25th ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

Friday, January 25 & Saturday, January 26, 2013

The Tennessee Association of Woodturners (TAW) will be presenting their annual Symposium on Friday, January 25th and Saturday, January 26th, 2013. The Symposium will be held at the Marriott Hotel, 700 Cool Springs Boulevard in Franklin, TN. The Marriott is our new location for the 2013 Symposium.

The 2013 Symposium features some of the worlds‟ leading woodturners including: Dixie Biggs, Jimmy Clewes, John Jordan, John Lucas and Mike Mahoney.

2013 Symposium Detail

Symposium Schedule – a demonstration schedule for the two days of the Symposium will be added here in the near future.
Demonstration Descriptions – a detailed description of each of the demonstrations will be added here in the near future.
Instant Gallery – We invite every Symposium participant to display up to four pieces of their work for all others to enjoy during the Symposium.
Peoples Choice Award – Each year every participant can enter up to one piece, which is entirely their own work, into the Peoples Choice Award. All participants at the Symposium will be asked to vote and select the best piece for an award.
Slideshow/Roundtable Discussion – Friday evening there will be a slide presentation, and a roundtable discussion between the demonstrators and participants. During the presentation you will learn more about the demonstrator’s work and opinions in the wood turning world.

Banquet and Auction

Banquet – Prior to our auction on Saturday evening there will be a banquet at the Marriott Hotel, which is included in the price of the registration.
Auction – All proceeds from the auction will support continuing education and training in woodturning through our demonstrator and scholarship programs. Highlights of the auction include wood turnings, wood and tools donated by our demonstrators and vendors. We encourage all Symposium participants to donate a piece to the auction to benefit the education funds.

Vendors – a vendor area will be stocked with tools, wood and other woodturning supplies and equipment. A list of vendors will be added here in the near future.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Symposium, either send an email to tawsymposium@aol.com or call Jeff Brockett, TAW President, at 615-973-3336.

Marriott Hotel

700 Cool Springs Boulevard, Franklin, TN

Directions -

View Larger Map

What to Do In Nashville

There are many other interesting places to see around Nashville including Grand Ole Opry, Bluebird Cafe, Country Music Hall Of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee Art League, Frist Center For The Arts, Cool Springs Galleria, Franklin, TN, and Opry Mills Mall.

Demonstrator Bios

Dixie Biggs

Dixie Biggs lives in Gainesville, Florida, and has been a full-time studio woodturner/artist since1989. Having a degree in agriculture from the University of Florida and a love of gardening, much of her work incorporates a botanical theme. She is best known for her meticulously-carved, “leaf wrapped” vessels. She has exhibited her work in such notable venues as Smithsonian Craft Show, American Craft Exposition, Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and del Mano Gallery. Her work is in public and private collections worldwide. She has shared her techniques and knowledge at regional and national symposiums, including Australia, the Utah Woodturning Symposium, the American Association of Woodturners and various woodturning clubs and craft schools around the country.
www.dixiebiggs.com

Jimmy Clewes

Jimmy is not your ordinary woodturner. Upon a first meeting one would think of him as a renegade, a free thinker and not within the stereotypical image of a woodturner. His charming British style, unending wit, creative mind and magnetic personality are only some of the attributes that make him popular in the woodturning demonstration circuit.
Jimmy is on the Register of Professional Woodturners in the United Kingdom and a member of the American Association of Woodturners. He has over 22 years of experience in woodturning and woodworking. The demand for his services as a freelance demonstrator and teacher has taken him all over the world including his homeland of the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and now his new home in the United States.
It was not long after leaving school at the age of 16 Jimmy attained an apprenticeship in engineering and decided to further his studies by attending Manchester Polytechnic. He received a 2:1 Honours Degrees with special emphasis on learning 3-Dimensional Design. With that focus, he began to specialize in designing and making furniture which was influenced by Japanese tools and design.

When asked what drives him, he shares, “My energy comes from those around me. When I can stir the creativity of one’s mind, that for me is very satisfying. As with any art form, expression is only limited as one’s mind and I want to “raise the bar‟ and create an awareness of the art form that has been virtually unknown to most people.”
As an avid sportsman and adventurer, when he is not busy teaching and demonstrating, you will find him expanding his creativity by exploring nature and enjoying the beauty of the desert. Or you might find Jimmy in his new workshop in Las Vegas creating innovative woodturning designs.
www.jimmyclewes.com

John Jordan

John Jordan is a woodturner from Cane Ridge (Nashville), Tennessee. Known primarily for his textured and carved hollow vessels, John has been featured in nearly every major turning exhibition the past twenty-five years. His work has received numerous awards, can be found in many corporate and private collections, and is in the permanent collections of over twenty-five museums, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, the White House in Washington, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, the Fine Arts Museum, Boston, the Detroit Institute of the Arts, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, and the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London. 

