Every year the Alaska Woodturners Association hosts a Woodturning Symposium where we present Master Turners with International or National status. You do not have to be an experienced turner to gain education, tips, and skill building techniques from this event, nor do you have to be a member of our Association to enjoy this educational experience.
The Symposium Instant Gallery
is coming 2023. To see 2022 Gallery and get more info
2023 Symposium Hooded Sweatshirts
Featured Turners
Pat Carroll & Emiliano Achaval
SYMPOSIUM TICKETS
You can either purchase a ticket for 1 day and you can use on either Saturday or Sunday, or you can purchase 2 days tickets for both days. Members are $50 for 1 day or $100 for 2 days. Non-members are $60 for 1 day and $120 for both
A free day to the symposium is provided with each session of classes you sign up for. If you sign up for two classes, both days of the symposium are free.
Online ticket sales are over but tickets can be purchased at the door for $60 for members and $70 for non-members
HANDS-ON CLASS TICKETS
You can get a free day to the symposium with each session of classes you sign up for. If you sign up for two classes, both days of the symposium are free.
The following classes are now available for sign-up. Please visit the instructor’s individual websites for additional information about them and to see the type of work that they do. Emiliano Achaval and Pat Carroll are both very accomplished turners, excellent instructors, and a variety of topics have been selected with something that will hopefully appeal to everyone. Please note that the exact topics taught may change depending upon the speed and interest of class participants and the availability of material. The currently planned areas to be covered are:
- March 27-29: Beginning/Intermediate Skill Building with Emiliano Achaval. Emiliano will cover Hawaiian Calabash bowl making, including the history and different types of calabash bowls. Calabash form will be discussed, along with an emphasis on proper tool techniques using both the Ellsworth and Batty 40/40 grinds. The patching of bowls using pewe and poho patches as well as huini pegs will also be covered. As time permits, the turning of natural edge bowls using green birch will be covered on the final day of class.
- March 30-31: Intermediate/Advanced Master Class with Emiliano Achaval. Emiliano will cover Hawaiian Calabash bowl making, including the history and different types of calabash bowls. Calabash form will be discussed, along with an emphasis on proper tool techniques using both the Ellsworth and Batty 40/40 grinds.Participants will turn as many as three calabash bowl shapes as time allows. In the second part of this two day class, Emiliano will cover thread chasing and participants will spend much of the day practicing thread chasing with 16 TPI thread chasing tools. Threading inserts will also be covered.
- April 3-5: Intermediate/Advanced Master Class with Pat Carroll. Pat will cover a variety of bowl turning, spindle turning, and carving topics as class participants make a beaded trinket box with finial, a square box with finial, and a carved pot with legs. As time permits, texturing and coloring will also be included.
- April 6-7: Beginning/Intermediate Skill Building with Pat Carroll. Pat will cover both bowl turning and spindle turning topics as participants make a birch bowl with copper stitching and a lidded bowl with finial. As time permits, texturing and coloring will also be included.
March 27-29, March 30-31, and April 6-7 Classes are full. If interested in going to this class, please contact Brian Seitz at seitz.awa@gmail.com to be placed on the waitlist.
2023 Symposium Details:
- The Alaska Woodturners Association’s 18th annual symposium will take place in person on Saturday and Sunday, April 1st and 2nd at Glass Sash and Door Supply at 500 E. Ship Creek Ave in Anchorage.
- The event will run from 8:15 am – 5:00 pm on Saturday and 8:30 am – 3:00 pm on Sunday.
- Advanced purchase tickets are $50/day for members and $60/day for non-members. Ticket prices will be $10 higher if purchased at the door.
- There will be an instant gallery so please bring in items you’ve made over the past year to share with your fellow turners.
- Two and three day classes taught by our featured turners will be offered the week before and the week after the symposium. Classes cost $150/day and are an excellent value considering the quality of the internationally known turners that come to Alaska for our symposiums. The classes run from 9:00 am to about 4:00 pm each day and are held at Glass Sash and Door Supply.
- You must be a member of AWA and have completed the beginning series of classes or have an equivalent amount of turning experience to take a class. The classes are appropriate for turners of all levels but those listed as intermediate/advanced will cover some more technical topics. All classes are an excellent way to build on your woodturning skills.
- If you have questions, please contact Brian Seitz at seitz.awa@gmail.com
Featured Turners:
Pat Carroll (https://www.patcarrollwoodturning.com/) from Ireland and Emiliano Achaval (https://www.hawaiiankoaturner.com/) from Maui, Hawaii will be the featured demonstrators. Both turners are very accomplished and are excellent demonstrators. In addition to the professionals, local turners Heather Ashley and Jeff Trotter will each do one demonstration.
