I started woodworking when I was 7 – scroll sawing.  Shortly after my father bought a Shop Smith and I was introduced to woodturning and I was hooked.  I was sidelined for just 50 years due to school and work, and then I ran across the Prescott Area Woodturners demonstration on the CourtHouse Square.  I spent an hour talking turning and began an intensive search for equipment.  My purchase corresponded to my retirement in 2018 from 35 years as an interventional cardiologist.  I became a member of PAW the day after meeting them on the Court House square.

I love the essentially infinite beauty that can be produced with woodturning, much using elements in nature.  What appears to be waste, or wood only for a fire, can be turned into art.  I especially like eccentric turning that produces pieces with a lack of symmetry and forces the observer, if only briefly, to ask “how was that done?”  These pieces require a twist in thinking that is challenging and satisfying.

The PAW club offers a wonderful venue to explore this medium with mentorships with very experienced turners, allowing beginners to progress to advanced turners quickly.  Since becoming a member, I was generously offered the opportunity to be the liaison with Beads of Courage, which supports children with severe chronic illness with beads to commemorate events during their illness, providing a small measure of comfort.  PAW assists by providing free turned lidded bowls for the children to keep their beads in.  This is a great retirement.