History of Chesapeake
Woodturners
Chesapeake Woodturners was formed and certified as a chapter of the American
Association of Woodturners (AAW) in February 1992. Sixteen founding
members, fourteen men and two women, brought with them a wide range of
experience from beginners to those with over 20 yars of turning experience. CW
has grown to approximately 90 members from the mid-Atlantic states. CW
is an active, informative woodturning
group.
Our membership has a good blend of beginner, intermediate, and advanced turners
- some having gained national recognition.
We meet 9 times a year at Maryland Hall in Annapolis or at the home of one of our
members. At these meetings we focus on
sharing our experiences and ideas about woodturning. We try to educate ourselves through
discussion and hands-on demonstrations of techniques by our local
membership. We also have had week-long,
hands-on workshops taught by professional woodturners. Many of our members have improved their
skills during workshops taught in Annapolis
by internationally known turners such as:
Trent Bosch, Christian Burchard,
Jimmy Clewes, Cindy Drozda, David Ellsworth, Clay Foster, Michelle Holzapfel,
Lyle Jamieson, John Jordan, Bonnie Klein, Johannes Michelsen, Liam O'Neill,
Michael Peterson, Palmer Sharpless, Al Stirt, and chip carver Wayne Barton. Club demonstrations also included
presentations by Stuart Batty, Nancy Bennington,
Giles Gilson, and Stoney Lamar.
We
share our woodturning enthusiasm with local communities through organized club
exhibitions and demonstrations. The
Chesapeake Woodturners has been a host or a participant in many outreach
activities. They include: the Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium held at
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis;
Maryland Federation of Art Gallery
Shows in Annapolis and Baltimore;
the International Turning Exchange; Savage Mill Gallery Show; Quiet Waters Park Gallery Shows in Annapolis; The
Woodworking Show in Timonium; and
the Montpelier Mansion Gallery show
and demonstration in Laurel. Members contributed to the success of a 2001
national show, Turning since 1930, and in 2004 in Right at Home: American Studio Furniture
both at the Renwick Gallery of the American
Arts Museum
in Washington, DC, by giving turning demonstrations for the
gallery guests.
Community
projects include donating Christmas ornaments turned by Chesapeake Woodturners
for display at the Government House, the residence of the Governor of Maryland,
during the holiday season. The ornaments
were turned from native Maryland
hardwoods including black walnut, spalted beech, holly, box elder, and
oak. CW also donated turned stamp
handles to be used in the souvenir passport documentation for the year-long Celebration of Annapolis. The stamps were used to help commemorate the
350th anniversary of the founding of Annapolis.
CW has demonstrated turning techniques during Earth Day activities at Quiet Waters
Park and members have
also constructed birdhouse kits for the special day.
Chesapeake Woodturners
The
page maintained by Chesapeake
Woodturners