl and Lidded Bowl. All of these videos and projects are now available through a streaming channel for an annual subscription Woodturning Movie Channel.
In recent years he has been asked by RTE to show his work to young audiences in the series ‘Makers’ broadcast in Oct 2015 and still on RTE player, and in 2011 in the series CraftMaster (often re-run). View them here: RTE ‘Makers’ mention Episodes 6,7,8,9,10.
Demonstrations
Thin Wall Bowl 
An excellent project for intermediate to advance turners. This project is very helpful in refining delicate cuts, as there is no room for error. I will make a bowl with the Roman ogee design, which is enhanced by a thin wall thickness. Turned using standard tools — bowl gouges and scrapers.
Wide Rim Bowl with Beads
In this demo I will show how to make a Beaded Bowl inspired by the old bee-hive or skep. Creating beads on a bowl really adds to how it feels in your hands and also helps with its aesthetic appeal if the wood does not have an interesting grain pattern. I will show two ways to create the beads which make it a great project for all skill levels.
(Glenn Lucas will be demonstrating remotely in our Virtual room)
Hans Weissflog
Hans Weissflog’s work appeared on the woodturning scene in the early 1990s, creating a sensation. Weissflog’s small, intricate box forms were linked to traditions and approaches that had little in common with the bowls and vessels predominating the field and his technical mastery and design sense amazed viewers in person and in print. Weissflog began to explore bowl forms in the mid-90s. His approach married the techniques and design elements of his smaller forms to create a distinctive body of work. Weissflog received the highest honor for a German craft artist, The Lower Saxony State Award in 1994.
Weissflog’s more recent work has explored the juxtaposition between raw, organic aspects of wood with the highly controlled, detailed approach that he is best known for. His work raises the bar technically and expands the potential of the wood medium. Weissflog is increasingly interested in showing that shape and has no limitations.
Weissflog describes his artistic process: “Klein und Fein” (German for “small and fine”) is my motto. And contrary to popular belief, I believe that it is still possible to create good work by hand. I have never been able to understand why people feel that work created 100 years ago is superior to the work being created by artists today. After all, the equipment we have to work with now is much better than anything that was available to the artisan of years gone by. In my opinion, one has only to be willing to spend the required amount of time to produce a truly exquisite piece. I have always been intrigued by the seemingly unlimited diversity of shapes that can be achieved on the lathe. As a designer, I am always seeking out new possibilities and challenges. My work is always expanding by transforming these possibilities into reality.”
Demonstrations
Local Demonstrators
Todd Gunter
Woodworking and woodturning were introduced to me at a young age and I was instantly hooked. Although I’ve worked with wood my whole life, I didn’t get serious about woodturning until 2014 at Showcase/Totally Turning Symposium. As a member of the NWA (Northeastern Woodworkers Association) and AWA (Adirondack Woodturners Association), wood turning and epoxy casting have become my focus.
While I don’t consider myself to be an artist, I do enjoy the endless creative opportunities presented through epoxy castings and then turning them. It is satisfying to look at a piece of wood (especially burls) and envision what to do with it. The end product doesn’t always conform to the image I had in mind, but something unique or a lesson will ensue. Even mistakes are artistic opportunities.
I served in the Marine Corps right out of High School for 27 years and retired in 2013 as a Master Sergeant. I currently work for the State University Construction Fund as a Data Warehouse Administrator in the IT Department. I’m also the Chairperson for the Totally Turning Symposium and a member of NWA, AWA, and AAW. In my “spare” time, casting and woodturning are my passion.
Demonstration
Stabilization and Deep Casting
Jason Nemec
Jason Nemec received a BFA in Painting/Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology and subsequently spent 20+ years working as an interactive product designer. After considerable personal investment in the here-today-gone-tomorrow digital world, he began to shift his focus to making beautiful physical objects that last. Since 2008, Jason has been creating simple sculptural wood forms which provide a canvas for exploration of surface texture and decoration. He is inspired by accident, play, collaboration and experimentation, because surprises are much more fun than always being in control. Mid-pandemic, Jason stepped away from digital design, and is now a full-time artist, furniture-maker and woodturning teacher working and playing just outside of Saratoga Springs, NY.
Demonstrations
Turning unusual split bowl forms
Give your pieces some attitude with legs
Chris Stolicky
Chris began making pens in 2007 in a small detached shed he converted into a mini-workshop. Within a few months of self-taught woodturning skills and a lot of stubborn trial and error, he discovered that, not only did he have the ability to create nice writing instruments, but that people wanted to buy them. Since that time he has made hundreds of pens from countless materials, shapes, styles, and custom designs. Over the years Chris has given demos to woodturning clubs on pen making, vacuum chucks, tool making, sharpening and hollow turning.
Pen making is a hobby. He is a husband, father of two girls, and an engineer by trade, so making pens allows him the opportunity to take a break from the world and be creative.
Chris is a member of the International Association of Penturners, American Association of Woodturners, Adirondack Woodturners Association, Old Country Guild of Woodturners, and a Board member of the Northeastern Woodworkers Association.
Demonstration
Pen Making 101: Your First Pen, and Beyond
In this demo Chris will lay the foundation of making your first pen out of wood. He will walk through his method of material selection, preparation, tooling, turning, finishing options, assembly and safety. In this session, he will give pointers and techniques that will provide participants the ability to avoid common and even not so common mistakes. Turning non-wood material may be discussed, but following this demo tune in to Mark Dreyer’s Pen Making 102 for a deeper dive into the world of acrylics and other materials.
