Yorktown's Art at the River is truly a family-friendly event.
Yorktown’s Art at the River is truly a family-friendly event. This year, Tidewater Turners of Virginia, a club made up of 100+ woodturners in southeast Virginia, participated at this event. Here is a short video from our visit. Hope you enjoy!
Woodturning is a fascinating process to witness as the turner takes a raw piece of wood (usually a big hunk of a discarded log) and transforms it into something spectacular. Each item is truly one of a kind.
โThere is something immensely satisfying when we take a chunk of wood from a fallen tree, from a firewood pile, or found along the street and turn it into something beautifully artistic or functional. We call it โbeauty beneath the bark.โ Even simple pieces of wood are beautiful when turned and finished,โ shared Ray Kallman, Chairman of the Tidewater Turners Board of Directors & Public Demonstration Coordinator.!
As a reference, there are three types of turners:
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๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ make objects like salad bowls, pens, and candle sticks.
๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ make objects of art such as vessels, wall hangings, and pieces of art.
๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ make objects used in buildings such as porch columns, balusters, and decorative facade pieces.
The Tidewater Turners are one of 12 woodturning clubs in Virginia. Members are from as far west as Richmond, as far north as the Eastern Shore, and as far south as Edenton, NC. Whatโs really cool is that all ages are represented in this clubโfrom teenagers all the way up to age 95.
Itโs actually not uncommon for turners to learn the art as teenagers in their high school shop classes and then leave the craft behind as they start careers and families. Luckily, many come back to it as they near retirement.
So what exactly do woodturners make? Pieces can be as small and simple as spinning tops or bangle bracelets or as large as vessels and vases (often with ornate finial tops).