Woodturning The Art of Making Beautiful Wood

Woodturning is perhaps one of the most artistic of the wood crafting family of skills. Thats not to say that traditional woodworking; or certainly wood carving is not artistic. They can, in fact, be very artistic. Look at the sculpted lines of a Sam Maloof chair, or the graceful style of a Craftsman table and wood carving is art by definition. What sets woodturning apart is the basic tool of the trade, the lathe.
Woodworkers employ any of a considerable number of power and hand tools to create tables, chairs, bookcases, boxes, etc. The number of tools makes the possibilities endless. Wood carvers use fewer tools but still have a fairly large selection from which to choose. These can include chisels and mallets, handsaws, bandsaws, even chainsaws, routers, and rotary tools.
Woodturning, on the other hand, is limited to one power tool, the lathe and a selection of hand tools. The lathe is in a stationary position and simply rotates the block, or length of wood into the tool held by the woodturner. So, whats so creative about standing in one place with a sharp tool while the lathe does all the hard work of turning the wood? If youve ever seen a wooden vase, or a wooden cowboy hat in the window of a gallery you might get an inkling of what makes woodturning so unique.Most of us see only the most basic of turned wood projects in our day to day experience. We see the turned legs of a poster bed, turned spindles on the staircase, turned baseball bats at the ball park. We dont think much about them because they are so ubiquitous and we figure, and rightly so, that most of them are turned by automated lathes. Probably the closest we get to something more interesting and original is a turned salad bowl. (Thats assuming you have something other than the pressed kind you get in a restaurant.)
To get a real feel for the possibilities of artistic woodturning we need to step out a little bit and go looking in the windows of higher end gift stores and art galleries. Here we might begin to see the turned candlesticks and goblets that will get us thinking that there just might be something to this woodturning business. Woodturners often use chunks of wood that a woodworker would find unsuitable. A piece of walnut burl for example that is neither long enough, nor stable enough to use in a chair, can be chucked onto a lathe and turned into a beautiful bowl. Those splits or knots that made it inappropriate for a chair can become intriguing aspects of a decorative bowl that might just become a display piece in your home.
Woodturners are forever expanding their form of art. Experienced turners are noted for developing unique tools to help them achieve unexpected forms. I have seen delicate urn shaped vases, hollow throughout and wondered how the turner could have possibly managed to get a tool through the thin neck to hollow the wider portion of the base. To my eye, it is all but impossible and yet, there it is thin enough to allow light to seep through illuminating the natural beauty of the wood.
One of our best known woodturners, Rude Osolink was famous for his wood vases turned from domestic hardwoods. If you didnt know better, you would swear these pieces were some sort of painted porcelain. After all, how could one piece of wood be shaped, inside and out, as if it were pottery? And, not just any pottery, delicate, finely detailed pottery. Rude Osolink was a master and an inspiration to woodturners all over the world. His pieces are in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and one of his bowls was actually presented to the Queen of England by the US Government!For as amazing as woodturning can be, its actually not hard to get started. Think of it like chess, the rules are easy to learn, even a child can play and yet. a true chess master works a lifetime at his craft. To begin, you just need a lathe and a few chisels. Furthermore, lathes come in a broad range of sizes so that you can find one to fit even the smallest space. Of course, you wont be turning a big bowl on a small lathe! And, recently Oneway Manufacturing, a maker of high quality lathes, has developed a full sized "Sit Down" lathe. This is a lathe that can be used in a traditional standing position but the headstock can also pivot and lock in position for someone who cannot stand. This opens the world of woodcraft to persons who might otherwise be excluded because of disability.
Woodturning is an excellent hobby, one that many woodturners find not only relaxing but also artistically fulfilling. If youve been searching for that perfect hobby that is both useful and creatively fulfilling, why not consider woodturning? A word of warning, lathes can be quite expensive and, as your skills grow so will your investment in tools. You might want to consider finding a local class on woodturning and/or checking out a woodturning exhibition at a local wood working show. An excellent resource is the American Association of Woodturners.
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The Art of Tile Mosaics

Have you ever tried creating mosaic designs over mirrors or small tabletops? With several ceramic tiles and grout, you can already create beautiful designs. You can also use tile mosaics in concrete, glass, and metal.
Before you start any mosaic project, you should get all the things you need so that they are within easy reach. Here are the things you’ll need – acrylic sheets, palette knives, tile grout, grout brushes, soft rugs, gloves, sponges, newspaper, plastic bags, pencils, notebook papers, hammer, safety glasses, and pottery chips or tiles.
Using colored markers or pencils, draw the design on a paper. Get the appropriate tile for your drawing. Make sure that you have all the colors you need for a particular project. Carefully lay out the tiles over your drawing. This is one choice to ensure that the tile pieces are complete. Remove the tiles when you’re satisfied with the results. Put acrylic over the drawing.
Using your palette knife, put a small amount of adhesive on the tile’s backside and place it correctly on the drawing. Keep the spaces in between tiles at about 1/8 inch. Leave the mosaic to try.
Mix the grout. Make sure that the grout’s color is much darker than the tiles. Avoid purchasing grout of the same color as the tiles. When the tiles have dried, you can now apply the grout on the spaces. The grout should be leveled with the tile’s height.
After applying the grout, get a damp sponge. Wipe the surface of the mosaic using the damp sponge. Make sure that all the excess grout is removed. Do this immediately after applying the grout; don’t wait until it cures. If you’re working with mirrors, clean the mirror at once to prevent the grout from sticking to other parts of the mirror.
The grout will cure as days pass by. You can polish the tiles using a damp cloth. If you’ve made small designs, you can use it in coaster and trivet but stick felt pads first.
In most mosaic works, the tiles are square-shaped. You can also try using other shapes of tiles. If you have big ceramic tiles, you can put it inside a plastic bag and smack it using a hammer. However, if you have nippers at home, you can also cut the tiles to your desired shape. When cutting tiles, wear your goggle or any eye protector to ensure eye safety.
Whenever you’re doing a mosaic project, don’t forget to wear protective gloves. Some tiles have shard edges which can slice your fingers. The gloves will also protect your skin when you’re applying the grout.
When you’re purchasing the mosaic materials, make a list of everything so that you will not forget anything. This will save you time and money. Get latex grout because it does not shrink and spreads well.
Tile mosaics are not as expensive as you think. You can use excess tiles available at home if you want to create an inexpensive mosaic. Start with small mosaics in mirrors or in your tabletops. Once you’ve mastered the procedure, you can now try more complicated projects. Later on, you might even want to try wall or floor mosaic. With this art, there are endless opportunities to show your creativity and imagination.
Follow the procedure above and in no time, you will see the end product.

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How to Buy and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent hand made sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn’t authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are alchoices the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards. These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes. Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was hand made by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will sometimes have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist’s signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was hand made but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will alchoices be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.

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