TCR: Have there been major turning points in your woodturning career?

LJ: My first trip to Arrowmont was definitely a turning point. I attended a two week session with Michael Peterson, and he opened up many new horizons for me, introducing me to carving, texturing, bleaching, sandblasting, ink and color usage. I am still trying to find a way to thank him. I was pumped after that, so I visited many, many galleries, museums, and exhibitions of all kinds of art work. I educated myself about the form and style of sculptural objects, and identified what kinds of work spoke to me, what moved me. I try to translate my experiences into the passion expressed in my turning.

David Ellsworth's Arrowmont instruction was a big help in advancing my hollow form techniques and bowl gouge usage. After mastering the turning techniques and combining what I learned with my own new techniques I focused my attention on artistic growth. A significant influence in this was Frank Cummings. It was one of those "when the student is ready the teacher will appear" experiences. His presentations about the creative process at the AAW Symposium in Greensboro, N.C., spoke to my heart. He helped me go beyond my technical abilities and open myself to stretch and do "something spectacular."

"On the Move." 11 inches tall, made from spalted white birch. Jamieson describes "On the Move" as "one of the first in the Body Beautiful series to have some life and movement."

TCR: Your career as a woodworker is relatively new. How are you working to move it forward?

LJ: I see my career developing in many directions, teaching, exhibiting and selling. Selling has not been a priority since I wanted to devote energy into getting my name out there in woodturning circles. At this point woodturning is my fun time, it's not work for me. I have held on to my "day job," helping to manage circulation for our local newspaper.

My torso pieces have not been for sale until recently, mainly because I wanted to show and exhibit them before I gave them up for adoption. The national recognition for these pieces has been gratifying. Two series of work are now emerging concurrently. One series of Goddess and impressionistic figures. The other "Body Beautiful" series is more anatomically correct. This work has earned me first place awards twice and was selected as the cover of the Pathways catalog (the Cleveland State University Exhibition) and as the opening piece on the AAW Web site (http://RTPnet.org/~aaw/sym/sym1998/path98/) for the exhibit.

TCR: What have you learned about your work and your career that has helped your progress?

LJ: Between torso pieces, I turn some bowls, boxes and other hollow forms. When I do demonstrations, I try to start something that I can take home to finish. This way, I make maybe 25 to 30 pieces a year, including eight to 10 major pieces.

When I get a commission to do a set of architectural spindle pieces, rhythm is important. To get on a roll and stay with it is essential to being productive. I block out enough time to get on a roll and often work long hours to crank out a project like that.

When I am doing more creative work, I don't like to be rushed, and I turn when I feel like it. In the design and layout stages I don't force it. Considerable time needs to be invested in a piece before I start turning. Designs and layout are critical to my process. The reaction from a previous piece can lead me to make others similar to it, but I always try to stretch each piece to include something new. I can no longer start turning and see what develops as I used to.

Early in my career, my mistake was trying to use every inch of a particular block of wood and compromise the shape for fear of wasting some wood. Since the wood I use is firewood anyway, I now devote my attention to the finished shape instead. There are times later in the production phase that I must get work done quickly and cannot quit between stages because the wood could dry out and check or crack, or leave a shadow between finished and unfinished areas of the form. I don't like to feel hurried or rushed; I want to invest in each piece the time necessary to make it special. There are long stretches when I am in my studio every day.

As far as my "career," I have learned that to be successful I needed to get out there, be persistent, get rejected, keep trying different things until something sticks. You must put yourself in a position to succeed. The cliché "nothing ventured, nothing gained" applies. Follow up on leads and don't let opportunities to network slip through the cracks. I have given of myself many times with nothing expected in return only to find out later that a door of opportunity had been opened. The key at that point is to walk through the door to see what develops on the other side.

"There was the time I went to Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan to go burl hunting," recalls Jamieson. "My wife told many people in her office about my adventure and told them I had a permit. They were skeptical and had never heard of a hunting season, and didn't know there were wild burros up the UP. She figured out what the funny looks were and defined burl for them as a growth on a tree."

TCR: How have you promoted your work so far?

LJ: I enter several juried national exhibitions each year and so far have been juried into most. I also work with a local art gallery, Bella Galleria, in Traverse City, Mich., where I sell bowls and hollow forms.

The large torso pieces also have interested woodturning collectors. I create natural edge bowls and hollow forms with voids that I sell for $200 to $500 depending on the size. The torso forms are selling for $2,500 to $8,000 at this point. I hope to get higher prices as my reputation grows. I will have work included in the Bob Bohlen collection that is being curated and donated to the Detroit Institute of Art, and I have recently agreed to have The Mike Mendelson Gallery in Connecticut represent my work.

Up to this point most of my sales exposure has been within the woodturning circles. The challenge is to make myself known in the broader marketplace.

TCR: How did you get into teaching?

