Good to be home:)
Greetings everyone
It was the first day of Spring yesterday here in NZ, it’s nice to be home and to catch up with family and friends.
My grandsons have grown heaps while I‘ve been away and got more good looking! Just a little biased☺
My latest trip was fabulous, many many thanks to all who helped arrange things and looked after me so well☺
It would take a novel to thank you all and describe the amazing places, and incredible events that I was blessed to experience on this trip and pictures tell a thousand words (actually I’ve been sitting stuck in writers block for the last ½ hr!!) So here’s some images from my trip.
Glen and his ’59′ Chevy..I want one!! Spotted under a tree near New Bern, NC. Glen had to visit weekly for 6 months before the guy agreed to sell. Persistence pays off!!
Gotta be honest I’m a Chevy guy but I did admire the incredible restoration Byron did on his ’56′ Fordomatic. Byron, the Wilmington Area
Woodturners and their families ensured I had a very nice time in Wilmington:) Wilmington butterfly house and gardens. Art imitating life!!
Jean-Francois Escoulen’s new woodturning school in Aiguines, France. Il est incroyable!!!
The school used to be a factory for making Boules. The men turned the spheres from Box root burls and the women would hammer nails all over them.
Week one was teaching a 3 day hands on turning/carving/burning class to 6 eager students while Greg Wilbur from Portland Oregon taught copper raising, I never cease to be amazing at what Greg can hammer out of a sheet of metal.
www.velvetdavinci.com/artist.php?aid=8
Also teaching in the other woodturning studio were Pacsal Oudet, Hubert Landri and Jean-Dominique Denis. It was a great week of learning for us all.
The following week saw most of the student heading home and another 40 amazing makers arrive for the first French Collaboration which was a physical and visual feast of creativity and the MOST amazing cheeses I have ever tasted in my life!! Congratulations to all involved for making such a wonderful event happen, and thanks to all those who shared so much and pretended they understood my terrible french!!!
Jean-Pierre www.idverre.net/baquere flame worker extraordinaire gets in a bit of ‘under the table’ work.
Huber Landri testing the power hammer.
Once the fun began my camera was soon forgotten!!
Then Greg and I enjoyed some R&R time with Alain & Babette & Noe at their home in the Cevennes area near Chamborigaud. A beautiful part of the world away from the maddening world:) A wonderful time, great company, fabulous food and photo opportunities around every corner!
Then it was a brief stay in Marseilles with Greg before heading back to the US. Marseilles is a beautiful port. Lots of history and art and very multi-cultural.
Next stop was Arrowmont for a 2 weeks class with another group of wonderful students.
The first week Mark St Ledger added his magic to the mix and the second week Clay Foster came to play, many thanks my friends:)
I love teaching the 2 week classes as I get to see so much development in folks work:)
The first week Mark St Ledger added his magic to the mix and the second week Clay Foster came to play, many thanks my friends:)
I love teaching the 2 week classes as I get to see so much development in folks work:)
A highlight of the fortnight was the mini-golf extravaganza! We dusted off the old trophies we made for the inaugural event back in 2006 and with great support from the School and the Residents and sponsorship from Ripley’s a good time was had by all:)
Check out the Arrowmont blog for pics, it was so much fun!!!
http://arrowmontblog.com/2013/07/12/what-putt/
Well I’ve run outta time for any more today, CollaboratioNZ AGM tonite, planning is well under wat for another exciting event down here in March 2015…watch this space!
Bye for now:)