February 2010 Online Newsletter

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THE EDITOR'S CORNER

HOW DID I DO?
DID THE RIGHT MESSAGE GET PASSED ALONG OR DID I BLOW IT?

We will be starting a new procedure as relates to Monthly Presentations, Special Events and Seminars. Starting now, we will be handing out evaluation forms at the end of presentations, demos and events to get some feedback from the audience. The purpose is really two-fold.

Reason # 1 - To get your feedback. The club΄s executive (specifically our very talented and tireless presentation co-ordinator Kathy Daub), needs to know if you are getting all the "bang for the buck" that you are entitled to when you so patiently sit through our club presentations. As I sat down to write this newsletter, it occurred to me that in the case of the last seminar (Alan Lacer), which due to illness I wasn't able to attend, I could not get a "true" feel for how the event was received. In fact, I only received comments from one member and he wasn't thrilled. Then, I thought about it some more and realized we have never, in the whole history of the club, had a negative reaction published or even just a "blah" one, about any of our presentations.

Brainy kid that I am, I therefore concluded that the only reason for this is that we have ALWAYS been the beneficiary of "above par, excellent, beautifully prepared, well documented, amazing public speaker, great visuals and great sound presentations" which we would all, without exception, gladly sit through again and again and again because they were all so much fun the first time! Okay! So that΄s a crock if I ever heard one, sorry I meant misconception! I can personally think of a couple you couldn΄t pay me to sit through again!

Reason # 2 - To give feedback to the presenter. As a sometimes presenter, I know there have been times when I΄ve totally "flopped". Anyone of us dumb enough to stand in front of a crowd and try to show off has experienced this. However, I've been bitten by the bug and I love to show off so I know I'll get to put my foot in my mouth again many more times! If I could, as a presenter, get some feedback from my audience, that would be a great tool! And that is the second purpose for the evaluation form. The tabulated results of your experience will be made available to any presenter who would like to know how they did. I am positive that your comments will be most welcome to any demonstrator worthy of the name.

Does this all mean that in the future we will probably read some less than stellar comments on presentations? Well...yes, it does. But all comments will be constructive, as they should be.

As the audience, be fair and honest, but especially truthful unless you are willing to be subjected to more of a mediocre performance you might just have attended. As a presenter, be well prepared and plan to use your previous audience΄s comments as a tool to better prepare your demonstrations. If you΄re just starting to demonstrate, ask for advice from an experienced presenter you might have seen in the past. Read over your material carefully, prepare handouts if you can, rehearse your delivery and DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOW OFF YOUR BELLY THE WAY BART did during one of his demos. (Bart, there is a very low female club component to turn on. I don't think the men were really impressed! Presentations are about "content" Bart, not fluff!)

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BASIC TURNING COURSE

Please note that the Basic Turning Course scheduled for March 2010 is now fully booked. The next openings are for October 2010. The cost for the course is $150.00 per seat. Please contact Larry Katz for details and registration.

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FEBRUARY WAS BRIAN LARKIN COMPETITION MONTH

The competition was a huge success if we judge by the number of participants. The quality of the pieces on display was also very impressive. A couple of years ago, we only had something like 4 or 5 pieces and the competition was in jeopardy. It was good to see the number of new members who participated. This is truly a competition open to everyone, regardless of turning experience.

Alan, (not White, the other one! you know who you are), thank you so much for bringing that nice bowl. I know I sort of twisted your arm a bit. Many of the people I pointed your work to were astounded that you would feel it was not worth showing. What impressed most were the shape and the equal thinness throughout of your beautiful bowl.

Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to Brian Schofield for winning the trophy with his beautiful Black Walnut bowl. He now gets to store the trophy until next year when we all take a crack at it once again!

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PLEASE NOTE - MARCH - APRIL - MAY Presentations Changes

Please note that there have been a number of changes and "switcharoos" in the Monthly Presentation schedule.

March - Thin-walled vessels with Malcolm Zander

April - Colour and airbrushing with Gunilla and Paul Matteau

May - Sanding with Bill Neddow

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HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE CLASSIFIEDS?

I am not a collector. Well...I do collect hand tools and turning gouges, don't all woodturners! But not big items like lathes and such. However, Karen McBride has a lathe for sale that is seriously tempting me down that road. It is a classic P.Blaisdell cast iron lathe, beautifully maintained. A little lace, a coupled of silver candelabras and a tooled silver soup tureen and you could get rid of that cheap looking dining table you eat your daily KD on! This is not a tool, it's a piece of fine furniture! Check it out on the Classifieds page.

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ALAN LACER SEMINAR

The Alan Lacer Seminar was a success judging by what I've received by email. "A little more turning and a little less theory" would have been preferred but overall, it was a good seminar. Personally, I΄m sorry I missed it. The guy is kind of an idol of mine. Maybe next time.

Additional report from Laurie Riley -

Appreciate the fact that you want comments on any of the demonstrators. As regards to Alan Lacer, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was only one day long (which is about all I can give for something like this on a weekend what with other family commitments), I was amazed at the knowledge that he was willing to share.

I've only returned to woodturning in the last few years but to have someone of this caliber as a demonstrator is truly an awakening experience. I know that you love the skew, and I truly enjoyed the demo that you gave and with Alan, it was just strengthened. This is a tool that I have not respected, but with his explanations and theory of cutting with the tool, it becomes something that can only be admired and hopefully copied.

I know one day is short for a demo, and we don't get to see a lot of turned objects in that time, but I'm now at a point where I can read a book or look at the webpage of another turner to see what they produce, what I am more interested in is why they do what they do, and as a turner, what can I do to grow as a better and safer turner. All in all, it was a great day, the pizza was good and the company was excellent. It did run a few minutes over and I did have to leave by four, so I didn't get to thank Alan personally for a fantastic day learning more about what I love to do.

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BASIC COURSE HANDOUT

Glenn Hetherington has copies of the handout for the Basic Course which begins this month if any of you are interested. He has offered to email this to anyone who wants one. Glenn's email address is hglenn@rogers.com

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MEMBER DIRECTORY LISTING

A reminder that if you would like your name and email address (and website address if you have one) included on the club website, you need to send me that information yourself. Although we do have a record of these in the membership master roster, your privacy is important to us and we will not divulge this information on the website (or anywhere else for that matter) unless we have your personal authorization. If you wish to be included on the list, you can do so by emailing me.

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MENTORING PROGRAM

The club Mentoring Program is back on track and a number of members are already enjoying the opportunity. We are always looking for both, Mentors and Students. If you wish to participate, I invite you to have a look at the Mentoring Section on the Training and Education page. There are links there for Mentors and Students. Remember, there is no rule that says you cannot be both depending on your skills and what you wish to teach or learn.

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