Hi my name is Laurent Niclot, I am originally from Toulon in the south of France, but am currently living and working in Fort Collins, Colorado USA. I have always loved wood, so it was only natural for me to study woodworking, woodcarving, cabinet making, furniture making, and design. I discovered woodturning from Jean-François Escoulen, and I knew it was how I wanted to make a living. So, in 2015, at age 20, I took the six-month woodturning class at the Escoulen School in Aiguines, France, with Jean-François and Yann Marot. Then, the school hired me as an assistant and translator for 3 years, gave me a studio and a lathe to practice my passion, and the possibility to meet many other artists and woodturners who now inspire my work. I have had the opportunity to share my passion and teach woodturning to those in France, Belgium, Canada and all over the United States. I enjoy demonstrating (both remote and in-person), teaching short one-day through week long classes, and continuing to explore my own artistic practice. My current work ranges from traditional woodturning to woodburning, carving, multi-axis, coloring and texturing.
Miniature Hollow Forms
In this demo, we will be turning and hollowing several miniature hollow forms (varying in size and shape) using my signature Niclot Mini Hollowers. I will use different tools for the outside shape focusing on getting a nice cut. We will talk about how to gauge the thickness and I will give the audience the opportunity to choose from a variety of textures to add another element to the form.
The Sphere
Roughing out and turning of a perfect sphere between centers and remounting for the finishing using a jam chuck made out of green wood. Hollowing the sphere using small hollowing tools in a homemade chuck for a precise and safe method of hollowing. The sphere is a very pure shape but is also one of the most complicated. It is a great canvas for carving and texturing as well as a pleasant shape that will put forward the beauty of the wood grain.
Miniature Teapots
Turning of a miniature teapot (approximately an inch) using the bedan and demonstration on how to use it with the bevel up for spindle turning, hollowing of the teapot with miniature hollowing tools. Then turning of the lid and the spout (magnifiers not included) and coloring using Indian ink and gilding wax to create the Damascus steel effect. Finally, demonstration on how the make the handle using a wire and a cotton string on the lathe.
