John Kelsey is a journalist, an editor, and a writer who specializes in woodworking and furniture making. He is a former editor in chief for Fine Woodworking magazine, editorial director for Fox Chapel Publishing, and the author of several woodworking books, including Furniture Projects for the Deck and Lawn and Kid Crafts: Woodworking.
One o e page titles in this book refers to 'artistic woodturning'. It is a convenient, though perhaps not entirely accurate, distinction to make between the craft as it was practised from antiquity through to the 1960's and 70's and woodturning as we know it today. Although essentially a history, viewing this book as belonging only within the narrow confines decreed by this description, does it a serious disservice. It is also an exploration of modern woodturning and an exposition of the work of many of the craftsmen and women who have been at the forefront of its development, principally in the USA. We have no way of knowing how many thousands of years have passed since a crude lathe was used to produce the world's first turned piece of wood. We do know, however, that with the exception of a few remarkable diversions such as the ornamental turning of Holtzaphel, woodturning remained much the same over most of that period. It was the confluence of ideas, technology, social and economic factors in the decades after World War II that brought about the extraordinary changes that we have witnessed since 1985. It was in that year the American Association of Woodturners was established and it is the history of this organisation that is the primary focus of Woodturning Today. (It is, of course, significant that The Australian Woodworker was first published in 1985 and that in its early years, the editorial frequently addressed woodturning and its development in Australia.) The organisation of the content in Woodturning Today is both unusual and interesting. The first half of the book is built around a timeline from 1960 to 201 o. There are essays by former presidents and board members of the Association, photos of the work bei ng produced at intervals throughout the period and there are personal stories from woodturners, presented in sections called Voices. The interweaving of the various threads makes an absorbing narrative. The second half of the book begins with Woodturning since 1985, or to use the name given this study: Woodturning in the Era of the American Association of Woodturners: 1986-2010. Th is is followed by consideration of woodturning today when the AAW boasts 13000 members organised into more than 300 chapters. Examples of work produced in this period, continue to illustrate the text and the Voices also continue to provide a personal view of the trends that built the craft and the Association. The book ends with some notes on future directions and the personal reflections of more than 20 woodturners, some famous, some not, who experienced first hand, at least part of the movement that has led to the craft as it is now. This is a book for anyone who has an interest in woodturning. Although centred on the growth of the American Association of Woodturners, it provides a wealth of subsidiary information to give woodturners of today an overview of the trends that have shaped their craft and an indication of their place in history.
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