Linda Ferber has been turning for over twenty-two years and enjoys the creative possibilities and personal challenges woodturning provides. The opportunity to try woodturning presented itself back when her Dad had an auction including his shop equipment. Linda purchased his lathe, thinking that with this one piece of equipment she could create with wood. With no previous experience with a lathe, she took a bowl turning class and found the local chapter of the AAW. Looking back that one impulse purchase at an auction has made a big impact on her life.
Linda is a Vice-President of the Minnesota Woodturning Association. She serves on AAW Committees Women in Turning (WIT) and Youth Committee. She is the co-leader of the WIT Virtual Exchange.
Artist statement
I have early memories of working on craft projects, mostly revolving around spending
time with family.
I love to make items that capture a moment or emotion. The first part of the process is the
material and shape, selecting the wood, turning the shape. The final step is the application
using woodturning and applying color to bowls and pin jewelry.
Inspiration is drawn from my surroundings as well as memories. It is making a
connection to these experiences and attempting to interpret them through the shape and
color of a piece.
Turning a whimsical mushroom (Hands-on)
We will turn mushrooms, add color to make it whimsical and creative both as part of our hands-on session. Embellishing a mushroom often involves painting on the lathe as I’ve found this produces an even surface and crisp edges. I apply paint with a standard paint brush with the lathe spinning at a very slow speed. Off the lathe you can achieve texture with adding Gel medium from Golden to your paint, add an eye hook to hang the mushroom from a branch or add depth with puff paint. Explore the possibilities of turning and painting a whimsical mushroom.
Off Center Jewelry (Hands-on)
Participants will turn a small pendant from remnants of end grain spindle projects. Spindle turning basics will be covered and a simple jig to turn off-center will be introduced. Tool, equipment use and wood selection will be covered. Keeping in mind small does not necessarily mean fast, because attention to detail at this scale is critical.
