Turning wood into art
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Steve Mellon, Post-GazetteDoug Trembath demonstrates his method of turning wood on a lathe at a meeting of Turners Anonymous at Max Peterson's studio in Bethel Park.
Click photo for larger image.
Jessica Henry likes to dance, act in theater productions at Blairsville High School and sing in the chorus.
She's also a turner. Turning wood, that is, with a chisel and lathe.
"My dad put me up on a stool so I could reach the lathe when I was 5. I've made miniatures, bowls, candlesticks, ornaments, tables, desks and tops -- lots of tops."
Spinning tops, that is. In eighth grade, Jessica gave a speech explaining how she made a three-part top. It was still spinning when she finished her report 20 minutes later.
Her father, Bob, a municipal worker in Black Lick, Indiana County, also began turning as a child.
"My dad made me a lathe using a washing machine motor when I was 10," he said. "I've been turning ever since."
Jessica and Bob Henry belong to a local group, Turners Anonymous, that meets once a month in member Max Peterson's workshop in Bethel Park. The rest sit or stand as one member works at the lathe, focusing on a piece of wood that spins to a blur. To shape the wood, he or she applies a cutting edge, anything from sandpaper to an ax blade, depending on the curve desired.
That cutting edge intrigues people. Professional woodworker Linda VanGehuchten came here in 1991 from Venezuela with her husband, Jan, and their children.
"We were thinking of settling in North Carolina, and a friend suggested Pittsburgh," she said.
They liked what they saw here and settled in Sarver, where Linda has a studio. Although she is now on the board of the American Association of Woodturners, she still learns new and old skills at the local chapter meetings, which draw 50 or 60 people each month.
"The club brings in well-known wood turners from around the world who are revealing their secrets in tool use and design," she said.
First Published March 28, 2005 12:00 am
