New Focus on New Lamp Bases

What I am most known for are my translucent wood lampshades. After making them for 16 years, I have no less passion about making the shades. In fact for the past month or so, my energy level has increased, and I find myself working longer hours and chomping at the bit to get in to the shop, seven days a week.

But over the past couple of years, I have also developed a renewed fascination with the lamp bases t hat hold the shades up in the air, and make them functional. For years, most of my bases have been out of Mahogany. Originally I used many species, but early on I noticed the most people were choosing the Mahogany and ignoring the other choices of wood. Mahogany has a special warm glow when illuminated by the light from the shade, something in the grain and color make it stand out from the crowd.

Then a couple of years ago I began using Camphorwood Burl for a few table lamp bases – see my July 2008 blog posting to learn more about that specifically. The Camphor bases have been popular, and I try to keep 2 or 3 Camphor Burl bases in inventory at any time. It is hard to find good pieces of the wood, and it is very expensive to purchase the raw chunks of the material. So I keep a web bookmark for the source company easily available and try to check it every day or so, to see if anything new and special has become available. Going to that web site has had a side benefit. I kept seeing other interesting photos of pieces of wood that they had, and this winter, I purchased a few other blocks, and expanded my experiments with new species for table lamp bases. There are challenges in this. I get to see a photo of the piece of wood before making the purchase, but that only provides a vague hint about what the wood will look like. And I never know how wet the wood will be – wet wood introduces the chance of cracking in the drying process.

But the result of these experiments have been fabulous. You can see in the photos below lamp bases made from Cocobolo Rosewood, Wenge, Dalmata, and Osage Orange. All four of these show off colors and grain patterns that relate well to the lampshades, and add a higher level of interest and uniqueness to the entire lamp setup. There are two downsides to my experiments with new species for lamp bases. One is kind of funny: I can't figure out how to display all of these new goodies and also keep showing my older "tried-and-true" designs in Mahogany. Second. all these unusual species are much more expensive than the Mahogany, so the that has an impact on the total price for a finished lamp. In this economy, that might be a disadvantage. But..... oh boy to these look great! And I will keep making plenty of the perfectly lovely Mahogany bases.

And I have other pieces in process. I have roughed out shapes for bases made of Madrone Burl and Bois de Rose (a rosewood species from Madagascar). In the meantime, take a look at these photos of completed piece, I hope you agree that this set of experiments is worth exploring.

Collaboration with Sharon Dugan

At long last, I am back to blogging, with a number of ideas of what to say. Sorry about the hiatus!

Sharon Dugan is a truly fantastic basketmaker, who I have known thru the League of NH Craftsmen for perhaps 15 years. I have always admired the intricacy of her work, and her aesthetic vision. She has a commitment to doing things right, by hand, by herself that I respond to strongly. This winter, I proposed to her that we do a collaborative effort for the upcoming Living With Crafts exhibit. We came up with a plan for a matched pair of table lamps. I turned a couple of columns of wood, and she created a woven splint design to cover those columns.

Now that she has completed her work, I have created bottom-disk and top-cap parts and assembled the entire bases. Still to come are the matched shades, but I have temporarily put a shade on one base to give a good idea of what the whole piece will look like when the pair is exhibited at the show in Sunapee, NH from August 1-10.

FYI, the pair is available for $4000 for the set. If they do not sell together, they can be purchased individually at the end of the exhibition. We are very excited about the results of this collaboration and would entertain other commissions in this general style.

Click on the title of this blog posting "Collaboration with Sharon Dugan" to be taken to her web site. It is www.sharondugan.com

Balsams Grand Hotel Demonstration Week

The Balsams is an amazing Grand Resort Hotel, in northern NH. Far far far Northern NH, seems like it is almost off the edge of the map of the USA, and in some ways if feels like it is off the edge of the 21st Century! The scenery is fantastic, the food is heavenly, and they have an unusual craft and art demonstration program that is both supportive of artistans and entertaining and informative to the guests. Each week during the summer, a different person sets up their equipment and a display of completed works, and the visitors spend time viewing and learning, and often getting involved in a hands-on basis.

