Once in a while you have the good fortune to meet someone who is truly outstanding in what they do. I had known about Fred Williamson for many years. I did not include pictures in this post as Fred’s site is filled with them and better you visit it directly.

He had been commissioned by my brother-in-law about 10 years ago to make something from a maple burl he had cut from a tree on his property near Charlottesville. Fred had fashioned a hollow vessel that was quite attractive. I was told that he lived not too far away in a hollow on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains about 20 minutes away from Crozet, Virginia.

About three years ago I applied to show my work in the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival in Crozet. Fred Williamson, who had been exhibiting in that show for many years was there and briefly came by my booth. Since I tend to work these shows by myself, I only took a moment away from my booth to look at his work. They were open formed, thin, natural edged bowls made of large bolts of wood.

The next year I did the show in Crozet I had some help so I looked at his work more carefully. By this time I had started to do natural edged bowls myself and was really ready to see what I needed to learn. I had been troubled with end grain tear out and no matter how much I sanded, the oil finish always revealed a darker unsightly area where the fiber damage was.

Two women came by my booth at that show and one of them seemed to be really interested in one of my new natural edge bowls. Her friend tugged at her sleeve and motioned that she needed to check out another vendor. So they headed towards Fred’s booth. By this time, Fred’s work really had my attention. That evening I attended a reception for the artists sponsored by the show. I approached Fred and asked him if I might visit his shop to address the problem I was having. Fred said that he does not teach but he would be willing to help me with the issue.

One January day in 2010 we met at his shop. What I learned exceeded all my expectations. Fred had honed his techniques through many years of constant practice. Yet what I learned transcended technique. Fred was able to see ideal curves in his mind’s eye. He used his technical skill to allow those curves to flow into the wooden vessel.

Every time my clumsy technique would destroy an ideal curve he had created, he would recreate the curve. If I damaged it badly he would create another slightly different but no less ideal curve. He simply could see the ideal curve and made the wood conform to it.

Now this might not sound so impressive to you but any great turner or any kind of artist will say over and over that design is the most crucial part of any artistic endeavor. Technique is important to be able to express the ideal form, yet it does not create the ideal form. Attractive patterns and colors enhance the ideal form but if they are applied to a poor form then the result is poor.

This ideal form is something that cannot be taught by watching someone else work. Technique may be great and material truly outstanding but the inadequate form will make the piece of little value and it will not endure.

Ideal form is a transcendental or absolute value. It comes from nature itself and can be cognized by human awareness. Some come by this naturally by birth. You have often heard it said that he or she “was a natural artist just born with the gift.” For others, it can be acquired by techniques which put you in contact with the laws of nature on a regular basis until you see them as Fred sees them. Without birth or technique, accessing this knowledge will be rather fruitless.

Fred was very patient in addressing my poor techniques, and now all I have to do is to practice over and over until I get them down. This process can take years. Yet, what I learned from Fred was a lesson far more valuable. I learned to look for the ideal curve even as I eyed the rough bolt of wood. I learned to lay out the blank for rough sawing, keeping the ideal curve contained within well in mind. I learned to rough out the blank so that my ideal curve could emerge fully.

So, if you are a serious bowl collector you should give Fred Williamson’s site (www.fredwilliamson.com) a thorough visit. If you are not a serious bowl collector, perhaps you should consider becoming one. I can assure you that looking at those ideal curves skillfully created out of beautiful woods will bring you pleasure and make you feel uplifted every time your eye falls on one of his creations.

I just had to include a couple of pictures of the finished product of that lesson.

If you are a bowl turner like myself you will find a wealth of technical information that Fred has so generously shared in his Methods of Work section. Either as a collector or as a craftsman, you owe it to yourself to visit his site and become acquainted with the art and craft of Fred Williamson, Virginia Bowl Turner.

This past week I had the good fortune to take a wood turning seminar at the home and shop of David Ellsworth. The seminar was a generous gift of my daughter Sarah who has supported my wood turning efforts in so many ways.

David needs no introduction from me. He is the man who literally created the genre of turned objects as art. His work graces many museums and private collections. He also contributed to the advancement of wood turning technology with his development of a uniquely ground profile for his wood turning gouges and his sharpening jig to create that profile as well as many other technological improvements.

I will have to admit that the seminar was beyond my expectations. David is at the top of his field and yet he is completely approachable and lacks the arrogance that comes with success to so many. He is a masterful teacher using approaches which register with all three learning styles; auditory, visual and tactile. He never hovers but is there to give gentle and helpful correction when needed, as often it was in my case. He would always begin by uplifting the student for what he had done right. Who would not want to please a teacher like that?

The seminar was balanced between hands on experience in his well equipped shop and relaxed meals together with the five students (actually there were only three on my weekend due to severe weather).

Some of the heavier equipment in the shop

One of my fellow students beside the lathe I used. In the background is the photo lab.

Meals were a joy and David would give us insight on the recent history of wood turning and then bring out object after object from his personal collection that he had purchased or for which he had traded with other leading experts in the field. He would not only show the objects but supply lively details about the artist and his career. He is a wealth of information.

David standing by his retro bandsaw

Time in the shop was divided between small amounts of practical and theoretical didactic material and actual practice with projects at the lathe. Each student had his own lathe and an almost unlimited supply of green wood with which to work. I had to learn new methods of roughing, shaping and finishing wood all with the same gouge which is what is so wonderful about the grind of his special gouges. It was ever so much easier than the crude methods I had used in the past and it went so much faster. It was also much easier on my body. Occasionally David would come by and remind me that it was not necessary to beat myself up so much and would correct my problem by repositioning my tool rest a bit closer to the work.

All of the subjects covered were of great interest to me. Besides the basics of how to form the Ellsworth signature grind on the gouge and the basics of green wood turned edge and natural edge vessels and hollow vessels, there were many other subjects covered. There was a session on chain saw sharpening which was most valuable. I recently had problems with sharpening my saws. Now I have used a chain saw for many decades. Yet my mistake was corrected in an instant. I had forgotten that the chain cuts on the corner of the tooth and I had been focusing on the sharpness of the blade of the tooth. Funny how we can forget what we once knew.

There was a valuable lesson on making and using jam chucks. There was a lesson on how to position your blank to get the grain orientation that will be most pleasing to you, and a lesson on how to use wood movement as it dries to best artistic advantage. Of phenomenal use to me was how to use a face plate and make the design go inside the diameter of the screw holes to be able to utilize the whole depth of the blank while enjoying the increased stability of the wood held fast by multiple screws. David shared his extensive knowledge of photographing the work and showed us his solution to the challenges. There was a helpful demonstration of vacuum chucking. He even showed us how he makes many of his tools Always, David presented low tech and cost saving techniques which were of great value to me.

As I look back I realize that we had covered a phenomenal amount of information yet
it all went in so easily and in such a relaxed manner that there was no straining and the
acquisition seemed effortless. If you did not catch it all, David has created a beautiful new text book called, appropriately enough, Ellsworth on Woodturning; How a Master Creates Bowls, Pots and Vessels. It is beautifully written in an easy to read style and filled with wonderful illustrations. It was a great take home item for me as well as the sharpening jig and boring tools that I actually watched David make right before my very eyes.

So, if you would like to make a quantum leap in your turning skills and understanding, I really recommend a seminar with David Ellsworth. Short of that, his book is immensely helpful. I am just thankful that a master like David so generously shares what he has learned over a life time of turning. He is a great turner, artist, teacher and human being.