Autumn

I grew up on a farm outside Woodhull, Illinois, and had a passion for woodworking from an early age. On the farm there was always wood and tools available for experimentation, and I was introduced to the wood lathe at age 12 by a friend of my father. I was immediately fascinated at seeing a block of wood spinning at a high rate of speed and the wood chips flying. My dad’s friend showed me a few basic cuts and I was instantly hooked; I went back to turn whenever he could. I enjoyed it so much that I bought my first lathe at age 14 with money saved from a part time summer job. As an adult, I bought a shop full of wood working tools and started building furniture and cabinetry. After hobby woodworking for over 25 yrs I met Steve Sinner and was introduced to turned wood art. I had never looked at anything made of wood as art before, and after seeing Steve’s work, I wanted to know much more about it –the technical aspects of turning, from start to finish, to allow me to produce quality turnings. I learned many skills and techniques under an apprenticeship of sorts with Steve. My passion for wood has now turned in an artistic direction. I primarily focuses on hollow vessel using native Midwestern woods such as walnut, cherry, hickory, and maple. I also enjoys incorporating acrylics, bone and pyrography into some of my work. While I have my own studio and do my own work, I also continues to work with Steve Sinner. In Steve's studio we work together on collaborative works that we have shown in numerous juried art show's and sell in galleries.

- Joe Meirhaeghe