John is in great demand as a demonstrator/teacher, traveling extensively teaching at universities, craft schools, turning groups and trade shows throughout the US, Canada, the UK, France, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, including an annual week or two at world famous Arrowmont school of Arts and Crafts and Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Village, CO. His work, along with articles he has written, is frequently seen in publications in several countries, and can be found in numerous books on woodturning and craft. He has also produced three instructional woodturning videos, which are very popular.
John’s pieces are initially turned on the lathe, from fresh, green logs, using a number of techniques and tools that have evolved over the years. Each piece is then hand carved and textured, using a variety of different hand and small powered tools. This texturing process is very labor intensive, and can take as much as several days to weeks to complete. There is little room for error during this carving- one small slip can ruin the piece. A light lacquer finish is applied to most pieces, including the dyed work.
www.johnjordanwoodturning.com

John Lucas

I’ve been working in wood since I started college in 1973. Even in these early days I was turning wood. I used my electric drill to make cabinet knobs and some handles for my files. I eventually graduated up to a Shopsmith and started doing segmented turning as well as other styles.
Around 1990 The Tennessee Association of Woodturners had a symposium at the Appalachian Center for Crafts. I was invited to be the photographer and it was my first exposure to other woodturners. I couldn’t have been exposed to a better group. The demonstrators were Rudy Olsonik, John Jordan and Betty Scarpino. I was hooked and joined the TAW and the AAW that year.
It’s been a wild ride ever since. I read and studied all the books I could find and subscribe to way to many woodworking magazines. I have attended many symposiums and demonstrations to try and learn all I can. I have built and rebuilt several lathes and many tools. I am a member of 3 turning clubs and have served on the boards or as an officer for each one. I demonstrate frequently for clubs around the south and have written articles for American Woodturner, Woodturning Design, Woodturner and More Woodturning. I have demonstrated at local, regional and national symposiums.

I am currently a photographer for Tennessee Technological University, where I’ve worked for the last 25 years. Because the Appalachian Center for Crafts is a part of our university, I have the opportunity to photograph a lot of art -work of all types. I shoot juried slides for many artists and have had photos published in Fine Woodworking Design Book, Woodwork, Ceramics Monthly, Craft Reports, Woodwork, and many other journals and books that feature artists.
I currently turn almost all kinds of work, from spindle, faceplate, and hollow vessels, to segmented, off-center and inside out turning. I turn all sorts of materials from metal and bone to tagna nuts and banksia pods. Of course no piece of wood is safe around me. I love to play with tools of all sorts and make many of my own. Woodturning is a wonderful hobby and I hope to share it with you.

Mike Mahoney

Mike has been a professional woodturner since 1992. He specializes in utilitarian items that he wholesales to American Crafts galleries across the U.S. He has also taught his craft at woodturning symposiums in seven countries. Mike has diversified by creating instructional DVDs and a line of woodworking finishes with a walnut oil base. He is also the director of the Utah Woodturning Symposium.

Mike’s wood comes from urban sources (tree trimmers and local cities). He produces all his work on the lathe without any embellishments after the fact, creating a very traditional feel with contemporary ideas. His work is attractive as well as useful. For his work to be admired is one thing, but for his work to be used fulfills his purpose as a craftsman. Mike is known for his ability to produce quality craft and educating the public about woodturning..
www.bowlmakerinc.com

Points Of Interest

COOL SPRING GALLERIA
www.coolspringsgalleria.com/shop/coolsprings.nsf/index

FRANKLIN, TN
www.franklin-gov.com/

GRAND OLD OPRY
2802 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214

615-871-OPRY

www.opry.com

OPRY MILLS MALL
433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville, TN 37214

615-871-OPRY

www.oprymills.us

BLUEBIRD CAFE
4104 Hillsboro Road, Nashville, TN 37215

615-383-1461

www.bluebirdcafe.com

COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
222 Fifth Ave., S., Nashville, TN 37203

615-416-2001

www.countrymusichalloffame.com

RYMAN AUDITORIUM
116 Fifth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219

615-889-3060

www.ryman.com

TENNESSEE ART LEAGUE
808 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203-3830

615-736-5000

wwww.tennesseeartleague.org

FRIST CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203

615-244-3340

www.fristcenter.org