Featured Artist: Alan Adler, In His Own Words

Featured Artist: Alan Adler, In His Own Words.  Alan Adler gives an insight into his creativity in both work and play.

ABOUT ALAN ADLERAlan Adler Profile

Full Name: Alan Adler

Year of Birth: Before 1950

Nationality: US

Place of Birth: New England

Where do you currently live? New Jersey, USA

What is, or was, your main job? Business founder of Cases By Source and Source Packaging (http://www.casesbysource.com/).  We design and manufacture cases and speciality packaging solutions to enhance our customer’s brand.

What would be your dream job? Philanthropy.  Having a foundation that helps people and organizations that do not have access to mainstream funding.  I have the name and business plan, just need to do it.

Other than woodturning, do you have any other notable hobbies? Family and Career.

ABOUT YOUR TURNING

Norfolk Island Pine Bowl

Norfolk Island Pine Bowl

Are you a professional turner, hobby turner or something else? Hobby turner.  My portfolio is available at http://www.AATurning.com

When did you begin turning, and why? April 2009.  After more than 30 years of designing projects for clients it was time to return to my design roots and create things that were of a personal nature. I was looking at painting, print making, sculpture when I came across a Norfolk Island Pine bowl by Ron Kent in a gallery. It was several thousand dollars and after struggling with it, I decided I would take lessons and see if I could learn this skill.  After a two day class at Woodcraft, I was fully addicted and purchased a Nova DVR one month later.  Attached is photo of a Norfolk Island Pine Bowl that I made.

Are you a member of a turning club and if so which one? Hudson Valley Wood TurnersWe meet once a month in Mahwah NJ.  www.HudsonValleyWoodturners.org.  Write me at Alan@AATurning.com for more information.

Who (or what!) has had the greatest influence on your turning? It was a Ron Kent piece that captured my attention to learn woodturning.  Also, Betty Scarpino‘s work which influenced me to cut up and reassemble turned items.  Michael Hosaluk  who influenced me to explore color, texture, carving and making a piece with personality.

Who is your favourite woodturner? Michael Hosaluk

Do you have a favourite artist, in any medium, other than woodturning? Henry Matisse and Rene Magritte

Do you have any formal training that helps your turning (e.g. Art, Design, Photography, Engineering etc)? Drop out engineer.  Master’s Degree in Package Design from Pratt Institute.

Do you have any other similar or allied skills? What fascinates me about woodturning is all the other skills we use and learn to make our work better.  I had no idea how to sharpen tools, make tools and fixtures, set up a vacuum chuck system, do pyrography, airbrush or replace motors until I discovered woodturning.  I must thank all woodturners who openly share information not seen in any other art form.

What is the most unusual thing that you have turned? On my To Do List is an Urn for my favorite cat, Weinstein.

What are your favourite pieces that you have turned? StarFish Bowl, Sea Urchin Series, Zipper Series, Matisse inspired- Dancing On Air, Jewelry pendants

 

 

 

Jewelry Pendants

Jewelry Pendants

What is your favourite ‘sphere’ of turning (e.g. Bowls, Platters, Boxes, Pens, Hollow forms etc)? I never go on the lathe without knowing what I want to accomplish.  Usually the project is supported with sketches and I do not seem to favor one area over another.  I do enjoy making jewelry from colored pencils and have never made a pen.

 

Are there any other woodturners (or artists / crafters etc) in your family?  There are several artists in our extended family mostly in print making, painting and sculpture. My wife helps me with the jewelry making and I can be found in a bead store more frequently than her.  I used to hate going into those stores, now I lead the way.

 

 

Zipper Series

Zipper Series

What has been your biggest disaster?  Nothing comes to mind as a disaster.  I have had many failures due to the wood not cooperating or my skill set is not capable of pulling off the challenge.  I put these items on the side, look at them for a year or so and then come back to them for completion.  The Zipper series was a result of a cracked vase that was not deserving of firewood.

