Interested in a woodworking class?

I know it's been a minute, but I've been finishing up a few old things, and starting some new ones. 

There's one spot left in the upcoming Powertool woodworking class that I'm teaching - it starts on Sept 6. It's a Friday afternoon class, which a lot of people request! 

Meanwhile - these cooler temps have started me thinking about a fall/winter garden. I'm hosting a plant trade on September 7 -  if you want to put in a winter garden, come to this event and grab some free plants!

Passing the Torch

 Picture this.... it's the fall of 1978, and I'm finally starting the meat of my woodworking studies in college.  

Ohio University (in Athens, Ohio) in the late 70's was idyllic. Seriously, you couldn't ask for a better collegiate experience. Surrounded by rolling hills of trees, the liberal arts college was situated on a river, with much greenery... pure heaven. It was about a three hour drive from my folk's house, and a very easy drive, at that!

 Almost all of my studio classes were held in Seigfred Hall - a four story tomb that was built into a hillside. 

Enter from the back and you were on the ground floor. (Park there and you were sure to get a ticket!) That's where the wood shop and ceramic studios were located, as well as the sculpture and life modeling classrooms. Here are some of the ceramic kilns and the entrance to the sculpture lab.

Enter from the front of the building and you were a few floors up, an elevator ride away from the woodshop and ceramic hub. 

Nearly every single week,  a random artist would paint or decorate the inside of the elevator, so you never knew what it was going to look like from week to week. It was fascinating, and I suspect the inside of that elevator is inches smaller now than it was when I was there. Think of hundreds upon hundreds of layers of paint, paper mache, posters,  decoupage, plaster, and more. It was a site to behold!

Seriously, this was a PERFECT art building to develop your style. You can read about it here. 

Everyone has a favorite teacher, or at least a mentor who helps us along the way. I had two - both were sculptors. David Hostetler was a folk artist of international acclaim, but we knew him as an amazing spirit. 

 David's work is on display all over the world, and his class - Functional Sculpture as Furniture - gave me my start on making the artistic pieces that I still design and build today.  Seriously - it was mind blowing.

Mike Cunningham was a metal sculptor.  It's funny, his family owned a very popular music store in town, where you could buy everything from a piano or guitar, to sheet music and violin strings. It was THE music hub in town, and all the years that I studied with Mike, I never knew his family owned it. He didn't want to wind up as the owner of a music store, and he told me that that was a big disappointment for his parents when he didn't take it over.  I could relate on some level - my folks owned a restaurant and I knew that I never wanted to permanently end up in the restaurant business. Kindred souls, Mike and I were.

Mike took me under his wing around that time - and of the best things he taught me was about Fine Woodworking Magazine. This magazine was first published in Winter of 1975, 

so I was a few years late to the party. But - despite being a poor college student, I managed to buy all of the back issues, and subscribe to it. And ... considering I'm still a subscriber - that's almost 50 years of devotion. 

This isn't an understatement - this magazine did as much to influence my work and teach me things that I didn't have access to back at Ohio University, as any college professor did.  

Years later - I would meet some of my idols that I'd read about in the magazine - like Tage Frid, 

or Roseann Somerson, or Wendy Maruyama, and many more. Unfortunately - I missed my opportunity to meet James Krenov, Wendall Castle and Gary Knox Bennett... but I felt like I "knew" them from reading their numerous articles in the magazine. 

Fine Woodworking taught me about using Watco Danish Oil - a finish I still use to this day. And taught me tablesaw techniques like cutting box joints, or how to make a 5 panel door. I swore - if I ever was on Naked and Afraid - all I would need is a tablesaw and I could survive anything. 

All of this is to say - I hit a crossroad in my life last week. 

Someone approached me about acquiring my nearly 50 year collection of Fine Woodworking magazine, and after much soul searching - I agreed. Honestly - the magazines took up almost nine-feet of space in one of my bookcases. And since I'm not teaching as much as I used to - I just don't need access to all of those articles. Plus - everything is available in different forms nowadays - both on disc and online. No need to keep nearly 200 pounds of magazines anymore!

So I packed them up in my truck, and handed them to an upcoming woodworker. She's already texted me that she's losing herself in each issue. I can still feel the thrill of reading about angled tenons or tapered dovetails, or bending wood, or... the list goes on and on. 

So thanks Taunton Press - for all the years of education and entertainment. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just passing the torch to some new blood. 

Spinning away the summer

This has been a virtually intolerable July here in the desert. We've broken so many heat records here that it's downright scary. I even bought umbrellas for the plants in my garden, although it has barely made a difference. Everything is fried, and everyone I know is looking forward to autumn. 

So I escaped to the cool confines of the library last week, to check out the Las Vegas WoodTurners show. This group really has their act together for exhibiting their work. I have no idea who is in charge of organizing this, but they have all my respect. Getting a show in the library is a daunting task, with a ridiculous amount paperwork and minutia required.

The galley is fairly small, but the work was spot on.  Lupe's goblet with captive rings is a simple but difficult to achieve triumph over Maple. 

And Kevin Manning's "Groot" bowl had a shape that really captured my attention. 

