Treble Clef

I was first introduced to woodturning by my father, who gave me a mini-lathe in college and told me I really needed a hobby. Here I am, more than 20 years later, still turning. The tools have progressed, and I like to think I have, too. I started out really having the "round and brown" mindset. I still find an occasional piece that begs to be left alone, and I think that will always have a place in the woodturning world. Lately, for me, though, my work has taken on more and more embellishments. I tend to see the lathe as a means to an end, or a part of the whole. My recent influences include Jimmy Clewes, David J. Marks, and Molly Winton, to name a few, as well as a few local artists working in glass and copper. I love exploring the relationship between wood and other materials such as glass and metals. When I'm not at the lathe, I am either at the fire station, (I have been a full time firefighter/ paramedic for 20 years,) working in the Construction Safety field, or spending time with my wife and 4 kids. It doesn't seem like it leaves much time for turning, but I squeeze it in somehow.

- Dale Gillaspy