Benoît Averly

Born in 1980, Benoît Averly grew up in Burgundy (France). He graduated from high school in 1999, then worked in different fields and traveled in several countries in Europe and North America.

He began working wood with woodturning in 2002 with Gilbert Buffard and made it his profession in 2003. In the spring of 2004 he had the chance to work with well known turner Richard Raffan (Australia), from whom he learned a lot about design and production. He maintains contact with Richard Raffan who has been an inspirational mentor for him. He has been Raffan's workshop assistant in both France and the United States. Averly's work now extends into woodcarving.

In 2005 Benoît demonstrated abroad for the first time at the Provo woodturning symposium. He learned a lot during this trip and met woodturners from all over the world. This resulted in him being invited abroad again for demonstrations and exhibitions. In his work he looks carefully at lines and shapes. He likes sharp contrasts and the play of light on textures. Inspired by architecture and nature, and the search of sobriety, he builds his pieces of work with precision and sensitivity. Benoît sells his creations at shows, exhibitions, shops, galleries and to interior designers and architects.

Jimmy Clewes

Jimmy is not your ordinary wood turner.  Upon a first meeting one would think of him as a renegade, a free thinker and not within the stereotypical image of a wood turner   His charming British style, unending wit, creative mind and magnetic personality are only some of the attributes that make him popular in the woodturning demonstration circuit.

Jimmy is on the Register of Professional Wood turners in the United Kingdom and has over 20 years of experience in woodturning and woodworking. The demand for his services as a freelance demonstrator takes him all across the United Kingdom, Europe New Zealand as far as the Falkland Islands and now the United States and Canada and Australia.

It was not long after leaving school at the age of 16; Jimmy attained an apprenticeship in engineering and decided to further his studies by attending Manchester Polytechnic.  He received a 2:1 Honors Degree with special emphasis on learning 3-Dimensional Design. He Studied Wood Metal Ceramics and Glass.  With that focus, he began to specialize in designing and making furniture which was influenced by Japanese tools and design. He now lives in the US, Las Vegas.

It was during his time in college that his interest in woodturning was rekindled.  The combination of his college education, his previous experience as a tree surgeon, his limitless imagination and his professional skills was a perfect fit for Jimmy to pursue his creative abilities as a wood turner and to take that ability to the next level. 

When asked what drives him, he shares, “My energy comes from those around me.  When I can stir the creativity of one’s mind , that for me is very satisfying. As with any art form, expression is only as limited as one’s mind and I want to ‘raise the bar’ and create an awareness of the art form that has been virtually unknown to most people.”

Keith Holt

Keith Holt is a wood artist that uses the lathe and carving to create sculptural pieces. He has done demonstrations in the Mid-Atlantic region and at the national level. Woodturning magazines around the world have featured Keith as an artist and to share his knowledge. His pieces are in many private collections and he has been selected for national gallery shows. If you would like to see more of his work visit his website: www.kholtartwork.com.

Artist Statement:
"I continuously strive to see how the lathe will influence the form of the piece, by seeing the circle of movement not as one finite concept, but as an endless stream of possibilities. In addition, I want to present the viewer with new ways to see the beauty of wood. I attempt to display this beauty by aligning the grain and the figure of the wood in a universally familiar form. My work focuses on this balance between the form of the piece and structure of the wood, and I persistently search for new ways to achieve this relationship."

Richard Raffan

Richard Raffan began turning wood at the age of twenty-six in1970 after a successful career in the London wine trade.
Although largely self-taught he soon established himself as a maker of fine bowls and boxes, and since 1973 his work has been acquired for major public and private collections in America, Europe, and Australia including the National Gallery and New Parliament House Collections in Canberra, and the Power House Museum, Sydney.

Avelino Samuel

I was born on St. John, Virgin Islands on July 17, 1956. In 1980, I earned a BS in Industrial Arts Education from North Carolina A&T State University. I later earned an MS in Industrial Education from Eastern Michigan University in 1981.

I have been teaching for almost 30 years. I also have demonstrated many times in subsequent years and I have taught an adult woodworking class for more than 20 years. I also volunteer two days a week to teach students woodturning. In the last decade, most of my adult students have specialized in woodturning.
Nationally, I have presented at the AAW Symposium (2004, 2008), at the Southern Symposium (2008), and assisted and taught at John C. Campbell (2005, 2008). I also have taught at Arrowmont (2009) and conducted
numerous demonstrations and workshops at turning clubs.

Woodturning is my favorite activity. I have been turning since 1985 and turn a variety of work, although most of my turnings are hollow vessels with finials. My work is exhibited in two local galleries, one on St. John and one on St. Thomas.

Betty Scarpino

Betty Scarpino began woodworking in the mid 1970s in an industrial arts program at the University of Missouri where she learned how to make furniture. She began specializing in woodturning in the mid 1980s. Betty writes about woodturning, demonstrates, and teaches at all levels. For three years, she was the woodturning column editor for Woodworker's Journal. Betty is currently editor of American Woodturner journal.

Betty's approach to woodturning includes turning forms that she cuts apart, carves, textures, and colors. Her lathe-based sculpture is represented in the permanent collection of fourteen museums as well as numerous private collections.

Al Stirt

Al Stirt has been a professional woodturner for more than 40 years.  His work is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Smithsonian, the White House, the Museum of Art and Design, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.  He has demonstrated and taught about woodturning & design in England, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada as well as throughout the U.S.  In 1997 the American Association of Woodturners awarded him an Honorary Lifetime Membership for his commitment and contributions to the field of woodturning.

In additional to his functional bowls and platters, for the last 30 years he has been making ceremonial objects to try to address emotional & spiritual needs.

Kimberly Winkle

Kimberly Winkle is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Tennessee Technological University.  Winkle teaches Art Foundation courses and Art Appreciation and has previously taught in the Wood department at the Appalachian Center for Craft.   She has taught workshops at Arrowmont School of Art and Crafts, John C. Campbell Folk School, Appalachian Center for Craft and The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. 

Kimberly is a native of Oklahoma where she received her Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Oklahoma in ceramics. She subsequently moved to San Diego, CA where she attended San Diego State University and received her Master of Fine Art in Furniture Design. After completing her graduate studies, she moved to Smithville, TN where she was an Artist in Residence, in the wood department, at the Appalachian Center for Craft.