May 2008 AAW Board LetterFrom Jean LeGwin... Some of us will be celebrating the arrival of summer this year at the annual AAW Symposium that will be held in Richmond, Virginia, June 20–22. It seems a very fitting and exciting way to begin the summer’s activities. In addition to the extensive list of demonstrations and demonstrators scheduled, there are a number of other events of note. We begin with a night of SIN! Special Interest Night on Friday evening will provide all with a particular interests to meet with other like-mined turners for lots of discussion and exchange. This year there will be at least ten SIN sessions including box turning, ornamental turning, hollow turning, pen turning, segmented turning, collectors of wood art, educational opportunities, metallurgy and tool steels, woodturning with disabilities, and a discussion of the Woodturning Center. All of the discussions will be led by a stellar group of experts. I encourage everyone to drop in on at least one of the offerings and become a “sinner.” If you are planning on attending the symposium, please consider bringing a toy (turned or not) for donation to our “Return to the Community” program. The host chapter, Woodturners Anonymous of Richmond, has chosen the Children’s Hospital of Richmond as the recipient. It is a private, non-profit hospital that is one of the largest providers of pediatric rehabilitation therapies in the southeast. Several exhibits of turned work will be open during the symposium. The juried “Turned for Use” will be shown at Gallery5, a few blocks west of the convention center. Nearby (one block south of Gallery5), the Visual Arts Gallery will host an exhibition of selected works by members of the host chapters. Finally, POP (Professional Outreach Program) is sponsoring “The Sphere” which will include work of more than 50 invited turners. The works will be auctioned at the symposium, with the proceeds going to support future POP events, awards, and functions. I hope those attending will find a few minutes to stop in and visit some or all of the exhibits.
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Children, ages 10-17, can attend the symposium for free when accompanied by a registered AAW member. There will be special hands-on classes with Nick Cook, Bonnie Klein, Larry Miller and Joe Ruminski available, and also for 25 complete turning outfits will be given away. This is a terrific opportunity to introduce a youngster to a wonderful life-long activity. Journal Archives On-line: Initially, there will be a selection of articles available free for downloading. We will begin with about 40 articles and projects covering a wide variety of topics. Additional articles and issues will be made available for a nominal fee on a regular basis until the complete archive is available. The fee will help cover administrative and development costs incurred to make this possible. The articles and issues will be searchable by keyword(s), author, title, date, and issue number. By using the index that is currently available on the site, finding a particular article or topic of interest will be easy. The software required for this is in development now. Check the website for an announcement of availability. As always, feel free to address any comments, concerns, or questions to any board or staff member at any time. Our contact information is listed on the website.Jean LeGwin
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