Trent Bosch Trent Bosch has been woodturning professionally for the past 16 years.  He began exploring the art of woodturning while pursuing a Fine Arts degree from Colorado State University.   Since graduating, he has fully devoted his efforts into creating one of a kind sculptural woodturnings.  He also has a love for teaching, sharing the knowledge and techniques he has developed freely with others. His work is displayed in numerous fine art galleries, the permanent collections of museums and craft centers as well as in many private collections worldwide.  Trent has taught and demonstrated his techniques for turning and sculpting wood throughout the United States and abroad. Nick Cook   Nationally known woodturner, Nick Cook lives in Marietta, Georgia, where he owns and operates his studio. He grew up around his father's woodworking equipment and became interested in the art of woodturning in the mid-70s after several years in furniture design and manufacture. A founding member of the American Association of Woodturners, Nick served six years on the board of directors, including one as vice president. In addition to creating one-of-a-kind pieces and his staple gift items, Nick teaches and lectures on various woodturning topics, has written articles for several woodworking magazines, and produced two woodturning videos. The primary materials that he now uses are maple, cocobolo, and tagua nuts. He employs a variety of woods, both domestic and exotic for his one-of-a-kind pieces. Nick's work is marketed in gift shops and galleries from coast to coast and is included in numerous corporate and private collections. You can also find Nick selling his pieces at craft fairs in the Southeast. Take a look at Nick's formal bio for details about galleries and exhibitions with his work, seminars and workshops he has presented, articles he has published, and more.  James Duxbury Born in Cleveland, Ohio, James N. Duxbury (Jim) moved to a rural suburb as a young child where his father, a finish carpenter by trade, built the house Jim resided in until relocating to North Carolina.  Jim had an inquisitive mind, and his interests always turned to mechanical and building projects throughout his youth. He pursued a trade as a sheet metal and HVAC contractor.  Ironically, a Presbyterian like Sir David Brewster, the founder of Kaleidoscopes, his desire to serve God and his own congregation while using his technical and creative abilities drew him to a position as properties manager of the Old Stone Church, an historic church on Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio. Jim now resides in Graham, North Carolina where the bright warm sun shines down on his little shop almost every day.  With the help of his pet parrotlet, Coco, creativity abounds - all sorts of fine turnings are made from small Bottle Stoppers to Bowls, Bud Vases, Trays, Furniture, Kaleidoscopes, Turned Wooden Hats, and even a working Foucault Pendulum.   New models of Kaleidoscopes have been designed resulting in numerous blue ribbons.  His large Kaleidoscope won the Best of Show Award 2006 at the Alamance County Fair and also Best of Show 2006 in the North Carolina State Fair.  Both custom made Kaleidoscopes and fully detailed plans to build them are now available on his website.  www.duxterity.com/ec  Much of woodworking generates large amounts of fine dust, noise, and flying debris.  It soon became evident to Jim that a good respirator that was compatible with ear and eye protection was almost a must.  This led to the development of the Resp-O-Rator™, the first mouthpiece respirator ever designed to function on a full time basis.  Now workers with beards or facial deformities can also be protected with this device.  A smaller version, the Resp-O-Rator Jr.™ has since been developed for lighter duty usage.  The National Institute of Health and Safety, NIOSH, has tested and approved both the Resp-O-Rator™ and the Resp-O-Rator Jr.™ as escape type devices.   Both Resp-O-Rators™ are sold nation wide as particulate dust respiratory protection.  Although Jim quit working in 1996 and has claimed to be retired, he has since obtained two    U. S. Patents and has a third one in progress.  Additionally his company, DUXTERITY LLC, markets both the Resp-O-Rators™ and Elegant Creations, his gallery of fine wooden objects.  Both can be seen at his web site www.duxterity.com   Jim has never had a boring day in his life---NEVER!   Gary Gardner Gary Gardner has been involved with woodworking since he was six years old. He has built and restored both homes and furniture. Gary has studied with many internationally known woodturners.  Gary teaches woodturning at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. as well as at his own studio in Morganton, Ga. He frequently demonstrates at various clubs and symposia. Gary is a member of the American Association of Woodturners, the Brasstown Woodturners Guild, and is Vice President of the Apple Ridge Woodturners Club. His works are in private collections all over the world and can be seen at www.turningleafwoodart.com/GaryGardner.htm   Alan Hollar Alan Hollar has been turning wood on the lathe since 1986. He is self taught, being introduced to the medium when he needed to make replacement parts as a furniture restorer. I saw a photo of a bowl in a magazine and thought it was pretty cool it seemed to have the potential for fun in it. The lathe was also the only woodworking application that no one else in my family did (all were involved in the furniture industry), so there was no ones work to aspire to, and no intimidation! Turning wood is different from all the other forms of woodworking, similar to playing a musical instrument. You put in hours of practice, days and years learning the craft; the certain