LJ: My teaching evolved from my excitement and passion for lathe work. It started when I did free demonstrations and shared my tools and techniques. Now people are calling me to fly around the country to share my skills. I will be teaching classes at Arrowmont again next year. Also, I have been teaching at the local college through their extended education program. I also do classes for AAW members and have a waiting list for classes from turners mostly from around the Midwest. I have three lathes in my shop, so I am able to teach three students at a time.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Lyle Jamieson Woodturning 1125 North Carriage Hill Dr. Traverse City, MI 49686 (616) 947-2348 e-mail: ar785@tcnet.org American Association of Woodturners (AAW) 3200 Lexington Ave. Shoreview, MN 55126 (612) 484-9094 E-mail: aaw@rtpnet.org Web site: http://RTPnet.org/~aaw/ Arrowmont School of Craft Box 567 Gatlinburg, TN 37738 (423) 436-5860 E-mail: arrowmnt@aol.com Web site: http://www.arrowmont.org/ Bella Galleria Verna Bartnick, owner 17015 Center Rd. Traverse City, MI 49684 (616) 223-4142 Collectors of Wood Art 4541 East Lake Harriet Pkwy. Minneapolis, MN 55409 (612) 824-4541 Mike Mendelson Gallery Four Green Hill Rd. Washington Depot, CT 06794 (860) 868-0307 The Wood Turning Center 42 W. Coulter St. Philadelphia, PA 19144 (215) 844-2188 E-mail: woodturning@compuserve.com Web site: http://www.libertynet.org/woodturn/

TCR: Who or what has been most influential in your work?

LJ: There are many turners I admire. I am continually amazed at how open, sharing and giving everyone in the worldwide turning community is toward one another. Almost everyone is willing to share and give away all their secret tricks and techniques. I have been involved with other art and volunteer groups for years and most of these groups do not experience that kind of openness. Consequently, turning has something very special happening on a international scale.

TCR: How did you set up your studio?

LJ: My shop is far from ultimate. It is in my basement and is pretty cramped for space. I advocate a "keep it simple" approach, so I don't need or want a lot of gadgetry. I have everything I need, but it is not a pretty shop. It is orderly but not often clean. However, in some circles, I still call it a "studio." My workhorse lathe is a Nichols. I need the 26-inch diameter swing it gives me when I turn a very large piece out of balanced block of green wood which I use for doing multi-axis hollow forms. (While I am working on one leg the other leg is spinning around out of balance.)

TCR: Where do you get your materials?

LJ: I am now using very large logs, 24 to 30 inches in diameter and length. I use straight grain elm and cherry for the torso pieces. I have always used local Michigan hardwoods. I have never purchased any wood; I always rescue my wood from trees destined for the landfill or firewood pile. I turn green wood so that I can control the drying and prevent any cracking or checking. I keep my eyes (and ears) open around town, and I have connected with some tree-cutting services. I make them a bowl now and then, and I have more wood than I could ever want. It takes me a month to do a major torso piece so I don't need large quantities -- just large sizes.

TCR: How has your work changed since you first began in woodworking?

LJ: My work has continually evolved. In the early '90s I was experimenting and learning all I could about how to turn. It evolved to explore WHAT to turn, and now it is a stretch to ask WHY. To really cross the gap into art is to communicate emotion and feeling with my forms. At this point I have so many, many directions I could take in exploring the torso hollow forms. People often ask, "When will you do a male figure?" I need to continue my "Goddess" and "Body Beautiful" series first. I have only begun to scratch the surface of possibilities.

"Backward Glance." 23 inches tall, made from Siberian Elm. A recent work from the Body Beautiful series.

TCR: Would you reveal some of your resources for tools, equipment, materials, etc.?

LJ: Most of the tools and equipment I use I have discovered by word of mouth or designed and made myself. Resources, therefore, is a very important question. My lathe was made by John Nichols, Box 936, Stanfield, OR 97875; (541) 449-1464. He builds custom lathes to customer specifications.

To help me turn my forms more easily and more safely I developed a supported deep-hollowing system. My distributor for turning tools is Cutting Edge Woodworkers Supply, 7123 S.W. Freeway, Houston, TX 77074; (800) 790-7980. Owner Steve LeGrue has a very nice variety of turning tools and supplies.

I am impressed with One Way Manufacturing, 241 Monteith Ave., Stratford, Ontario, Canada N5A 2P6. They build and supply turning equipment with the turner in mind. Being in rural northwestern Michigan, I don't have many local supply outlets available. Our local chapter of AAW orders bulk supplies to distribute to our members, and we pass the savings on the members on such things as sandpaper, sanding disks, wood sealer, CA glue and kicker.

TCR: Where do you hope to go from here?

LJ: Where do I go from here? The sky is the limit. Many of the goals that I expected to achieve in three to five years have materialized in less than two. I need to expand my studio for teaching and showing my work. I know I will continue to have fun and enjoy the journey. I will never stop learning. As David Ellsworth said, "Desire to learn just for the fun of it. ... There is no end to the learning process." I will continue to turn because it is fun. It is great to be part of this growing dynamic woodturning community. My immediate goal is to get my work out there for more people to see and enjoy.

I believe wood artists are at a turning point. It is exciting to be on the ground floor of a growing movement to recognize wood artists. The American Association of Woodturning, The Wood Turning Center and the Collectors of Wood Art are making major contributions to promote wood art. Some major wood art collectors will donate significant work to museums in the near future. This will expose wood art to a larger segment of society and validate the quality and acceptance of wood into the art world.

Noelle Backer is senior editor of The Crafts Report.

JUNE 1999:

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