Ginkgo Dynasty

I have been a serious hobbyist woodworker for over 30 years. I honed my skills designing and making “Queen Ann” style furniture for my home as a creative outlet from my 8 to 5 job of herding a desk and supervising a large staff of employees. Many of the furniture pieces I made required turned parts which was my first introduction to turning wood on a lathe. After retirement and having filled my home with all the furniture my wife and I required, I needed another creative outlet for my woodworking skills. By chance I learned that the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) affiliated Kern Woodturners was forming a local chapter, and I decided to join and channel my creative and manual detail skills into creative woodturning. In 2007 I attended the national symposium of the AAW in Portland which attracted professional and amateur woodturners from all over the world. I was overwhelmed by approximately 1,000 creative woodturned pieces displayed by the attendees. These were not utility bowls and rolling pins; this was art! I was so impressed at this level of woodturned art, I decided I wanted to push my own envelope and pursue creating signature wood turned pieces. As I worked toward developing my own personal style, I found I had a fondness for Oriental art. While I do not rigidly follow the Oriental style, it has influenced many of my pieces. My work is turned on a lathe and surface enhanced by pyrography, color and dyes, texturing and piercing.

- Bill Clark