ABOUT YOUR WORKSHOP

Is your workshop a dedicated space or shared with other activities (i.e. a garage shared with a car, art studio etc)? I have a dedicated space in the basement.  I like to call it a studio, but that would be a stretch.

How many lathes do you own? One lathe

What is the make and model of your main lathe? Robust American Beauty.

Have you had any previous lathes? Nova DVR

What is your ‘dream lathe’? Got it.  I thought the DVR was my last lathe, until I tried a Robust.

Other than your lathe, what is your favourite tool or machine? High Speed Piercing and texturing tools

Is your workshop very tidy, a ‘work in progress’ or a disaster zone? Depends who you ask.  To my wife, it is a filthy disaster zone.  To me it is Man Cave Heaven.

YOUTUBE & WEBSITES

If you produce YouTube or similar videos, what are your three favourites? Never did a video.  Been asked several times, but it is not on my list.

Do you have a website? http://AATurning.com

FOOD

What is your favourite drink and snack food whilst in the workshop?  Never eat in the workshop except for flying wood chips.

AND FINALLY…

Anything else you would like to say or be known about you and your turning life? Woodturners are the most giving and generous artists.  There are no secrets and the masters are accessible to the beginners.  The support system to learn this craft is like no other and now that I have learned a few skills I am able to give back by teaching and sharing my skills with others.


Coming up in future Featured Turner articles we have, amongst others, Sam Angelo (The Wyoming Woodturner) and the ‘Goblet Master’ himself Mike Waldt.

 


Buy Coffee Logo

  If you have enjoyed this review, please

BUY ME A COFFEE!

Content will always be FREE at TOMTURNS.COM

 


If you enjoyed this review of Alan Adler, Subscribe to my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on these wonderful insights, giveaways and more!

You can find all the other Featured Turner articles here

 

Featured Turner: Yuval Lahav… In his own words

Featured Turner: Yuval Lahav… In his own words.  Yuval Lahav shares insights to his woodturning methods and inspirations.

Yuval Lahav Headshot

The Man Himself – Yuval Lahav

ABOUT YUVAL LAHAV

Full Name: Yuval Lahav

Year of Birth: 1977

Nationality: Israeli

Place of Birth: Beer Sheva

Where do you currently live: Italy

What is, or was, your main job: Web and mobile multi players games programmer, front and back end.

What would be your dream job: A pilot

Other than woodturning, do you have any other notable hobbies: Scuba diving, hang gliding (both out of practice), snowboarding and having kids.

 

ABOUT YOUR TURNING

Are you a professional turner, hobby turner or something else: Hobby, more of a weekend turner, although by twists of life I have more time to turn over the week than the weekend.

When did you begin turning, and why:I started turning on August of 2012, and a year before I’ve seen a video of a guy turning a lamp shade out of a log, and I thought to myself that it was something I had to learn how to do. For a year I consumed every turning video I could find, and bought a very (VERY) cheap lathe to start with (which is why I don’t discourage people from buying cheap lathes, you’ve got to start somewhere).

Are you a member of a turning club and if so which one:  No. Italy, or at least central Italy, is terrible for turners. There is nothing for us here, a club that does social gatherings at best, not a single shop for tools or wood.

Who (or what!) has had the greatest influence on your turning: That is difficult to answer, since I’ve learned all I know from Youtube, each of the great teachers there have gave me different bits of information which I compiled into my current knowledge base. I learned to most from Carl Jacobson, but I’m in awe by the artistic turnings and carving of Mark Henry Doolittle.

Who is your favorite woodturner: Cindy Drozda.

Do you have a favorite artist in any other medium than woodturning: Salvador Dalí.

Do you have any formal training that helps your turning (e.g. Art, Design, Photography, Engineering etc):

I’ve been a student and practitioner of art most of my life, be it painting, drawing, sculpturing in clay and more, as the son of an art teacher, and the grandson of an art teacher, and the only child of four who showed artistic tendencies, I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Do you have any other similar or allied skills: See answer above.

