In January, I found myself on a business trip to New Jersey. Luckily the best choice of airports was Philadelphia. Of course it just so happened that it made the most business sense to travel back to Philly the afternoon prior to my return flight. It also just so happened that I had enough time to stop for a real Philly Cheesesteak at Geno’s and a tour through the Woodturning Center.

Will a full belly, the afternoon at the Woodturning Center was like being in heaven on steroids. Two of my favorite things, Cheesesteak and wood!

During my visit the exhibit on display was Challenge IV – dysFUNctional – For a lover of turned objects maybe not the best exhibit to see but I must admit it caused one to think, think about design and function or lack thereof and definitely about technique.

Some pieces cannot be described, some should not have been shown. However others were pure inspiration. Bihn Pho and Joey Richardson definitely won my award for detail. Their “House of Gelkandar” was exquisite!

“House of Gelkandar”

Robert Elsworth’s “E. Dysfunctional” pool cue of returned visions of my favorite painter Dali.

“E. Dysfunctional”

“Cor Blimey” was a combo physical and audio visual presentation that stopped me in my tracks. I was left mesmerized considering the overwhelming amount of hard labor it represented.

“Cor Blimey”

There were several others that any turner would surely appreciate, like the ”Folding Bowl” by Robert Sutter, The “Happy Dog” wirligig by Ron Fleming, Dewey Garrett’s ”Bowl (Some Assembly Required)” and Michael Brolly’s “Ghosts of the Hand of the Fathers that Rocked the Cradle”

In the entrance lobby however there were dozens of turnings and miscellanous creations of artists, many well known, some I’d never heard of. Beautiful pieces, some delicate, some stout. Obviously many more than deserved to have their work on display in such a fine establishment. However, a number of pieces also revealed a lack of quality that was surprising. Turner’s work that I have drooled over in the craft magazines in real life turned out to be much less refined than I would have ever suspected. Tool marks missed during finishing, gouge marks, tearout and sanding marks. Some appeared embellished simply to cover errors while others were simply ruined.

By no means do I feel my work is on the same level of the great professional turner’s that we have all aspired to, but it certainly made me recognize that the skills and attention to detail of may “novice” turner’s is better than we may think.

On the one hand I was surprised and disappointed that The Woodturning Center would display “rookie” pieces next to such fine pieces of art. But as I continued to consider my experience, thoughts and feelings from my visit I realized that The Woodturning Center continues to succeed in their mission to “grow, encourage, and enhance individuals creating in art.”

Only by seeing both the good and the bad, the normal and the abnormal, the rough and the refined can we truly learn.

Before leaving I had the distinct pleasure to also meet Albert LeCoff. He is a fine individual dedicated to his passion and helping to create a better world of woodturning for all of us. If you have the chance, stop in for a visit. Visit or not, please recognize that The Woodturning Center is a Not-For-Profit organization. Please contribute to keep this excellent organization alive and strong!

Serranoave helped support The Woodturning Center, he linked to my etsy site here. Serranoave purchased  one piece and in return I donated 100% of the proceeds to The Woodturning Center in his name. Serranoave is now a member of The Woodturning Center. He will recieve Turning Points, The Woodturning Centers annual publication, 10% discount on books, publications and DVD’s, Invitations to exhibit openings and discounted rates for conferences and workshops.