Hand-on Classes:
The following classes are now available for sign-up. Please visit the instructor’s individual websites for additional information about them and to see the type of work that they do. Emiliano Achaval and Pat Carroll are both very accomplished turners, excellent instructors, and a variety of topics have been selected with something that will hopefully appeal to everyone. Please note that the exact topics taught may change depending upon the speed and interest of class participants and the availability of material. The currently planned areas to be covered are:
- March 27-29: Beginning/Intermediate Skill Building with Emiliano Achaval. Emiliano will cover Hawaiian Calabash bowl making, including the history and different types of calabash bowls. Calabash form will be discussed, along with an emphasis on proper tool techniques using both the Ellsworth and Batty 40/40 grinds. The patching of bowls using pewe and poho patches as well as huini pegs will also be covered. As time permits, the turning of natural edge bowls using green birch will be covered on the final day of class.
- March 30-31: Intermediate/Advanced Master Class with Emiliano Achaval. Emiliano will cover Hawaiian Calabash bowl making, including the history and different types of calabash bowls. Calabash form will be discussed, along with an emphasis on proper tool techniques using both the Ellsworth and Batty 40/40 grinds.Participants will turn as many as three calabash bowl shapes as time allows. In the second part of this two day class, Emiliano will cover thread chasing and participants will spend much of the day practicing thread chasing with 16 TPI thread chasing tools. Threading inserts will also be covered.
- April 3-5: Intermediate/Advanced Master Class with Pat Carroll. Pat will cover a variety of bowl turning, spindle turning, and carving topics as class participants make a beaded trinket box with finial, a square box with finial, and a carved pot with legs. As time permits, texturing and coloring will also be included.
- April 6-7: Beginning/Intermediate Skill Building with Pat Carroll. Pat will cover both bowl turning and spindle turning topics as participants make a birch bowl with copper stitching and a lidded bowl with finial. As time permits, texturing and coloring will also be included.
Alaska Woodturners Association (AWA)
Symposium Live Demonstrations
(Click Here to Download Schedule and View Pictures)
Saturday, April 1st Demonstrations,
7:45 am to 8:15 am: Symposium and Instant Gallery Exhibit Check-in
8:15 am to 8:30 am: Opening Remarks
Bay #1
8:30 am to 10:15 am – Square Platter w/ Textured Rim By Pat Carroll
10:30 am to 12:15 pm – Square Box w/ Final By Pat Carroll
1:15 pm to 3:00 pm – Water Droplet Illusion Bowl By John Lane
3:15 pm to 5:00 pm – Square Box w/ Pewter Inserts By Pat Carroll
Bay #2
8:30 am to 10:15 am – Hawaiian Calabash Bowls By Emiliano Achaval
10:30 am to 12:15 pm – Simple Bowl w/ One Tool By Emiliano Achaval
1:15 pm to 3:00 pm – Turning Minis on the Mini Lathe By Jeff Trotter
3:15 pm to 5:00 pm – Patches By Emiliano Achaval
Sunday, April 2nd Demonstrations,
Bay #1
8:30 am to 10:15 am – Multi axis Turning By Pat Carroll
10:30 am to 12:15 pm – Hollowing Tools & Techniques By Pat Carroll
1:15 pm to 3:00 pm – Texture Color By Pat Carroll
Bay #2
8:30 am to 10:15 am – Live Edge Bowl By Emilano Achaval
10:30 am to 12:15 pm – Bowl with Carved Feet By Emilano Achaval
1:15 pm to 3:00 pm – Box w/Hand Chased Threads By Emilano Achaval
FEATURED TURNER:
Emiliano Achaval
Visit Emiliano’s Website for more information
FEATURED TURNER:
Pat Carroll
Visit Pat’s Website for more information
ALASKA TURNER:
Jeff Trotter
Jeff Trotter is a founding member of Alaska Woodturners Association. He lives in Palmer and has lived in Alaska 47 years with his wife, Gretta. Besides turning on his lathes, he enjoys fishing, hunting and building scale model Civil War cannons. He volunteers at local school shop classes where he demonstrates woodturning.
Jeff’s furniture pieces and turnings have been featured in Fine Woodworking Magazine, American Association of Woodturners, Anchorage Museum of History and Art and local galleries.
At this year’s symposium, Jeff will demonstrate and share his turning experiences on a mini-lathe.
ALASKA TURNER:
John Lane
John Lane is a retired Air Traffic Controller and has worked with wood for most of his life. Like a lot of woodturner’s he started out in the late 60’s and early 70’s making cabinets and wood furniture (that was just as handmade wood furniture was becoming popular). He started turning wood right after moving to Anchorage in 1990. At that time there was no Alaska Woodturners Association, so he was self-taught and started on an old Sears Craftsman 12” lathe. Then joined the AWA in late 2005. John is probably best known these days for his basket weave illusion bowls and platters using a pyrography pen and India ink artist pens. He is also interested in creating illusions using other methods