WOODTURNERS EXHIBIT WORK AT OCAC

Linda Suter, Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild

Artisans from the Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild return to the Oxford Community Arts Center with an exhibit that opens on November 11, 2011.  OVTG  boasts about 230 members from the southeastern Indiana-northern Kentucky- southwestern Ohio region. 

This special exhibit will open at 6:00 pm on November 11 during Oxford Community Arts Center’s regular Second Friday celebration.  Forty-three pieces from nineteen artists will be on exhibit until December 2^nd.  Items will be available for purchase and may be picked up after the show closes, just in time for holiday gift-giving.

Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild is a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners.   The organization strives "to provide education, information, and organization to people interested in the art and craft of woodturning."  Their other goals and efforts include: Promoting woodturning as an art form and craft; sharing ideas regarding woodturning, including lathes, tools, turning materials, turning techniques and design of turned objects; hosting international professional woodturners’ demonstrations of methods and techniques; and providing woodturning mentors to new members.

Artists with pieces on exhibit range from Arnold Ward who turned his first pieces, a chess set, on the lathe in high school 30 years ago and Ralph Mckee who has been woodworking for over 45 years and whose work is made from down trees from his  farm that he saws into lumber on a Wood-Mizer saw mill, air dries then kiln dries in a home built solar kiln,  to Dave Wright who has been turning wood for about three years. Often their attraction to wood and woodworking came at a very early age.  When asked about his infinity to wood and woodworking, Vaughn Solomon said, “In the home of my grandparents the floors I played on were cherry, cut from my grandfather’s orchard. Even today some of that same wood embellishes my workbench.” 

Many of the artists produce their art for pleasure and offer it for sale as a means of sharing the beauty and keeping down the clutter in their studios and homes. Still others “find great joy in seeing what lies inside each broken and rotting log – sort of like opening a Christmas present and anticipating the surprise to come,” says Mary Carol Meinken. 

Sande Raabe has always been a “maker of stuff.”  She has tried everything from macramé in the 1970s, silver smithing in the 80s, quilting in the 90s and before taking up wood turning.  “I love it,” she says. “I find myself in the garage at the lathe when I should be cleaning the house.  I like going out to the woods, dragging a piece of wood back to the house and seeing what I can make. I have especially enjoyed all the positive people I have met in my wood turning journey”

Bruce Gibson considers himself “an amateur woodturner introduced to the hobby about 13 years ago.”  The artistic pieces he creates are generally one-of because, “for me, the fascination is in the creative process.  The wood itself often dictates the final outcome of my creative process because hidden imperfections and wood grain subtleties dictate the flow of the work.  I find pleasure in releasing the natural beauty hidden beneath the bark.” 

The group’s show at Oxford Community Arts Center opens on Second Friday at 6 p.m. and lasts until 10 p.m.   The reception is free and open to the public, as are all Second Friday events.   Second Friday Arts Evenings, occur monthly and feature live music, exhibits of visual art, and a reception for the artists.

The Center is located at 10 S. College Avenue in Oxford, Ohio. For additional information about Second Friday or about the Arts Center itself, contact 513-524-8506, emailinfo@oxarts.org, or visit their website at www.oxarts.org. 

Jim Tingey, The Flat Taxidermist, Brings His Fishy Art to OCAC’s After School Art Program

Jim Tingey, is a retired teacher, an avid catch and release fly fisherman and a watercolor artist from Winnetka, Illinois, who calls himself a “Flat Taxidermist.”  Jim had been angling and painting for over 50 years when he brought the two together to create “Catch and Release Artwork” an alternative to killing and mounting a sportsman’s catch for memorabilia.   Jim’s paintings memorialize a trophy catch by capturing it in the form of a beautiful watercolor print, complete with a hand written section containing the date, size, and location of the catch.

   

When asked how he learned to create such beautiful paintings and who influenced him, he responded, “I’m a doodler, you know, self-taught. I just kept at it, drawing was something that I like to do and I’d take a class or something but I just kept at it and eventually, I started selling art from time to time.”

But Jim’s “fishy” artwork isn’t just for fishermen… His work has been juried and exhibited in art shows, sold in galleries and even fishing stores around the world.  He also donates his artwork …and his time to non-profits to help raise funds and influence his favorite causes; conservation, fishing and programs for children.   To that end, Jim spent Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at the Oxford Community Arts Center (OCAC) working with the children in After School Art. 

Diane Stemper, After School Art Coordinator & Educator at the OCAC welcomed Jim to the ASA program this week.  “Part of my goal with After School Art is to introduce professional artists to the kids and to demonstrate that professional artists make their living in a number of ways” says Diane. “Jim will show the kids examples of his artwork which include watercolors of fish that he and other fisherman have caught. Jim has recently retired from teaching fourth grade education but still has a passion for introducing and teaching children about the different expressions of art.”  Another goal of Diane’s is to bring in professional artists that specialize in a unique style. “The artist adds tremendously to the breadth of ideas and techniques that the kids are exposed to,” Diane said. “Jim will provide the kids with the materials and instructions to paint a fish using the medium of watercolor.”

Some of the paintings created this week will be open on display during the After School Art show October 14th, and will remain on display until November 4th. 

After School Art is funded in part by The Oxford Community Foundation, a Target Store Grant, and the Talawanda Miami Partnership, as well as the Kiwanis Club and Oxford Youth Empowered to Serve.