Australian Woodturning exhibition 2017 prize winners

Easter Region wins prizes at the 2017 Australian Woodturning Exhibition

Catherine Ritter

 Motivated by a win from last year entries, I entered the Australian Woodturning exhibition again. The exhibition is held in Kingston City Hall and receives a fair bit of publicity. There are 4 categories and entries,-open – intermediate – novice and students .

You had to be in the open or intermediate category to qualify for one of the award (Peter Robson box award) and since I am a bit of a box freak, I decided to enter the intermediate category.

Lessons froms last year:

1. Start working 6 month in advance : Needless to say, I was still working on the last piece 2 days before the closing date for entries.
2. Make sure to check my pieces against the standard published in the exhibition criteria. (Last year, one of my entries was not judged because it was 3mm bigger than the criteria
3. Judging slip from last year: The finish counts a lot. All my pieces were finished off the lathe (final sanding, oil and renaissance wax, buffing on a buffing wheel)

Here are the four entries I put in. And to my delight, won four prizes.

I would encourage you all to enter next year. One can be one;s hardest critic, I know I was.

And here are the 4 AWTEX winners:

AWTEX Category box intermediate :First prize and First Overall prize

I love boxes! african mottled bubinga it like a sharp gouge) dyed american walnut offcut (from I Anagote). Inside try is red gum from my garden fence.

The lid insert is copper –courtesy of Frank Rosta who is a magnificent metal spinner- with a stone knob

AWTEX Category bowl under 200mm Intermediate: First prize

Yakka (Pacific rimu) bowl with carving

Yakka comes from New Zealand. It is not hard to turn but it does like a sharp gouge to avoid splinters. So sharpen every other turn I did. The carving was done with carving tool, a dremel carbide round bur and a small polishing wheel. My absolute favourite piece.

AWTEX Category bowl under 200mm Intermediate: Second prize

Camelia bowl with carving. A joy to turn.

On my way to the shops,I came across a chap who was having his camellia cut. I got a few pieces from him. Turned fairly green but quite thin let is rest before final cut. The carving was done with hand carving tools and polished Dremel burs. The carving was hard work.

AWTEX Category miniature intermediate: First prize

box (osage orange) with a turning top lid (ebony) 5cm by 3.2cm

I did not take a photo before sending it but Brendan Stemp tells me that he may take a photo for me. I made 10 miniature boxes before selecting a final design and took them to the shed on a Saturday to get feedback. Unfortunaly, there were as many opinions as there were people, so I had to go with my favourite. Miniature tools recently bought from a retired turner came in handy. The box on the left is the design I used (Queens park timber with African timber bought last year a the Working with Wood Show) with other test boxes

For more details, go to Australian Woodturning Exhibition