What is the most unusual thing that you have turned: One of my last project was a footed torus bowl, that is by far my most unusual project to date.

What are your favorite three pieces that you have turned: Footed torus bowl, Olive emerging goblet, and spiraled vase.

What is your favorite ‘sphere’ of turning (e.g. Bowls, Platters, Boxes, Pens, Hollow forms etc): I find Hollow forms most enjoyable to work on, but I fear that is because I like adrenalin and things that scare me the most. I thrive when I put myself to a challenge.

Are there any other woodturners (or artists / crafters etc) in your family: Both my mother and grandmother were artists of sorts, my sister makes decorated cakes. 🙂

What has been your biggest disaster: While turning the Christmas ornament for 2014-15 I cut my right index finger almost to the bone on the table saw. It took me a few days to get used to not use the hurt finger, yet it took me almost a month to get myself used to use it once it healed. If we’re talking lathe disaster, I had a ring of wood detach from a plank of wood which I was parting off for an economy bowl, which went on the explode into large and small fragments. Luckily I was away from the line of fire and I wasn’t hit. Should I have been hit, I doubt my face-shield would have stopped any of the fragments.

 

 

ABOUT YOUR WORKSHOP

Is your workshop a dedicated space or shared with other activities (i.e. a garage shared with a car): My workshop doubles as my smoking room at night, as I don’t smoke in the house or much, if at all, during the day.

How many lathes do you own: One.

What is the make and model of your main lathe: Fervi 0751. It’s the same Chinese made lathe most hobbies have, but for some reason the Italian version is only ½ horse power where most of these are ¾ horse.

Have you had any previous lathes: Yes. I had a brandless lathe, super simple design, which I found on sale for 90 euros. It is what I got to find out if I would enjoy woodturning. I did.

What is your ‘dream lathe’: I would love to have one of those British made, cast iron, short bed, large bowl turning lathe, I can’t remember their name right now, but everyone knows those. I want to turn large, very large, things. Failing that I really like the Robust line of lathes. I would love a lathe I can turn a delicate finial on, but chuck a 60 cm (two feet) wide log on and turn a drum shell.

Other than your lathe, what is your favorite tool or machine: I love the angle grinder, I always wanted to start carving in logs, but I never find the time. I’m pretty sure I would have said a bandsaw if I had one, but I never did, so I might just be dreaming it’s my second favorite tool.

Is your workshop very tidy, a ‘work in progress’ or a disaster zone:  A “work in progress” is a good description. I don’t tidy up while working on something to the point of loosing a kid in the mess. But when I’m done with a project, I reset my shop in a way that will make most people scared to come near me, I vacuum the floor, I set my glues in order like soldiers, every single tool, bolt and container has to go back to its place, or else I can’t start another project.

 

YOUTUBE

If you produce YouTube or similar videos, what are your three favourites:  See answer to “What are your favorite three pieces that you have turned”.

FOOD

What is your favourite drink and snack food whilst in the workshop: Lipton green tea lemon iced tea, Romanian pickled hot peppers.

AND FINALLY…

Anything else you would like to say or be known about you and your turning life: I turn because I love it. I don’t seek fame and fortune. If it finds me, I won’t send it away. What I love the most second to turning is being able to teach others.

Yuval Lahav at Rest

Yuval Lahav at Rest After Completing His Torus Form

 

 

Many thanks to Yuval for allowing us a look into his life and for sharing his thoughts.  Please take the time to peruse his videos and subscribe to his growing YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/yuvallahav


Buy Coffee Logo

  If you have enjoyed this review, please

BUY ME A COFFEE!

Content will always be FREE at TOMTURNS.COM

 

 


Coming up in future Featured Turner articles we have, amongst others, Sam Angelo (The Wyoming Woodturner) and the ‘Goblet Master’ himself Mike Waldt.

You can find all the other Featured Turner articles here

If you have enjoyed this article, Subscribe to my newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on these wonderful insights, giveaways and more!