sound of the cut, the way the shavings look, observing profiles all to internalize the techniques so that you can produce pieces without thinking. Turning wood is also similar to language in that you have a vocabulary: the more that you use it the more comfortable you become, the more facile. You also become more creative and more expressive within the parameters of the medium. I look for an elegance of line and form as these works happen curves that transition sensibly and smoothly, sometimes including textures that complement or contrast a rugged rim or burl surface. My work is an intuitive process which is informed by years of experience at the lathe. However, some wood remains around the studio for many months as I walk by it and ideas germinate. Alan Hollars work is on display in several Southern Highland Guild galleries, The Art and Heritage Gallery at the Grove Arcade in Asheville, The Crossnore Gallery in Linville, NC, and the Morris Gallery in Sweetwater, Tn. His work can also be viewed online at www.southernhighlandsguild.org/alanturning.   Elvie Jackson Elvie F. Jackson is a self-employed business owner and woodturner, residing in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife and their two children.  He began turning wood in 1994 under the teaching of nationally respected North Carolina woodturner Bill Johnston. Elvie enjoys turning burl wood.  He specializes in turning natural edge hollow vessels.  He can turn hollow forms up to fifty inches in diameter and five feet tall.  He turns basic bowls and natural edge bowls.  He has developed a new style of woodturning that he calls the “connected series”.  This series is two distinct hollow forms turned from the same piece of wood maintaining a continuous connection of wood between the two hollow forms.  Elvie has a custom made Nichols Bigway 50144 lathe that has the capacity to turn up to 50 inches in diameter and a 2436 Oneway lathe. Elvie is a member of the Woodturners Guild of North Carolina and the American Association of Woodturners.  He became interested in woodturning when a fellow employee brought an oak burl bowl to work.  Elvie continues to grow as a woodturner and seeks knowledge of the trade by continuing to attend regular club meetings and local and National Symposiums.  He shares his knowledge with other turners by doing demonstrations and private lessons.  He shares his abundant supply of raw turning wood with fellow woodturners. Elvie was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Ohio.  He spent eight years in the U. S. Navy on Nuclear Submarine Duty after graduating from High School.  He graduated in 1982 from The Citadel – The Military College of South Carolina as a veteran student with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.  Upon graduation, Elvie accepted a position with Carolina Power and Light Company.  In 1985, he started his own business, Jackson’s Tree Service.  In 1995, he left CP&L to devote more time to his growing business and woodturning. Artist’s Statement:  “It is an awesome feeling to reveal the natural beauty that nature has placed inside a piece of wood through my craftsmanship.  My work normally has no logical function except to be looked upon.”   Earl Kennedy Earl Kennedy lives in Trinity N.C. and has been turning for over 12 years. He turns a variety of pieces from 1/4"goblets to bowls over 30".  Turning is primarily a hobby with Earl, but he does sell his work in several galleries.  Earl has demonstrated at a number of local wood working stores, as well as, at his local club.  He has been featured in a one-man gallery show, and has several of his turnings in private collections.  Pictures of his turnings have also been published in woodturning magazine. Alan Leland Alan Leland serves as vice president of the Woodturners Guild of North Carolina.  He has been a demonstrator at numerous state and national meetings, including the American Association of  Woodturners Annual Symposium.  He has also published an article in American Woodturner magazine.  A true woodturning aficionado, Alan has studied with internationally known turners such as Allan Batty, Bill Jones, Stuart Batty, George Hatfield, Soren Berger, Roger Jacobs, Stoney Lamar, and Mike Mahoney.  He, in turn, has shared his knowledge and skills by teaching at John C. Campbell Folk School, the North Carolina State University Craft Cetner, the Woodworking Shop and the Woodcraft Store in Raleigh, NC, and Chimney Stack craft school in Chapel Hill.  Owner of Sliding Dovetail Woodworks, Alan likes working with clients to develop custom designs especially suited to their needs.  He also enjoys collecting and working with many different woods and says that he could spend a lifetime doing this and still not explore all of the ideas that fill his creative vision.   John Morris John G. Morris, Jr., from Silver City, N.C. began his woodturning journey in January 2004 by taking a community college class taught by Joel Hunnicutt.  John graduated from U-C-L-A (University of Campbell between Lillington and Angier.)  He was a partner in a family owned and operated furniture manufacturing business from 1968-1998. His woodworking interests include closed and open segmented turning, pens, cutting boards, etc.  Other areas of activity are church, volunteer work, gold and yard work. His wife, Judy is a retired elementary school teacher, and his son, Jay, is an Episcopal rector in Virginia.  John is a member of Piedmont Triad Woodturning Association.   