I became interested in woodturning in early 1997 after seeing a woodturning demonstration and I was completely fascinated by the process. My woodturning experience began in June 1997 during an introductory woodturning workshop at Maryland Hall in Annapolis, MD. I have since become a member of the American Association of Woodturners, the Chesapeake Woodturners, and the Capital Area Woodturners. I have always had a fascination with all types of wood media, but my main focus is on woodturning.

I enjoy turning all shapes and forms but my primary interest is in hollow forms, experimenting not only with hollow forms, but bowls, natural-edge bowls, platters, and many arts & crafts items such as Christmas ornaments, small bird houses, bottle stoppers, bud vases, pens, and other miscellaneous items. My interests keep expanding as I continue to learn and experiment.

Each piece I create is a handcrafted item and is one of a kind. While some items may appear to be similar, they all have slight variances due to the nature of the wood and the one-at-a-time handmade process. I never use live wood in my work as all of my local wood comes from trees felled by nature or taken down as the result of home development, road construction, etc.

As in all of nature, each piece of wood is different and has its own unique features. As you turn and shape the wood, these features are slowly revealed, and as you reach that final perfect form it is a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. However, this feeling only makes me realize that true perfection is somewhat elusive because there is always so much more to explore and learn about the characteristics of various woods and the woodturning process itself.

I thoroughly enjoy the time I am able to spend on the lathe. It affords me many hours of peaceful and challenging creativity. It allows me to be able to shape an ordinary piece of wood into something of lasting beauty, whether it be a craft item, a functional piece, or an object of wood art.

Woodturning can be very simple or very complicated depending on the desired objective. Because new ideas, innovations, and techniques emerge every day I do not know where my craft will take me, but I do know that woodturning is, without a doubt, a very satisfying way for me to spend my time.

Please feel free to contact me: at jbwoodturning@yahoo.com