Connecting The Dots

I would like to make a suggestion which will help you develop your own unique personal style. It is possible to awaken what I will call your “personal creativity”, by design and on purpose. I know I do it myself. The method I would like to share with you this time I am calling connecting the dots.

We have all heard the phrase “you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.” In the world of turning there really is not anything new under the sun. We borrow pleasing shapes from the classics, the world of pottery, the world of sculpture, shapes found in nature, etc. so how can we make them our own? For many years I have used a method I am going to call cross–pollination.

I take something which already exists and blend it together with something else which already exists. For example: making inlays by stack cutting contrasting woods with a scroll saw is a skill I learned even before I learned to turn wood. Then I learned to turn wood. I took things which I had made using the stack cutting method with a scroll saw, glued those pieces onto a turning blank and turned the whole thing. What resulted were very unique Christmas ornaments, unique turned lidded boxes with inlays and a myriad of other turned items beautiful wooden inlays. Some of the results can be seen below.

The way I developed my wildly popular Turners Laser Guide was by blending two existing technologies. Manufactures of captive hollowing rigs have been adding laser pointing devices to their rigs for many years. Other folks have made handheld hollowing tools for just as long. My contribution was to develop a mounting system which allowed a laser guide to be attached to any handheld hollowing device. I simply clamped the Turners laser guide to the brass ferrule present on every hand held tool.

What other hobby do you practice which could possibly be blended with something you turn on a wood lathe? Cynthia Gibson loves pyrography. Michael Gibson loves to turn teapots. Blending those two disciplines has resulted in stunningly beautiful teapots decorated with Cynthia’s special brand of pyrography. Jimmy Clews loves to blend colorful dyeing techniques to produce beautiful and exceptional wing vessels that are distinctly his own and are easily recognizable. I’ve even seen beads attached to turned platters with amazing results. There are dozens of other examples where Turners have brought two dissimilar types of crafts together in the same work thereby creating something unique and beautiful. I know you can do it to, just connect the dots. Because wherever you go, there you are.

Here is my inspiration for this week’s message:

Galatians 6:9 MSG ̶ So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit.