Al Stirt
September 27 – October 1
Making platters from dry wood, participants experiment with pure turned forms, as well as with decorative processes such as carving, texturing, and coloring. Al encourages students to develop original work, acquire new techniques, and test design ideas.
Instruction covers the use of bowl gouges and sheer scrapers for turning different types of platters. Among other topics, Al addresses selection and cutting of wood, drying green turned platters, carving on turnings, turning square platters, using textures created on and off the lathe, and using a sgraffito technique to create designs by painting the wood and cutting through to reveal a pattern.
Al Stirt has been a professional woodturner for more than 40 years. His work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including those of the Smithsonian, the White House, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He has demonstrated woodturning in Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa, as well as throughout the U.S. In 1997, the American Association of Woodturners awarded him an Honorary Lifetime Membership for his commitment and contributions to the field of woodturning. Al lives and works in Enosburg Falls, VT. His website is alstirt.com.
Open to intermediate turners.
