Demonstrators

Nick Agar, United Kingdom

Nick Agar's large-scale, multi-textured turned wood sculptures, created at his riverside studio and gallery in Devon, England,have earned him a reputation for producing highly individual, beautifully crafted art.

Inspired by organic forms, pottery, and his natural surroundings, he specializes in hollow forms, large diameter work, and surface enhancement. He is renowned for his wall sculptures in particular. His award-winning work often incorporates carving, weaving and metalwork.

Nick is in constant demand for commissions from collectors, his wide range of clients including HRH Prince of Wales, Dukes, Duchesses and the Royal jewelers, Aspreys. He and his work have also featured on BBC and ITV lifestyle television programs.

He is an elected member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen, and a Registered Professional Turner. A member of the AWGB and AAW.

Sally Ault, California

Sally is from San Diego and has been turning for about 8 years. Since her first visit to the Utah Woodturning Symposium in 2004, she’s been back for every one. Sally turns bowls, boxes, and hollow forms. Currently, she is turning wooden elements to make into jewelry. She will be demonstrating how to make a variety of small jewelry elements. Sally will cover wood choices, design, efficient use of materials, and techniques for turning beads and rings. She will also present how to sand and finish the elements, choosing other materials to combine with the wood elements, and assembly of the final piece.

Kirk DeHeer, Utah

Kirk DeHeer is a well-known local woodturner known for his craftsmanship and understanding of sharpening techniques. Kirk enjoys teaching others solid foundational techniques and skills that aid them in expanding their creativity and artistic abilities in the future. Kirk has assisted and taught at many local classes and club demonstrations, and has recently produced his first educational DVD, Sharpening Demystified.

Doug Fisher, Canada

Douglas J Fisher is a full-time artist living on Vancouver Island, Canada. Since 1992 he has been involved almost exclusively in creating some form of art, including painting, stained glass, photography, pen and ink drawing, and woodturning. Wood sculptures, primarily made using a lathe, have been the focus of his work since 1997. When not in his studio, Douglas can often be seen performing in theater productions.

Prior to becoming a full-time artist, he taught skiing and sailing, was an ironworker, a driller and blaster in several underground gold mines, and delivered sailboats in the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean, and across the Atlantic Ocean.

Creating off axis/off center turnings with carved centers is the work that Douglas is most known for in woodturning. He exhibits his unique style of wood turned sculptures internationally, is sought after as a demonstrator and teacher and his works are in private collections around the world.

Kurt Hertzog, New York

Kurt is a professional woodturner who enjoys everything from making his own turning tools to photographing his finished turnings. A frequent demonstrator and instructor on many facets of woodturning, he particularly enjoys teaching tool sharpening, workholding, turned ornaments, and advanced penmaking. Kurt is a regular feature columnist for Woodturning Design Magazine, a Council Member of the Pen Makers Guild, and a member of the Board of Directors of the AAW.

Allen Jensen, Colorado

Allen Jensen lives in Loveland, Colorado. He is a third generation woodworker, and even though both his Father and Grandfather turned spindles and a few bowls Allen had no idea the world of opportunity that would lie ahead. In high school he was introduced to a spectrum of materials, shapes, tools and ideas that he continues to explore today. Allen has bow been turning part time since 1995, while working with his father in their business of building homes and doing custom work.

Allen uses the trees that were removed from city property and private yards to create decorative, yet functional salad bowls and hollow vessels. Allen likes being able to save these trees from a landfill and create beautiful works of art.

He attempts to showcase the natural beauty of the wood by including bark pockets, worm holes and even rotten spots. Many of his vessels have voids in the wood that create windows allowing viewers to see into the piece.

Stuart King, United Kingdom

Born in a small English village high in the Chiltern hills Stuart King developed an interest in all aspects of traditional woodworking, country crafts and craft history. He has travelled extensively filming, documenting and researching rare and endangered skills. Stuart has also developed many practical skills in the ancient crafts which he has demonstrated and taught in many parts of the world and on TV.

Starting with the pole lathe in the 60s, turning has remained a large part of Stuart’s life for nearly 50 years and continues to do so along with his many other interests including photography, film making and archaeology.

Stuart’s woodturning is eclectic, ranging from traditional to the artistic and over the years he has been privileged to receive commissions from the ‘highest in the land’. As a supporter of the craft Stuart king was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Turners and became a Churchill fellow in 1991.

“Turning should be fun” says Stuart, and this is evident in the manner in which he delivers his various presentations.

Mike Mahoney, Utah

Bio Coming Soon!

Art Majerus, California

Art is a fulltime turner making everything from small toothpick holders to large hollow forms. Since 1994, he has been making a living at his turning doing 20-22 Art & Craft shows a year. His will demonstrate using the spindle roughing gouge as a primary tools, unlocking the many things this versatile tool can do. Art will also demonstrate and lead a discussion session on doing Art & Craft shows. That will include types of shows, materials needed, and how to determine pricing in order to actually make a profit along with other topics.