But the segmented pieces in the show were truly the stars. Bryan Thompson's segmented bowl and vase were simply mind-boggling, with hundreds of pieces in each piece. I could have stared at this piece for hours! 

This Southwest vase was simply masterful. 

Not quite as complicated, but every bit as much well crafted was Lupe's bowl.

But some of the truly elevated work on display was Christian Brisepierre's work. It never fails to rise to the descriptor of perfection. This Monkeypox platter, 

and the small oval box next to it was superb! (How do you turn an oval?!)

This "basket illusion" maple bowl were truly on a level that most turners will never achieve. His work is simply amazing, and he offers classes here in town. 

We have some true masters here in LV, offering classes in a variety of mediums - so even though people think we're in the middle of an artistic desert, it's not true. 

Interested in wood? Clay? Stone carving? It's all here. 

Meanwhile, back in my studio, I've been turning on a completely different level - utility work. It's not pretty, but it pays the bills. These juggling spools are headed to a customer who juggles them for a living.  

Only in Vegas!

A different kind of "making"

Anyone who's paying attention knows there's a heatwave out west. I'm smack in the middle of it, and a few friends (who don't live here) have asked how we survive. I mean - when you get into your car and you see this, you know it's going to be a tough ride. 

So we broke the record... not just broke it, but pretty much shattered it. By three degrees. It's a little sobering and scary. So how do we survive the summer temps? 

WE STAY INSIDE! 

This little peach tree is sagging with fruit, and the birds have let me know that it's time to either pick them, or the peaches are fair game for their dinner. 

 I picked a handful and pulled out my trusty cookbook for baking. 

Now hear me out... first, I come from a long line of bakers. My Aunt Teresa was known for her award winning peach pie, and my mom is no slouch in the kitchen, either. In fact, we call her Virgie Baker (long story!) and her chocolate chip cookies are legendary. So is her cheesecake - which I'm craving right now.

For some reason, The baking gene skipped me. As much as I try, my breads are dense, my sourdough starter turned moldy, my pie crusts are hard... you get the idea. But this cookbook has served me well. 

Do you remember as a kid - buying books from a book service who would drop off a list of what was available - we'd put a few checkmarks by the ones we wanted, and a few days later, the books would arrive. I chose this one when I was around 9 or 10 years old, and I can't tell you how many times I've used it. 

It may sound silly, but I can make this recipe for Apple Crisp in my sleep. It's ridiculously easy... even a kid can pull it off. 

But this was the recipe I was looking for - mostly for guidance, than actual ingredients. 

I remembered that it makes a pretty small batch, and my other recipes seemed like they were going to make too much pastry dough. 

(Maybe my binging of The Bear led me down this path, who knows?)  

So I chose some peaches and followed Aunt Teresa's recipe for the filling. And I decided to make two smaller pies, rather than one big one. 

Dammit, I needed more peaches! I chose a few more and added to what I'd diced. 

Here's where it gets tricky - I have no idea how to finish the edge of a pie, so I did my best.  I can crimp a pizza crust with the best of them, but pastry dough seems like a different beast.  

I had a small bit of dough left over, and made a few tarts with some blueberry jam. These were OK, a little tough, crust wise. I Googled it and realize I over worked that dough like crazy, which developed the gluten and made them tough. Like I said - I'm not a very good baker! 

But in the end - here's my humble pie - no pun intended. 

The egg wash on top gave it that lovely golden color, but I may have applied it at the wrong time - maybe ten minutes before it was supposed to come out of the over. I wondered if it was going to turn into scrambled eggs on top, but it worked. 

I probably have enough peaches for another pie - just not sure my hips can handle that!

 

Shopping in Chinatown

We have a terrific Chinatown here in Las Vegas.... so big, in fact - that there is a second one developing on the south side of town. I'm more than thrilled! Some of the best produce you will find are at the various asian and hispanic markets here in town. Their prices are way better than the big box grocery stores and better yet - the variety is ridiculously diverse. 

I needed rice the other day, and decided to head to SF Market, in the heart of Chinatown. 

Sure, I could buy rice at Costco, but then I'd miss all this grocery diversity! And yes - there are MANY asian grocery stores to choose from - 99 Ranch is one of my favorite. Greenland, too - which is a funny name for a store in at the Korean Town Mall.  

But I was on a mission for rice, and two people told me that SF Market has the best prices... so that was that. 

Enter the store and to the right is a well stocked produce department.  

I mean - this aisle features more varieties of bok choy than I've ever seen!

 It's hard to tell by this photo, but these strawberries were almost the size of tennis balls!

Heading over to the refrigerated cases - the sprout section was impressive.

And their mushroom selection is ridiculous. 

I'm assuming that some restaurants must shop here, as their prices rival those of wholesale food purveyors. And I mean - who needs a five-pound bag of cleaned garlic?!?

I don't know of too many stores that sell duck eggs! 

OK, I went a little overboard in their noodle department, 

 

 but then when I rounded the corner and found the ramen aisle, I thought I was in heaven. 

Need rice?  

I picked up a bag so large, I had to buy several OXO containers to store it!   

