Animal Sculpture Part 1

Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers
Ninth New England Woodturning Symposium

Saturday May 12, 2018
Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH

Derek Weidman
Animal Figures Part 1

Turn a multi-axis animal (two part demo)- This symposium has allowed for a special opportunity that I have not been able to do in any other demo. By scheduling two demos back to back, as well as supplying the model lathe I trust the most as it is what I use in my home studio, a full-size sculpture from my animal series will be made instead of a scaled down version. This means way more eccentric and way more dramatic turning. The audience can pick any animal they can think of as I usually allow in my demos, but I will spend a bit of time walking through various options, going over multiple designs and showing why and how I pick subjects for my more serious sculptures.

There will be an emphasis on planning and design in this first session. The first half will of the form will be shaped and the fine-tuning will be reserved for the second half. As for processes, and tools, there is a brief but thorough explanation for safe practices, in even the most extreme of lathe based circumstances, and likewise a crash course in grinds and tools that are appropriate for interrupted cutting. That said the demo focuses heavily on thinking differently, with an emphasis on thinking about the particular way the lathe cuts, and designing within that particular circular language of shape.