The Woodturners Association of Manitoba was started on January 20, 2007 when a group of woodturners called together by Herman de Vries decided to form an association. The organization is designed to foster and promote the art of woodturning, and has the following goals.
- To learn. The members of the organization freely share information, tips, tricks and techniques with each other. The more experienced woodturners freely assist and mentor the less experienced, and the meetings of the group are devoted to teaching and learning as much as possible from each other.
- To be inspired and challenged. It is common for the President of the club to issue a "President's Challenge" - a project for each member to make and bring to the next meeting. Each meeting has a table devoted to "Show and Tell", and members discuss the challenges of making the pieces they have brought to display.
- To develop sources - that is, sources for wood to use, possible marketplace opportunities, and for opportunities to buy in bulk.
- To promote the art of woodturning in the Province. The club will send members to demonstrate their art wherever they may be required. We intend to develop demonstration programs for the public at various fairs and craft shows.
- We intend to bring in well-known artists from other parts of North America from time to time to demonstrate their particular skills for the club.
- Mostly. we are a group of friends supporting each other's art and ambitions. The club membership has hovered around 30 in the past two years, and we would like to see the club grow to a point where we could have our own equipment and meeting place.
We hope that you will join us. For information on our club and to be added to our contact list so we can advise you of meeting places and programs, we have provided the following contacts. Feel free to contact any one of us.