2008 is my thirteenth straight year being involved with the Balsams. It is a huge physical effort to get all my stuff up there. I have even built a special water-filled lathe for making small lampshades on-site. But once I am set up, I love the whole experience, which is so different than a craft show. The interactions with the guests are leisurely, and the beauty of the location is simply breathtaking. My demonstration area is outside under an awning I build, and when I gaze out over my lathe, I am looking upon spectacular gardens, a lovely lake, and right up into the rugged cliffs of Dixville Notch. I am prone to exclaim to the guests that for one week each year, I have the most beautiful "office" in the world.

Last week I worked on lampshades and bottle stoppers outdoors, and also helped a lot of people have their first experience holding a turning gouge and making shavings. Many of them are young, sometimes less than 10 years old. And then some are guys who have not turned since high school, and that may have been 60 years ago. There is joy and amazement as they hold the gouge and discover how it works, how to control the cuts, how to reveal the beauty of the wood. I keep it safe by holding my hands on the gouge from the side, but after the first few cuts, my instant students are already doing most of the control and application of effort.



Being at the Balsams is a working vacation for me. I get lots of useful work accomplished, I sell my work and make great connections with prospective clients, and Kathy and I are guests in the hotel ourselves, which means we get to eat the award-winning meals and use the amazing facilities. I hope you someday get to enjoy the Balsams yourself as a guest. Think ahead to July of next summer.... I don't yet know what week I will have next year but it will probably be in early July.

Check out their web site to get more information: http://www.thebalsams.com

Camphor Burl Lamp Bases!

I am again recognizing how infrequently I post here, my apologies. But I do have something "hot" to talk about, a material for making lamp bases that is simply amazing. Camphor is a species of wood that grows in the entire Pacific Basin. I see specific references to Borneo and Taiwan, but apparently it is more widespread. It has become an invasive species along river banks in Northeast Australia, and major efforts are going on there to eradicate or control its spread. As I understand it, is is basically a weed tree, but it does have one commercial product that is extracted from the wood: Camphor Oil. Here are a couple of interesting tidbits that I picked up from Googling:

"Steaming the tree’s bark or wood creates a white, crystalline, and odorous substance, a substance that was once believed to hold magical properties, but now has scientifically proven medicinal qualities."

"The therapeutic properties of camphor oil are analgesic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, cardiac, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, hypertensive, insecticide, laxative, rubefacient, stimulant, sudorific, vermifuge and vulnerary. Camphor oil can be used in the treatment of nervous depression, acne, inflammation, arthritis, muscular aches and pains, sprains, rheumatism, bronchitis, coughs, colds, fever, flu and infectious diseases."

Most of the Camphor oil produced now is synthetic, not from Camphor trees.


Anyway, there is a company in Oregon that imports blocks of burlwood from Camphor trees, and they are gorgeous. Early last fall I bought one and made a lamp base, and it sold instantly at the first show where I exhibited the piece. The same thing happened with the next two Camphor Burl pieces I worked with. So now I am convinced that it not only me that sees Camphor Burl as being an excellent material for making lamp bases. The combination of this wood with my shades is really stunning. The warm light of the translucent wood lends a dramatic extra oomph to the amazing colors and swirling patterns in the burlwood.

The wood is amazing to work with, it is heavy but very workable, cutting smoothly. It is mostly very solid and stable, not honeycombed with cracks or bark inclusions. Each piece is quite unique, some swirl patterns are tight and small, others are large and evenly spread over the entire piece. But from a wood turners point of view, perhaps the most remarkable thing about working with Camphor is the smell of the wood. As soon as I make the first cut, my shop is full of the most amazing odor, it would remind you a bit of Vic's VapoRub, but much much more pleasant. For so many years, I have had an annual winter cold, but not this year. Does that have to do with my breathing in the medicinal qualities of the Camphor? Who knows.... but I like the smell. When clients buy a lamp made of Camphor, I am providing them with a baggy of the shavings, a small memento of the process of crafting that base.