Like most other asian stores, they have a live seafood section, and will clean and cook your selection. TBH, I can't handle choosing a live fish and then watching it die. 

So I never buy live fish. 

But - need a lobster or some fresh catfish? 

This place will hook you up. This store is only about 12 minutes from my house, so it's pretty convenient to shop there. 

Makes me happy!

 

 

Pics from the Jewelry and Gem Show

There is never a lack of things to do here in Las Vegas.  Personally, I am looking forward to the Star Trek convention later this summer,  but meanwhile, this caught my eye.

A friend had told me that she and her hubby fly to Phoenix for the Gem, Mineral and Jewelry show. So when I saw that there was one coming to Vegas, I immediately signed up. And I had no idea what to expect. 

It was held at the World Market complex, a huge "campus" right in the center of town. 

This was built almost 20 years ago, and is home to many furniture showrooms, with 315,000 square feet of showroom space. Seriously, it's HUGE!

Back when it was first built, entrance was strictly controlled... you could only stroll the aisles if you had a business license and were involved in the furniture industry. 

I went there when it first opened and was shocked when I visited a showroom of a Chinese furniture manufacturer who was selling whole bedroom sets for less than what the materials would cost here. Seriously, I looked at a 8-piece bedroom set for around $1100 - and did some quick math in my head. Just the materials for that set would have run me around $2500. And the quality was decent.... not great, but certainly reasonably well made.

So it was a bit of deja vu when I walked into one of the conventional halls to see what all the fuss was about the Gem and Jewelry show. 

First off - rows and rows of jewelry... not my jam, but there were a decent amount of people buying. 

It appeared most were private individuals, not owners of jewelry store. Seriously - anything (jewelry wise) that you wanted was probably there. To be honest, my eyes started to glaze over all the rings, earrings and necklaces on display. I mean... thousands of them. 

It was definitely a sensory overload. So I headed over to the tables that DIDN'T have jewelry... and ran into a local fellow who was keenly interested in these knives on display. He was a knife maker, and gave me a quick tutorial on the types of antlers used for these knife handles. 

I fell in love with the next booth - selling these amazing laser cut pop-up greeting cards. 

They had dozens, and every one was better than the one before. 

I bought a few - and since I was listed as a "buyer" on my badge, I got them wholesale. 

Who doesn't love a discount!?!

Then things got serious - and I started walking down aisle after aisle of gems. Rocks, basically - some polished, some in raw form. It took a minute for me to understand the pricing - everything was sold by weight. Amethysts seemed to be one of the more popular stones, but opals seemed to be a close second. 

 There were rows and rows of tchotchkes, like these skulls and more. 

This photo is out of focus, but I loved the texture of this photo.

And then I found the real gems - both literally and figuratively!

 These amethyst geodes were amazing! 

And the people at this booth were highly motivated to sell, sell, sell!

This book matched set reminded me of fallopian tubes! When I said that the salesman, he looked at me with a blank stare...

You couldn't sit in this couch, as it was guarded by security - but it sure didn't look comfortable. 

Around the corner from the couch was where I thought it started to get really interesting... gem and stone dealers.  It's amazing to see all of this in one setting. 

Most bins had the price per gram listed on it, and then each piece had their weight. 

I fell in love with this Peruvian blue opal,

 and chose two matching ones. 

Upon weighing them, and then calculating my wholesale discount, this stone came to just under $30. I had them put two aside for me, until I could come up with a reason to buy them. 

A little further up the aisle - this booth caught my eye. I fin't really see how it fit into the classification of gems or jewelry, but I liked their sense of humor. This huge alien sculpture would look great in my back yard, but oy vey - it was pricey. 

I loved their alien pieces!

Their wildlife was pretty great, too. 

Honestly - Cactus Joe's has better work, more variety,  at a MUCH better price point. 

Finally - there were a few pieces of furniture crafted from stone or petrified wood.

There was a huge skull display - I guess there's a huge following for these pieces - but I didn't think they were anything special. Reminded me of the stuff you'd see in a head shop in the 70s or 80s. (Good times!)

On my way out, right by the exit - I found what might have been my favorite booth - and it felt like a nostalgic attraction. 

These wares reminded me of driving across country with my family as a kid - stopping at many small gas stations spanning the now historic Route 66. Or stopping at a Stuckey's, which always advertised their pecan rolls and Native American crafts. 

(Who doesn't remember those signs for Stuckey's all up and down the highway?)

This booth was filled with some very nicely crafted wares, and he had a fascinating background. 

These small beaded purses were superb, 

and I was particularly fond of the maracas.

 This turquoise inlay was just one of many inlaid pieces in his booth. 

 And then...  the exit appeared and it was time to head home. 

Would I attend again? I'm not so sure - the wares there were definitely not my jam, but it was an interesting way to spend an afternoon. And with free parking, free admittance and TONS of icy air, I could think of a lot worse ways to spend a few afternoons!

PS... I ended up not going back for the opals - I just couldn't come up with an idea for incorporating them into my furniture, and couldn't justify spending $60 on two stones that would probably sit in a drawer forever. 

AITA?