By DENISE R. FREELAND
News Leader Staff Writer
"What really got me started in woodturning was that, in northeastern Ohio, we're blessed with a lot of hardwood," said Minerva woodturner Marty Chapman.
Under Chapman's hands, a rough chunk of maple, cherry or walnut that may once have been destined for the woodburner or to rot away in someone's barn, is set to spinning on a lathe and transformed into a sleek sculpture that may take the form of a Christmas ornament, a large vase, or something in between.
"You're always in search of the perfect curve," he said, "whether you're getting that out of a little piece or a big piece."
Chapman's quest for that perfect curve and his exploration of the color and texture of a wide variety of Ohio woods will be featured in "Turning Point," the first ever private-gallery woodturning exhibit in Stark County, opening Friday, March 12, at 2nd April Gallerie in the downtown Canton arts district.
The lathe, an ancient tool developed by the Egyptians around 1300 BC, spins a block of material, which can then be shaped with various hand-held tools.
Chapman, a retired lawyer and educator who had been working with wood most of his life, began experimenting with the lathe in 2003, after seeing some work by Bob Nehus of Minerva.
After attempting to teach himself, Chapman attended a meeting of the Buckeye Woodworkers and Woodturners. At his first meeting, he met Dave Hout, a retired shop teacher who teaches woodturning at the Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. Chapman enrolled in Hout's September class at the folk school, and spent a week learning the basics of woodturning.
"I came home and I turned every spare minute," said Chapman, who was still practicing law at that time, noting that practice is vital for learning to control woodturning tools, learning techniques, and gaining the muscle memory that allows one to master the ambidextrous craft.
In January, he returned to the folk school to take an advanced class. Since that time he has traveled to North Carolina several times a year to assist Hout and fellow-student turned instructor Steve Ainsworth with their classes. In 2011 Chapman will teach his own class on mini-lathes.
Chapman, who retired in 2006, has had his work exhibited at 2nd April since 2004, and has had pieces at the Canton Museum of Art store since 2005.
He estimates that 90 percent of the wood he uses comes from his 57-acre farm in Paris Township.
"I'm always on the lookout for a good piece of wood," he said, although he admitted there is almost no way to tell a "good" piece of wood before cutting into it.
Some of the most unusual-looking wood, and some of Chapman's favorite to work with, comes from ambrosia maple and box-elder trees infected by the ambrosia beetle or the box-elder beetle. He explained that the beetles cause an infection, and water gets into the wood and reacts with the beetle residue, streaking box elder with red and ambrosia maple with brown or green. The wood of burls, or large growths on trees caused by an infection, also often have interesting grain patterns, he said.
"I love turning really nice hard silver maple, and especially maple burl or cherry burl," Chapman added. "They're fun. Walnut's fun to turn too. They each have a different quality."
He also enjoys all of the different shapes and forms he creates, from "little gadgety things," like wine-bottle stoppers and Christmas ornaments, to larger "hollow forms" - picture a vase with a top edge that curves back in, leaving only a small hole.
"I like the challenge of hollow forms. I can't always say I enjoy them," Chapman said. "Bowls are fun, but not as much of a challenge. It's one thing to do the outside of a piece. It's another thing to do the inside through a 3/8-inch hole, and to get it smooth, and to get a uniform thickness."
Regardless of size or shape, Chapman considers each of his works a piece of sculpture.
Todd Walborne, 2nd April co-owner, agreed, "Marty's (wine bottle) stoppers are amazing. . . . each of them is a work of art in itself. Each one is unique and unusual. Then you see the sculptural pieces or a vase and you ask, 'how the heck did he do that?'"
During the past five months, Chapman has created approximately 35 new pieces for Turning Point, which will include bowls of various shapes and sizes, platters, vases, wine-bottle stoppers, and many hollow forms. Some pieces are inlaid with brass and turquoise, and winged and natural-edge bowls will be displayed.
"I start at 8 a.m., and I only come in for lunch and supper, and then I go back out in evening," Chapman said. "I do this rather than watch a lot of t.v. or spend time on the computer."
The opening of Turning Point on Friday, March 12, runs 5-9 p.m., and is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served and the exhibit will run through April 2.
Second April Gallerie is located at 324 Cleveland Ave. NW, next to Iris Restaurant.
Buckeye Woodworkers and Woodturners meet the third Saturday of each month at Camp Winoa, Mt. Pleasant Road, Canton, near the Akron-Canton Airport. For more information, see www.bwwt.org.