Frank Penta Frank Penta is president of the Woodturners Guild of North Carolina, and has been involved in woodworking throughout his life. He began to focus specifically on woodturning in 1997. His work integrates function and aesthetics with fine detailing and finishing to enhance the natural beauty of the wood. Frank’s one-of-a-kind designs are exhibited in private collections and sold through museums and galleries. He has been a demonstrator at numerous woodturning clubs and symposia and has conducted workshops in a variety of settings including John C. Campbell Folk School.  He has also authored an article and had his work featured in American Woodturner magazine and co-authored Woodturning Tools, Techniques, and Projects with Alan Leland. Frank’s professional experience in education is reflected in his teaching ability and the high quality of his woodturning classes, demonstrations, and instructional handouts.   Chris Ramsey Chris Ramsey was born in 1962 in New York City, spent a few years in Utah and grew up in Northern California. It was in California where his desire for woodworking began to develop. He took woodshop in high school and made all of the typical projects that students make. Ramsey moved from California to Kentucky “to get out of the ‘rat race’” and lived on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland. After a few very cold winters, “I discovered that there is not much R-value in a piece of plywood so I moved out of the houseboat and into my house.” With limited outdoor activity in the winter months, Chris felt he needed a hobby that would help pass the time until summer returned. In 1998 his identical twin brother, David, presented him with a birthday gift, a small “starter” lathe, which sparked his interest. He now had the tool that, for three years in high school, he was forbidden to touch, and he soon became absorbed with the turning process. “After I bought a Oneway I spent every free moment in the shop. I was addicted.” He says, “In 2000 I made the decision that money was not everything and, with my gallery sales on a steady increase, made the jump from an unhappy owner of a company to a much happier full-time woodturner” a move he has never regretted. Chris says of one aspect of turning, “Although I was most interested in turning wooden hats early in my career, it was not as fulfilling because you know exactly what the shape is going to be before you begin turning. The only real surprise is what the wood grain will offer. I came to particularly enjoy turning fresh cut or ‘green’ thin-wall natural edge pieces. To relax the mind and allow the creative process of exploring shapes, designs and new possibilities previously envisioned is extremely rewarding. There is a wonderful surprise every time.” Ramsey’s work can be found in numerous galleries, craft shops, in permanent collections of museums and private collections. He has exhibited in the United States, the Far East and Europe. Ramsey is a popular and much-sought-after demonstrator and leads workshops for turning clubs and has been featured at various regional symposiums. He welcomes the opportunity to share his knowledge and skills with others. He is a member of the American Association of Woodturners, The Southern Highlands Craft Guild and the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. To view more of Chris Ramsey’s work, please visit his website at http://www.knot-head.com and he welcomes emails at artist@knot-head.com.   Dick Sing Dick Sing bought his first lathe in 1965, but it was not until 1986, when he started attending symposiums that his turning took off. He retired after 31 years from the GM Plant in Illinois when it closed in 1989. Dick served an apprenticeship in tool & die and finished his service in quality control. When Dick retired in 1989, his avocation became his vocation when he became a professional woodturner. Dick combines his dexterity and skill required by his former work in tool and die and quality control with the eye of an artist, capable of new design and variations upon seeing something that sparks his imagination.  Dick has written nine books on woodturning. He has written articles for Wood Magazine, The American Woodturner, has been included in The Art of the Woodlathe by Patrick Speilmanand and also in Beneath the Bark, Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning by Kip W. Christensen and Dale Nish. He has also been a demonstrator many times for the Utah Woodturning Symposium held at BYU in Provo, Utah, the American Association of Woodturning and numerous other Symposiums. Dick was also the featured turner on the DVD Magazine Woodworking at Home. He travels often, doing demonstrations for businesses and clubs along with teaching classes and one on one instruction. He has also been known to sell his work at Art shows and in Galleries. His travels have taken him across the United States as far as Alaska and also to Australia, England and Norway. What a way to turn.   Jacques Vesery   Jacques Vesery is an artisan from Damariscotta, Maine, creating wood art pieces. Striving to evoke the spirit of nature in his work, Jacques is greatly influenced by the source of his medium, the living tree and the great circle which is life. After serving as a submariner in the Navy, he became a scrimshander in Hawaii and later, Cape Cod. He then served as a forest ranger and forest fire warden in northern New Jersey. A self taught artist, Jacques now works in wood, a more sustainable and environmentally sound medium. Currently, Jacques is a member of the American Association of Woodturners and serves on the Professional Outreach Program's Advisory committee. He is also a contributing editor for the American Woodturner Magazine. In addition, he teaches, lectures on design and demonstrates his techniques throughout the US and abroad. In his free time he enjoys hiking, ice skating, kayaking, cooking and gardening. Jacques, his wife Minda Gold, and their sons Isaac and Jonah enjoy living, working, and playing in Maine, the way life should be.