Wow! The votes were in, the chits were tallied and the ceremony began! The Nova Woodturners Guild 2009 Woodturning Competition Award Ceremony was held today and it was a huge success! There were awards, prizes, laughter and fun. Above all, there were dozens of pieces of beautiful woodturnings. What a day, what a great day!

The coveted award, the Warman Castle trophy, which is given each year to the member that wins the People’s Choice Award was won by Don Moore.

The Warman Castle trophy is a much sought after prize within the club for a couple of reasons. First, it represents its namesake, Warman Castle, who not only exhibited knowledge and skill but was also one who went to great lengths to share it. It also represents the peoples choice, the public at large, where a piece is not only chosen for it’s design and workmanship but by simply how appealing it is – the piece that most people liked. To be chosen from among the list of entries, where each one is a piece of art in it’s own right, is truly an achievement.

On being awarded this trophy Don gave a heartfelt speech on what it meant for him to receive it. Don included his own memories of Warman and how he had played a big part in his growth as a woodturner. Ever the one to be helpful and sharing, Don also took the time to carefully explain his winning piece to us, enlightening us with the intricacies, and some secrets, to its creation.

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Last night I had the opportunity, along with a dozen others, to spend the evening with woodturner, Zalman Amit. Though the design and form of Zalman Amit’s works includes a varying range of unique styles last night’s presentation focused on his use of perforations, or piercing, in woodturning. His mastery of this technique has led him to create one-of-a-kind turnings, on which he shared his creative process and insight.

His presentation was a combination of how and why he became a woodturner, his thoughts on woodturning as an artistic approach, his observations on design and form and how he creates his perforated turnings. He gave an excellent in-depth tutorial on his technique that included a live demonstration. There were also several of his beautiful pieces on display that he used to highlight a point or to clarify. Seeing, touching and being able to hold these pieces of art was a treat in itself!

Throughout his career as a university professor Zalman dreamed of becoming a woodturner. After retiring and moving to Nova Scotia his chance to pursue this dream arrived and in 1999 he started turning. After a couple of years of extensive training, with both professional instruction and his own perseverance, Zalman began seeking something more than the traditional bowls and platters that he had been making. This search led him to creating thin-walled vessels and then the addition of perforations.

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When my daughter first saw the Zebrawood And Ebony Box that I made a few months ago she asked if I would make her one too. She had never shown interest in any of my other woodworking projects so I happily said, “Yes!”. She then asked if I could make it with ‘brown wood instead of the black wood’ I again said, “Yes”. She then asked if I could make it larger, like a jewelry box. Once again I said, “Yes”. Finally she asked if she could also have a drawer in it. Well, by now you know my answer – “Yes!”. As any father knows, when ‘the princess’ asks for something she always gets it.

The box is made of Zebrawood and Nogal. Zebrawood is from West Africa, mostly from around Gabon and Cameroon. Nogal, also known as Peruvian Walnut, is from South America.

The box is approximately 11″ wide, 7″ deep and 5″ high with a hinged, segmented lid, a sliding drawer and a removal tray. It is finished with a wipe-on poly.

This project was definitely a labor of love and it offered a bonus of several new challenges. They incuded making the drawer appear seamless in the grain of the Zebawood, having the lid match accurately when the hinges were put on, making both the tray and the inner compartment. And of course there was the ‘secret’.

Here are some more photos of the jewelry box:

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