– Just The Facts –
As 2011′s webmaster for the Classic City Woodturners, I have completed my initial rollout of the new website. Go take a peek at it, and if you live in the Athens area, come join us at one of our monthly meetings!
Hey, folks, since I got the online store up and running in time for Thanksgiving, I figured that I may as well have a Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale. Click on the Store link and use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY2010 during checkout for 10% off your order — or ‘Like’ WoodturningBlog on Facebook and find a code for 15% on the wall! Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
[SinglePic not found]My good buddy, Terry, is in Afghanistan for the next several months as a liason officer to the French. Along with some movies and snacks, I decided to turn some pens for him and his troops. Not knowing how the wood would hold up to the conditions, I asked him to keep that one for himself and give the others away as he saw fit. (I can always make him another if the weather causes issues.) I hope that they get good use out of them!
Finally…. Instead of running my own software (and I looked at quite a few), I decided to run the store from Etsy. It costs to post items for sale, and they take a cut of the sale, but the store will get a much larger viewing audience than if it were self-contained within my blog. You should see a link across the title bar now labeled ‘Store’. (If not, PLEASE let me know! I can see it.) That page will show the first several items for sale in my Etsy shop. The entire shop can be seen at http://woodturningblog.etsy.com Please take a look!
I should have mentioned this back in May (or at least June), but it had slipped my mind. The letter I received this weekend reminded me that the Lyndon House Arts Center Full House 2010 is currently underway. It will run until September 18, 2010. Fifteen organizations contribute to the Full House exhibition, displaying their works in mediums such as wood, photography, quilts, etc. The display is open to all ages, although children must of course have an adult with them. The best part is that it is free. The hours of operation are Tuesday and Thursday; Noon-9:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Drop by and take a look at some Athens artists’ works if you get a chance. More information about the Lyndon House can be found here, and information about the Full House can be found on their Exhibits page.
[SinglePic not found] Last year I took my family to the exhibit and they had no idea where we were going or what we were doing there. Once inside, I explained that I wanted to see some of the woodturning that some buddies of mine in the club had put on display. It is always cool to be able to point at a piece of art and be able to say that you know the artist. I recognized several of the names as members of the Classic City Woodturners. Eventually, they saw the bottle stopper and pen that I had submitted for display. Not having the name recognition of Stuart Batty, Mike Mahoney, and Jimmy Clewes, it was nice to see some of my own work on display. The wife and kid enjoyed it as well.
[SinglePic not found] When it came time to submit a work for this year’s Full House, I decided that I didn’t have the time to turn something new for display. At the time, I was too busy getting the workroom together and working on a Father’s Day present for my pop. I had given up on entering something into this year’s Full House. 
A couple of CCW buddies had asked me about it, and eventually wore down my defenses enough to look around the house. I did have a couple of bottle stoppers that I could put on display this year. (Thanks Don, Jim U., and Jim T. for pushing me!) I submitted my Sacagawea dollar stopper and one with a Corian insert in the top. You can see the Sacagawea article here, but sadly the pic I have of the insert stopper isn’t all that great. It is the stopper on the right. Now back to that letter I mentioned…. The Lyndon House has informed me that both bottle stoppers have SOLD and they need to write me a check! 
I assume that they stay on display for the duration of the Full House, but they no longer belong to me. Hopefully, this will be the motivating kick in the pants that I need to get the store portion of this website up and running in the not-too-distant future.
[SinglePic not found]The first presenter that I saw at the Southern States Symposium X was Mike Mahoney. I had never seen him in person before, although I had seen him present via a DVD that I purchased from his arch-nemesis Stuart Batty. The two of them made a great team in the video. His presentation was on making family heirlooms. He turned a beautiful platter for the demo out of dried cottonwood. Actually, it was shaped more like an offering plate, and he intended to pass it around at the end of the session! Read the rest of this entry »
I received the following email from the GA Association of Woodturners, announcing the symposium in September.
Wow, that was a lot of work! We finally finished the workroom. There’s still some touch-ups that need to be done, as well as one corner that needs re-mudding, sanding, and painting, but the room could be used as soon as I put tools back in, so we’ll call it done! No more insulation dropping sawdust on me all day long (or insulation falling on me, for that matter)…. Walls to actually hang things on (instead of concrete)…. Outlets…. And no more non-woodworking related things in my shop getting sawdust all over them. Woohooo! Thanks, everyone who helped! Here are some before and after pics.
