As my travels increase, so do the folks featured on these page. Enjoy!.
A
couple of years ago when I began my addiction to woodturning, I began to look
for a learning opportunity. As happened, Joe had mentioned in the WOOD ONLINE
Woodturning D-Group that he recently completed David Ellsworth’s three
day training weekend and was quite pleased with the results. I took Joe’s
advice, took David’s course and really am happy that I did. But in all
that time, I had never met Joe outside of email and in the discussion group
threads. The second day of June 2002 brought a chance to rectify that situation
when Alison and I jumped in the car and took a little road trip.
Joe
and his wife live in an interesting community west of Allentown Pennsylvania.
It’s a typical small town in a relatively rural area. Most streets sport
US flags on almost every building and the changes in industry have left their
mark on a town that once was a center of textile production.
Briarhill, the more than appropriate name for the Quesada’s home and property, sits up on a hill and contains some of the most wonderful gardens that I‘ve seen in my travels. Joe and his wife worked very hard for many years to get the property to where it is now, but the result is stunning. There are a great many specimen plantings and water features that are executed as good, if not better than many noted horticultural venues. The shaded area in the group picture to the left is just one example of the pleasant spaces we toured over a few hours. It was quite an experience--and we hadn’t even seen the shop yet!
Speaking of which, Joe has become an accomplished turner and his work is notable. He has a knack for choosing great materials with interesting figure and finding just the right shapes to highlight it all. His recent “Hot Fudge Series” exemplifies his creativity. These black walnut vessels take advantage of the contrast between the heartwood and sapwood and are turned with the blank oriented with the sapwood at the bottom. As you can imagine, it truly does look like hot fudge dripping down!
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His box elder pieces have extraordinary coloring that is rare--an example is to the right. You can see more of Joe’s work and shop at his web site, RusticTurnings.com.
If you’re a turner, you should know that Joe is also offering some great turning blanks for sale, both directly and through E-Bay. As you can see, I just couldn't resist seeing how much wood I could get into Alison’s Prius’ trunk for the ride home...and we still got 55 mpg. Box elder, spalted beech and maple, maple burl, mulberry and a few other goodies are now on my shelves waiting their fate at the end of my gouge!
Visiting Joe, his wife and Briarhill was a great way to spend a sunny and
warm June day. We hope to do it again real soon, too.
Copyright © 2002 Jim Becker. All rights reserved.