I have gone a bit crazy for Camphor Wood. In addition to the three I have already sold, I have now completed 8 more Camphor Burl lamp bases for the upcoming League of NH Craftsmen craft fair at Sunapee next week. And I just ordered 4 more chunks of the wood. The raw material is quite expensive, so of course there is a premium to be paid for these bases, but they are so remarkable. I feel sure I am on the right track, and that my commitment to this new direction will be something that you will all enjoy.

Wrist issue that I deal with...

In my post a couple of days ago, I referred to my wrist problems. And that I worry that over the years this blog could start to sound more like a medical history than an artist's journal. So I will try to keep this brief, if you want to know more, you can ask me and I will pass along a longer email (it even includes x-rays) that I sent to some friends recently.

Four or five years ago, my right wrist started to hurt, and there were some particular processes in my work that seemed to exacerbate things – specifically sanding the interior surfaces of the shades. A cortisone shot helped for a while, but mainly I swapped things so that I was working more with my left hand. That worked for a long while, but in October, I suddenly had major pain in my left wrist. It took a long time to recover enough to allow me to get back to lampshades, but three months later, I got back to work. In the meantime, I was able to do small projects. Mainly that meant bottle stoppers, which are lots of fun, and very popular with my clients. But not making lampshades was a shock to my system. To a very large extent, I define myself as the person who makes these lampshades, it is challenging and interesting for me to make them, and I take a lot of pride in these large turnings. To some extent, I suppose this was a sneak preview of my future: at some point in my life, it will become beyond my physical capabilities to make lampshades. But not yet, not for 10 or more years I hope!

What happened to get me back to "shade-shape?" Well laying off surely helped, gave my wrist a chance to recover. And I developed a couple of technical solutions so that the steps in making a shade that were the most stressful on my hands are not so bad anymore. Finally, just at the point where i was able to get back to work full time, I also saw a terrific hand expert who explained what was going wrong, and understanding the underlying issues turned out to be a great relief, almost exhilarating.

To make a long story short, I have extra long ulna bones. The ulna is the smaller diameter bone running the length of our forearms. I have probably had this condition my whole life, but the work I do has brought it into play as a problem. There is a name for this: "ulnar impingement syndrome." The head of the ulna bone is getting pressed against a pad of cartilage that is in my wrist, kind of below my pinky. Seeing my x-rays and comparing them to the structure of a normal wrist is remarkable, and the diagnosis is very obvious. I have irritated that cartilage pretty badly in both wrists, maybe there is some small amount of shredding there too.

The good news is that I have adapted my work techniques to reduce the impingement issues. Even better for the long term, there is a surgical procedure that would shorten my ulna bones, and it is supposedly very safe, and does not put me out of action for too long. I don't have any plans to get this surgery soon, maybe never. But if and when I need it, I will get it done and move on. There should be no reason that this medical issue will stop me from making shades long in to the future!

Hooray!!! So now I am back to work full time. It is taking me a while to get back to full strength, but the shades are getting made, they are as good or better than ever, and I am happy to be doing what I want.

Been too long since my last post

Wow, hard to believe I have let things ride this long without a new post. I could say I was too busy, and that is an excuse that has some credence up until October. But for three months beginning in early October, I was unable to make lampshades, due to a wrist injury. I guess i will tell you more about that in another post, but I have this fear that my blog will become a running inventory of the nicks and bruises that come from being a turner of large scale objects, at an age that seems to be catching up to me. I will try to keep that under some control so that this does not sound like the TV show ER!

