By Ella Santiago
BYU''s School of Technology is displaying the work of 140 woodturning artists from around the world at the Museum of Art through July 31 in celebration of the 25th annual Utah Woodturning Symposium.
'Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning,' includes the work of woodturners from 15 countries who have presented at the symposium during the past 25 years.
'I invited the past presenters to submit work for the exhibition that is on display at the MOA,' said Kip Christensen, conference director. 'Anyone can walk through the exhibition and enjoy it whether they know anything about woodturning or not.'
Woodturning involves a wide range of creativity and design using a wood lathe, a machine that rotates the wood while the artist uses tools to reach the desired shape.
' is the first piece of power equipment historically,' Christensen said. 'The control is in your hands, not the machine.'
Each presenter has a talent that is unique to them and has been selected to participate in this exhibit based on a variety of skills such as: technical skills with spindle turning, tool sharpening, architectural turning and segmented work.
'I don''t know of an event in the history of woodturning that has brought together so many big named woodturners in one place,' Christensen said.
Presenters whose works are on display at the MOA and who will be in attendance at the symposium are from Israel, Australia, England, New Zealand, France, Scotland, South Africa, Greece, British Columbia, Germany and more.
The symposium runs from June 10 through June 12, hosting approximately 600 woodturning enthusiasts and about half of the 140 presenters who have their work on display.
Dale L. Nish, founding director of the symposium, started it in the late 70s and ran the program until 1998. The symposium is a well-respected international gathering for woodturners and the longest running event of its kind in the world. Nish introduced Christensen to woodturning when Christensen was a student at BYU. His interest for this form of art and symposium are evident in his passion to keep the tradition alive.
'During the past three decades there has been a remarkable renaissance within the field of woodturning,' Christensen said. 'During this time there have been tremendous advances in artistry, technique and technology.'
For more information about the exhibit or the symposium, visit http://utahwoodturning.com.