Bill Johnston -- A Narrative Biography
Twenty-one years ago the stress of my job made it necessary for me to develop some kind of activity that would give me pleasure and to take my mind off the job. After watching a television program featuring a woodturner turning cabriole table legs, I gave woodturning a try. My initial investment was small . . . a Sears lathe and bandsaw, a basic set of Sears turning tools and a book. There were no woodturning associations in those days, and I didn't know a single soul who knew anything about woodturning. The result. . . I spent several years trying to learn turning skills in isolation. While I did learn some things most of the time I struggled, learned to use tools improperly, and turned out some pretty bad stuff. After retiring in 1986 I became aware of the American Association of Woodturners and learned about woodturning classes at Arrowmont and Brasstown (John C. Campbell). It wasn’t long before woodturning clubs began to form. They became affiliated the AAW and the potential for learning became limitless. There are now five woodturning chapters in North Carolina. I am proud to be a charter member in three of those chapters. They are: The North Carolina Woodturners, The Triangle Woodturners of North Carolina, and the Carolina Mountain Woodturners. The AAW along with those affiliated chapters have given me fantastic opportunities to learn woodturning skills. Additionally, they have offered many opportunities to demonstrate and to teach. I have now demonstrated at three national symposia, I have taught at The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and at John C. Campbell Folk School. I have demonstrated numerous times at my North Carolina Chapters, in mini-symposia, and in several other chapters in the surrounding states of Virginia and Georgia. I also teach privately for those who wish an intensive one-on-one learning experience. For several years I marketed my work at arts and crafts shows. I now market my turnings through galleries and web sites. Arts and Crafts shows became too expensive and too labor intensive. Counting time for preparation and recuperation a two-day show was costing me nearly a week of turning. I guess my age caught up with me. My work can properly be described as contemporary classic. I take basic classical forms and work with them paying particular attention to the interaction of curves and embellish them with color and texture. Since the forms are not new or innovative I consider myself more as a fine craftsman that an artist. It is important my work reflect nicely flowing lines. . . sensuous curves if you will. My pieces appear nicely balanced and present an uplifted feeling as opposed to appearing anchored at the base. The type of finish is in harmony with the character of the piece. Anything that interrupts the eye from taking in the piece as a whole becomes a distraction. Even pieces turned from wood with spectacular color and/or interesting voids do not necessarily qualify as fine woodturnings in my estimation if there are distractions in the flow of the work. This is what I strive for in my fine woodturning craftsmanship. My preference is to use domestic hardwoods as opposed to exotics. I have discovered that there is a sameness or strong similarity of color in using only such woods. I began to notice that many exhibits lacked interesting variety. It was at that point that I decided that I would develop the use of color to create exhibits that had greater potential for variations. I found that I didn’t need to buy expensive exotics and charge huge prices just to pay for the material. I use aniline dyes and alternative materials to create decorative and interesting variations. The prospects for variations are endless and the process is mentally stimulating and challenging. While it should be noted that I do not dye pieces when the wood has interesting color qualities of its own, I would like to dedicate this exhibit to the use of color. Needless to say, I enjoy woodturning immensely. It has given me many friendships and has created many interesting challenges. It keeps me active, both mentally and physically. It would be nice to look forward to twenty more years of woodturning pleasure, but at age 70 I will just enjoy them one year at a time. Bill Johnston Return |