In any case, I am now back to work full time and trying to catch up. I accumulated a large batch of special orders to do this winter, more than I have had for many years, and sales were great throughout the fall. So, I guess my legitimate excuse for not posting to the blog will be in effect again. Still, I have lots of stories to tell.

•• The wrist injury, for those of you who want that sort of info.

•• A lovely huge commission that got installed in November

•• Our trip to Australia over Christmas to visit the exchange student we hosted last year.

I could also tell you about our Empty Nest Syndrome, as our son has gone off to college. Or my newly revived interest in photography. Or you could ask me questions about my work, my passions, whatever. I am never sure anyone is actually reading this blog, so please let me know what you find interesting. I will try to post about the topics I listed above, in the near future.

Thanks for reading, Peter

"A League of Our Own" -- Movie about the League

In my last post to this blog, about the League's 75th anniversary, I briefly mentioned the movie that the League has commissioned. Now allow me to expand on this subject.

This movie was created by Ken Browne Productions, from NY City, and has been in production for two year. It is an hour long, and will be shown on NH Public TV on July 18, and probably other times during the summer. The style is basically in the Ken Burns vein (he made the Civil Wars, Baseball, and Jazz documentaries for national public TV). The movie is called "A League of Our Own," and it does an incredible job of capturing the history of the League, as well as explaining what is important to the League, and what makes fine craftsmanship important in our culture. I can't speak too highly about the production values and the dedication that Ken put in to this effort.

And I am happy to note that I have some presence in the movie. Ken interviewed me about a year ago, and there are three places in the movie where my voice is used to explain some aspect of the League or of fine crafts. Those sections are accompanied with images and video of my lamps and of me doing some work on the lathe. At the very end of the movie, there is a section about how craftspeople are moving forward in to the future, including the internet...., and you will hear me talking about this very blog that you are now reading.

As I said, the movie will be shown on NHPTV on July 18, and it is being pitched for national public tv distribution as well. It is also available as a DVD from the League http://www.nhcrafts.org/pdf/DVD-Order.pdf or by calling 603-224-3375. If you have any interest in the meaning of fine craft, or in the League, this DVD is well worth owning.

League Turns 75!!!

The League of NH Craftsmen is the oldest state-specific craft organization in the country, and almost the oldest craft organization of any kind. And this year the League celebrates it's 75th anniversary. In May, the League had a wonderful party at the Grappone Center in Concord. I was hugely impressed by this event. There were 300 people on hand, including Governor Lynch. Laura Knoy, the well known voice of The Exchange on NH public radio, was the host, and she did a great job. The speeches were fascinating and well deserved awards were given to a couple of long time ((and world renowned) craftpeople in the League. A silent auction was held that raised $9000 for the scholarship fund.

Many of the people in attendance had significant historical connection to the League, and many of them I have not run across for a long long time, so there was a lot of reminiscing. And a lot of self-congratulating for the huge strides the League has made in the past 10 years under the leadership of Susie Lowe-Stockwell, the Executive Director. In terms of financial stability, reputation, the tightening of jurying standards, and the overall well-being of craftspeople, the League has never been in better shape.

The party was more than simply a one time event. To me it represented a deep well of support for the League, and a high level of morale and goodwill towards the organization. That speaks so well for the future prospects of the League of NH Craftsmen.

One wonderful way that the League is celebrating this anniversary is thru the creation of a fantastic hour long video. That movie had it's world premiere at the party, and I think every single person in the room was newly informed and emotionally affected by seeing this production. I will talk more about the movie in another blog entry.

This picture is of myself and Gary Kalagian, who is chairperson of the hugely important Standards Committee of the League.

Incidental National TV Shade Viewing!

On Friday night, I got a call from a friend: “Turn on ABC right this second!” So I did, and there was an interview with a celebrity,..., and one of my table lamps was prominently displayed in the background. This was World News Tonight with Charles Gibson, and they were showing a 5 minute segment on their Person of the Week, Paul Simon. The lamp shows up maybe 3 or 4 times.

