Overview:

Todd Hoyer - Todd was raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he attended Arizona State University majoring in manufacturing, engineering and design technology from 1970 - 1975. He moved to Bisbee, Arizona in 1976 and started woodturning. He has taught many workshops over the last twenty years in the US, Canada, Ireland and Australia. His work is included in many museums including the National Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian Institute and the Detroit Institute of Art, along with many private collections.

Todd's work has been based on change. Each piece and idea is an integral step on the path of growth. From his production items where he learned the use of tools and techniques to his vessels where he explored the material, each step has been towards greater understanding of the material and himself. His creative process is reliant on the need not to be dazzled and stalled by technique and the beauty of the material. For him, success is to move forward, balancing the manipulation of the form and expression with the organic nature of wood.

Hayley Smith - Hayley was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1965. She started to turn wood in 1989 while at art school and received her BA (Hons.) in Art Education in 1991. She started exhibiting in 1990 and made the transition to full-time studio turner upon graduating. In 1998 Hayley moved to Bisbee, Arizona. She has exhibited throughout Europe, North America and Australia. Her work can be seen in numerous museums and private collections and has been widely featured in books and magazines.

Hayley began to explore surface designs while making two-dimensional printed images. Now the turned form has become a focus for her expression. "The wood contributes its own character with which I form a dialogue, creating contrast and balance by manipulating its surface." Hayley is known for her expertise with the Dremel and Foredom tools with which she creates precise patterns and textures on the wood surface. "The intricate surfaces are intended to draw in the viewer and create a dialogue." It is of note that Todd Hoyer and Hayley Smith are husband and wife.

Morning Session:

The session began with a slide show, first by Todd and then by Hayley. Bowl orientation was first discussed entailing color and grain pattern. Wood gathering was shown as was cutting. Controlled drying was shown - the wood moistened and then covered with plastic sheets. This is necessary in Arizona because of the very low humidity. Grain patterns were then portrayed. One should strive to draw the eye of the viewer to the center of the piece. Heartwood/sapwood can be used to an advantage to hold the eye in the center of the piece. When obtaining planks the end grain should be observed to determine the orientation of the growth rings so that a balanced piece can be turned. Bigger bowls are not necessarily better - balance needs to be achieved even if some amount of the plank is sacrificed. Open forms and hollow forms were discussed pertinent to their orientation in the blank. By varying the orientation of the piece in the blank one can achieve better balance. When turning it is important to stop frequently and look for grain patterns that can be used to an advantage. Without stopping and looking, a much desired feature may very well be turned away. Rotted areas can be incorporated into pieces to help balance them.

Break in slide show: A cross-sectional portion of a tree was shown. This piece had about equal amounts of heartwood and sapwood. Bowl orientation was discussed to highlight the two types of wood. Rather than use the entire log for a piece certain areas can be used separately to achieve various forms with balance. You need to work with the wood and have the wood work for you.

Back to slides: Hayley began showing slides of the history of her work and how texturing and form are achieved. As does Todd, Hayley uses grain patterns for balance but she also balances her pieces with texturing and color. She has also incorporated carving into her work. In general, Hayley uses a composition or combination of textured surfaces, colors and shapes. This concluded a very detailed and informative slide and educational presentation.

Afternoon Session:

Todd began by discussing several of the instant gallery pieces specifically as to balance and centering. (In general we did pretty well!) He then continued with his formal demonstration beginning with crotch turning. The crotch figuring was discussed pertaining to pattern and strength. To portray the best pattern the crotch should be cut heart to heart. To make a platter, the bottom of the platter should be where the cut surface of the crotch is. An entire crotch piece can also be turned to get flared-out or inward wings. Todd used this technique to turn an angel which was placed on the White House Christmas tree during the Clinton era.

An entire crotch piece was placed between centers. A shaped piece of wood was wedged between the crotch and this end placed in the tailstock. The trunk section of the piece was placed on the drive center. The lathe speed was started quite slowly due to the initial imbalance of the piece. Initially, light cuts were made. A spigot was formed for the four-jaw chuck. (It is important to have a flat shoulder on the spigot to give greater stability in the chuck.) The piece was then removed from between centers and placed on the chuck. Turning began at the base of the piece. When Todd felt the sound of the lathe was acceptable the distal ends of the crotch were turned and then the entire piece roughed. Periodically the chuck should be tightened or at least checked for tightness. Further turning was then done on the distal wings, leaving as much mass as possible at the base. Slowly the piece was shaped giving the wings a pleasing ogee shape. Todd reversed the lathe direction and smoothed the bark on the wing edges (backward turning). Note: Todd uses shims on his tool rest post so that a constant height can be maintained when moving the rest. Further definition of the outer shape was done but not completed. As much mass as possible was left at the base area in preparation for hollowing. Hollowing of the wings is done in segments of about two inches, proximal to distal.

