After retiring from a job in New Jersey, Jeff relocated to the area and moved 2 planers, 4 lathes, 2 band saws, a table saw, a jointer and more into a new building housing a 1,500 square foot shop dedicated to woodworking. “I really got going when I moved here. Colleague and fellow guild member Michael Thompson has been a major influence in getting me going with my wood turning.”
Starting with a green wood piece, Jeff roughly turns and shapes it. He then labels and bags the piece, adding wet shavings to the bag for a period of about 6 months. Then comes the finishing work, with fine turning. The process can take time, about an hour for the final turning on a dry bowl. Then another hour to sand. The finishing is four coats of salad oil, with two hours between coats, sanding and polishing with steel wool between coats.
“Something more I do that sets my work apart is, when there’s a defect, I fill it with turquoise powder epoxy and let it set over night. The result is a finished bowl that turquoise has smoothed in.” The final touch is wood burning on the bottom. Jeff signs each piece with a picture of trees made in wood burning.
What sets Jeff’s work apart from others is his lamination work and the use of veneers, with Padauk (orange wood from South America) as his favorite to give the piece color and interest. “I do a completely original design for lidded bowls. The lid goes on like a tongue and groove and then I turn a small phineal type handle for the lid.”
“I tend to make things that are useful and beauty is important to me so I work hard to make them not only utilitarian but beautiful. The beauty of the woods I work with and putting different woods together sets me apart. Even a bowl made out of single piece of wood becomes a work of art by highlighting a defect or spalting, a pattern of black pigment that results from fungi getting into the grain of the wood.”
See more of Jeff’s work on his Chatham Artists Guild gallery page.