It was a nice ego stroke for me, even though probably hardly anyone else noticed. Still, if you are curious, you can check it out on this link: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3190827 -- it starts with a short advertisement that cannot be avoided, but the piece is quite interesting. I have no idea how long ABC keeps this link alive, so eventually it may expire.

Back-Saving System Installed in Shop

A few weeks ago, I had severe back spasms. I have had them before, but this was much worse. Probably the cause was my own failure to do as much stretching as I normally do. Anyway, it scared me a bit, and I resolved to figure out some ways to make my work a little easier on my back, and therefore hopefully to prolong my career as a heavy-duty woodturner.

My good friend Kevin Plunkett is a fantastic jeweler, but he was originally trained as a mechanical engineer, and has all sorts of metal welding and cutting tools. More importantly, he is ingenious at figuring out gadgets and systems to solve unusual problems. Best of all, he is the kind of person who jumps in with both feet to help! A friend indeed!!!

What we decided on is an electric winch for lifting the heavy Aspen logs from the floor up to the lathe level, and a trolley that moves the winch along an I-beam so that it can be positioned exactly as it is engaged by the two ends of the lathe. Maybe that sounds simple, but it was important to figure out how to hold it up to the ceiling in a totally safe way. In the end, the weight of the system and the log are suspended from a total of 9 roof trusses.


Two unintended benefits arose from the installation of the winch system. First it also allows me to lift the lathe bed extension in to place. The extension is used only occasionally, when I make floor lamps bases, but the thing is probably 300 pounds and very awkward. Now I will create a wheel system for moving it along the floor, and the winch will lift it in to place. Hooray!

But the more subtle and interesting benefit of the winch is the total freedom it has given me about when I start the work of making a shade. In the past, I could only begin making a shade when Kathy or Tom were around to help me lift and position the heavy Aspen logs chunk, some of which approach 200 pounds. They both have busy lives of their own, and Tom is off to college next year...., so the process of “logging on” was something that needed to be planned. Now with the winch and trolley system, I can begin work on a log whenever I want. That may not seem like much, but in reality it has made me more productive. Late in the afternoon, when my muscles are warmed up and I happen to have some free time, I can put a piece on the lathe and get some of the initial work started. Maybe I even do that with 3 pieces, one after the other. The most heavy duty aspect is done when my body is best able to absorb the jackhammer vibration.


Kevin is now building me a system for moving the logs from my outside chain sawing yard to the floor near the lathe, and a related system for grabbing the log with the winch, both of which will provide for less physical stress. So.... from the excruciating pain of the spasms in my back have come some real and innovative solutions. All thanks to Kevin. He has my deep gratitude for the assistance and the dedication.

Catching Up, Exciting Projects and more

It is hard to believe I have not posted to this blog since March. It is probably a good indicator of how busy I have been; it seems like I have been going non-stop since then and taking time to compose a blog entry just hasn't risen to the forefront of my priorities. But I know that about 25 people visit this blog every week, so I should keep on top of it better. Anyway, here are some things that have been happening...

The NE Woodturning Symposium in May was a huge success, with lots of demonstrators, a huge trade show and perhaps 400+ woodturners on site during that day. And the event was a big fundraiser for worthy causes, with about $10,000 in profits funneled to Pinkerton Academy's woodworking program, the Guild of NH Woodworker's scholarship program, and the Guild's regular operating budget.

Once I was done with being the overall coordinator of that event, I was fully back in to my own woodturning activities, and business has been good. The League of NH Craftsmen's 9 day fair at Mount Sunapee was a wonderful success, and lots of work has come my way thru other leads and venues.

One particular project was a great challenge and had great artistic rewards. I designed a piece for a home near Philadelphia that involved three large shades hung from an black steel spiral created by David Little. The piece hangs in a very tall and narrow entry way to their home, and in terms of size and drama, it is a giant step ahead in my career. I feel sure that this type of work will lead to other creative projects. There is a picture of this piece at the top of this blog posting. The diameter of the spiral is 4 feet, and the total height is about 9 feet!