Gulio Marcolongo, Australia

Guilio Marcolongo has been turning since 1995. He lives in Australia at a place called Wonthaggi, which is Aboriginal for “wind and rain”. Guilio is known for his scalloped pieces, mainly boxes, but he can turn his hand at most forms of woodturning.

Guilio met Dale Nish in New Zealand at the Ottamata Experience and with his help and the inspiration of his teacher and mentor, Vic Wood, his woodturning life changed forever.

Brian McEvoy, Canada

Brian McEvoy is one of only a handful of professional full time woodturners in Canada. He feels most fortunate for the recognition received by his peers and other world class turners.

His innovative thinking and creativity has brought new ideas, materials and mediums to woodturning. Always one to “push the envelope” Brian has become known for his diversity and recently branched out with his own line of deep hollowing tools, drives and instructional DVDs.

The three demonstrations he looks forward to presenting will cover instruction in the large captive boring bar, two piece hollow form creation and airbrush techniques for the novice.

Johannes Michelson, Vermont

JoHannes began turning at age nine, creating ‘gifty’ items for the family. As a teenager, cars took over his time. He picked up turning again at age 30. The leader of the “WoodHat Movement, JoHannes is known for his wooden turned hats, which he first had the idea for in the early eighties but didn’t turn his first one until 1990. It became a hit and he has gone on to make 5000 plus hats of various sizes and shapes. Hats have taken him around the world several times and all these years later, he still is enthralled by the process of turning beautiful wood into hats.

Stuart Mortimer, United Kingdom

Stuart Mortimer lives in Hampshire, England with his wife Linda who gives inspiration and is his strongest critic. Stuart is a self taught turner from 1968. He has built up an International reputation throughout the wood turning world and is highly regarded by his peers and collectors alike. His work is hand crafted on and off a lathe using hand held electrical powered tools as well as traditional carving tools. He started spiral work in the early 1980’s to decorate a wide range of work from twisted miniature goblets, candle sticks, bowls, boxes, hollow forms, and other decorative works.

Stuart retired from the London Police Force in 1989. He is the holder of the World Record for the largest bowl turned in 1997 in the USA authenticated and certified by the Guinness book of records.

He uses other decorating techniques including burning, carving, ebonizing, and piercing. Stuart is now adding silver and gold to his work with considerable success. The twisted finials, beads and other forms of decoration is being hand cut from solid silver.

Dale Nish, Utah

Dale is well known for his books Creative Woodturning, Artistic Woodturning, Master Woodturners, and Woodturning with Ray Allen. He has demonstrated throughout the Unites States, England, Norway, and New Zealand, working with some of the foremost craftsmen in the world. Dale has had significant international influence on woodturning during the past four decades, including initiating the Utah Woodturning Symposium in the late 1970’s.

Binh Pho, Illinois

Binh Pho was born in Vietnam. After the war was ended in 1975, refusing to accept the reality of Communism he planned his escape for freedom. After four long hard years, he came to United States in 1979 and went on to continue his education, earned his Bachelor degree in 1982… Now, he resides in a suburb of Chicago. He works primary on thin wall vessel, created on the lathe then finishing the piece with airbrush and piercing technique. He had a Solo Museum exhibition in Long Beach Museum of Art in conjunction with his Biography book launch “River of Destiny”. His works has been included in major exhibitions such as Sculpture Object Functional Art (SOFA) Chicago and New York, Binh’s work is included in many corporate and public collections which include: The White House Collection, Washington DC, The Renwick Gallery Smithsonian of American Art, Long Beach Fine Art Museum.

Richard Raffan, Australia

Richard Raffan has turned wood for a living since 1970. Well known internationally for his bowls, boxes, teaching, and classic woodturning books and videos (Turning Wood, Turning Bowls, Turning Boxes, Turning Projects, The Art of Turned Bowls, and Complete Illustrated Guide to Turning).

Malcolm Tibbetts, California

Malcolm lives in South Lake Tahoe, California where he pursues segmented woodturning as a full-time profession. He is the author of “The Art of Segmented Woodturning” and has produced six “How To” DVDs. Malcolm writes a bi-monthly segmented woodturning column for Woodturning Design magazine and is the president of the Segmented Woodturners (an AAW Chapter). His work and more information can be found on his website at tahoeturner.com.

Tom Wirsing, Colorado

Tom Wirsing began turning wood as a teenager in his father’s basement workshop, turning primarily spindles for furniture. He has evolved over time into primarily a platter turner. He most enjoys turning large platters in highly figured maple. Tom is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), and a past president of the AAW. Tom lives with his wife Melinda on a small ranch in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains where he grazes Angus cattle and enjoys his two dogs and two pet llamas.