There is so much material to write about that I’m not sure which to choose; I’m not sure what interests people.  

By way of background, I became interested in woodturning in about 1985.  I was having a conversation with Angela, my sister. I was 38; she was 26.  She was visiting our parents in the Brentwood Park section of West Los Angeles and commented that she had just bought a wood-turned bowl down at the Del Mano Gallery for $400.

I said: “What?”

She repeated what she had said and added, “It’s an art piece by Ron Kent.”

“You bought a wooden bowl for $400???” I exclaimed in astonishment.

“Yes. Next time you’re home, go down there and ask for Ray Leier. He’s one of the owners and he’ll show you some really beautiful bowls.”

I’m sure I said something like: “It’s going to be a cold day in Hell before I spend anything like $400 on a wood bowl.”

So, to condense a number of years into a paragraph, I met Ray and walked out with three bowls, one of which was a Ron Kent. One of the others was a Bill Hunter. The third was an Al Stirt. I met all these men—and others at their professional level—the next year when Ray asked if I wanted to join him in Knoxville, TN at the Arrowmont Crafts Studio for the first-ever conference of woodturners.  Ray was interested in becoming one of the only high-end American crafts stores to specialize in woodturning. By then, he was managing my growing collection of woodturnings and was interested in meeting these folks.

At the conference, one thing led to another and I found myself speaking with Ernie Conover and David Ellison—the putative organizers of the conference.  

“Ray tells me you guys have some interest in starting an association of woodturners.” I said.

“Well, yes we are.” David replied.

“My name is Bob Rubel and I know a bit about creating and running 501(c)(3) corporations. In fact, I have association management certification: I’m a ‘Certified Association Executive’ (CAE)  I can get you incorporated and filed for non-profit status within a couple of months, if you are interested.”

They were interested. They formed the governing board the next day. I returned to San Marcos, TX (where I then lived) and within two months had the organization running. I was the organization’s Administrator from inception until the Fall of 1988.

Here is a photo of some of the professional turnings in my collection.

Here are a few of my own turnings. These are a few of the small pieces we have out for display. I have a number of larger pieces, some up to the size of large salad-serving vessels.