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The Gateway Art Gallery hosts a monthly Lunch ‘n Learn. This month’s guest artist was Joe Crocker, a woodturner. Using pieces of downed trees and branches, he creates trays, bowls, vases, and platters. Most of the creations in the photo of the bowls are made from cherry. The one in the top left has an irregular edge, dark, from the existing bark of the tree. In the second photo, Joe demonstrates a “first turning” of a bowl on the left. It then must dry for over a year, before the final “turning” to correct the vagaries of the wood shrinkage to become the bowl on the right. All of his bowls are food safe. Joe has spent time in all 50 United States and often locates new woods while traveling. How does he know when a carving is “dry” enough to begin final work? He weighs the carving continually until it ceases losing weight, often up to a year. The Gateway Art Gallery hosts a Lunch ‘n Learn monthly. Complete lunch with dessert and drink is just $5; the lecture/demonstration is free. Guests are welcome to bring their own lunches if desired. The next one is April 25, 12:00 – 1:30.