I also made a variation on the Apple Blossom lamp that is described in an earlier blog posting from January. The new version has four lobes, and I called it the Four Leaf Clover. It was displayed at the Living With Crafts exhibition at Sunapee in August and now hangs in my showroom in New London. You can see a photo of that ceiling light sculpture, as well as lots of other lamps, by going to www.woodshades.com/ExamplesLampPictsv3.html

Since the summer, I have been catching up and making as many shades as possible, to be ready for my upcoming November events. First I have the Open Studio Weekend. This is an state-wide event organized by the League of NH Craftsmen, and takes place Veterans Day weekend, November 10-12, 10am - 5pm. In addition to my regular showroom at our house, we will be converting the rest of the downstairs of our home into show space, with every lamp I have on display and lit. It will be an unusual opportunity to see lamps in real home settings. Additionally, I will have my workshop open, and will be having brief demos at 11, 1, and 3 o'clock each day, so you can see me working on lampshades at various stages. Snacks and cider will be offered, and there are other open craft studios in the area so you can make a day-long adventure and see lots of fine crafts and studios. To learn more about the state-wide event, go to www.nhcrafts.org/OpenStudio.htm

Then one week later is the Paradise in Marlborough Craft Show in Massachussets, 45 minutes west of Boston near the intersection of the Mass Pike and I-495. This is a very prestigious event with fine arts and crafts from all around the country. It runs from November 17-19, and you can get more info from www.paradisecityarts.com/

So that is a long blog entry, since I had so much to relate. I didn't even get to non-woodturning things in my life, such as my son's great soccer season as captain and goalkeeper for a terrific high school team. Perhaps another time.... Til then, hope to see you in November or elsewhere, Thanks for your interest, Peter

If You Are a Turner, Read This

If you are a woodturner, or have an interest in the field, there is an upcoming event that should not be missed: the Fifth New England Woodturning Symposium. The date is May 13, and the location is Derry, NH (just south of Manchester) at Pinkerton Academy. This is an event that I have a very personal involvement in, since I founded this series of Symposia in 1997, and have been the Overall Coordinator each time around.

On the big day, we will be putting on 28 demonstrations covering almost every aspect of turning. The presenter come from as far away as Minnesota, Quebec, and Pennsylvania. There is also a terrific Trade Show, and something called the "Instant Gallery"... every turner who comes to the event is invited to bring one or two items for the Gallery, so it becomes an incredible display of turned objects that inspires and dazzles. I am guessing that there will be over 500 objects in the Instant Gallery this year.

Registration for the event is only $50, and that even includes lunch! But you need to sign up soon. We limit registration to the first 300 who send in their form, and we always sell out. With two months to go, we are just about 2/3 towards being fully subscribed, so clearly time is of the essence. You can find out more info, and download a registration form from this site: www.gnhw.org/turning2006.

There are also several aspects of the event that are open to the public without the need to register. The Trade Show, the Instant Gallery, and four of the demonstrations (particularly oriented towards beginners) will be available to everyone. To gain access to the areas where the other demonstrations occur, you will need a badge.

As an aside, one of the things I am most proud is that the NE Turning Symposia are a huge fundraiser for worthy causes related to woodworking. All of the participants in the event (demonstrators and organizers alike) volunteer their time, the facility at Pinkerton is provide gratis by the school, and the other expenses are very minimal. Over the years, we have generated a profit of about $35,000! One specific project that has benefited from this is the extensive scholarhip and grants program that is offered by the Guild of NH Woodworkers. This program was started with seed money from the Symposium, and one third of our profit still goes to this fund.

The Turning Symposium is the largest woodworking event in New England, and it ONLY HAPPENS ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS! So sign up right away!!!