The wings are taped to keep in moisture. This is done after sanding. Paper tape is applied first and then is covered with duct tape. Over the two layers of tape Todd placed wire rings to keep the wings from flaring out as they become thinner. (Todd makes the rings from brazing wire.) Small strips of tape secured the wire rings in place. Excess tape was trimmed off with an Exacto knife. Hollowing was then done with tools designed by Todd. He hollowed in segments of about two inches each. These were done from the interior outward. Wing thickness to about one-quarter of an inch was obtained. Calipers were used to measure for consistent wall thickness.

The caliper points must be perpendicular to the wing sides or falsely larger measurements will be noted and thus too much material will be removed.

If Todd gets any small areas of bark tear-out he uses watercolor paints to touch it up after the wood has dried. If large pieces are missing then the entire bark is removed from the natural edge. Once hollowed the base of the piece is formed by reverse chucking using a piece of wood and rubber in the open end of the piece between the wings and gripped by the 4-jaw chuck, with the tailstock supporting the base. This acts as a pressure chuck. Again, relatively slow lathe speeds are used as they have been during the entire turning process.

Once completed the piece is dried slowly (in a paper bag or wrapped in cloth) to prevent cracking. Hopefully it will only warp, especially when the piths are on each wing. All sanding is done with the lathe off. Finishing is done with oil to darken the wood or sprays to keep the wood light. Todd strives for a matte finish. This completed Todd's demonstration.

Hayley's formal demonstration began with truing up the surface of a wood disc attached to the lathe with a screw chuck. A file card was used to scratch the wood surface. (Hayley has two file cards which she labels, one for texturing clean wood and the other for using over scorched wood.) A slow lathe speed was used. Scratching was done from the center outward with the file wires at 45 degrees. Next the wood was scorched using propane. (Source: www.Riogrande.com). A flexible shaft was used with a pencil tip. When scorching the wood it is slowly turned on the lathe by hand. This helps dissipate the heat. Once scorched the file card was used on the burned surface.

Liberon earth pigment added to Danish oil was used to tint the surface of the scorched area. Excess was dried off with a paper towel. Then grooves were cut into the blackened areas using a fishtail parting tool. Hayley then used a tool made from a screw driver shaped into two prongs. When using this all bands become exactly the same width. The tool is one-quarter inch wide. By subdividing previous bands narrower ones can be made. Before any surface is textured it needs to be sanded up to 400, 600 or 800 grit to eliminate scratch marks which are easy to see after texturing.

Hayley then made a series of bands on the non-scorched area of the disc. The grooves were deepened with a V-point tool. The disc was then removed from the lathe. She discussed silver inlay - rectangular pieces of silver are glued into slots cut in the wood. Circular pieces of silver can also be used. The inlays are hammered into tight holes or slots and fixed in place with epoxy glue. Once the inlays are in place the piece is either turned or sanded.

At her studio Hayley would secure the work piece to a board - the piece's spigot fitting into a hole in the board. Wedges of wood would be attached securing the piece to the board with hot glue beads, drafting tape having been attached to the back of the piece for its protection. This fixes the piece securely when texturing allowing both hands to be free for controlling the tool.

The Foredom flexible shaft tool was used to texture the black bands on the piece. (Hayley triangulates holding the tool for stability and control.) Random circles were cut through the burned surface. The entire band is worked on simultaneously and not from one end to the other. This blends the texturing so it appears consistent throughout the band. The size of the texturing is kept consistent with the size of the piece. Convex texturing is done with the cup burr. This not only cuts but burns at the same time. The small areas of wood between the convex circles are removed with a small knife. These areas expose the natural wood which must be colored to match the burned "bumps."

The next surface treatment was using a continuous line pattern. This is started on the edge of the piece and progresses inward. The surface of the area was sanded with the grain using 400 grit. Coloring with acrylic paint which dries quickly was then done over the entire area of lines. Sanding was done to leave the color in the lines but not on the surface.

This completed a very detailed and informative demonstration. It will be available on tape in the CMW library in August 2005.

--Bob Gunther

More about Todd Hoyer

More about Hayley Smith