Learn how Dave became
the wood artist he is today.
Woodturning - a Story of Victory
Â
Following retirement, I became interested in woodturning, bought an old lathe. We became fast friends and I started doing some turning. When I placed a piece of wood on this lathe I experienced an overwhelming sense of artistic creativity! As a former scientist, I found this hard to believe, but this sensation was real and persistent!
Â
I began to turn pens and bowls. However, over time I began to experience significant lower back pain when lifting logs and leaning over the lathe. It was incapacitating enough that pain pills and anesthetic medicine injections were not controlling the pain. Ultimately, I ended up requiring a surgical fusion of seven lumbar vertebrae. Postoperatively, I could not walk and i required four months of inpatient rehab to regain my gait.  The first independent step I took was very exhilarating! I can’t tell you how good that felt!.
Â
Today at 82 years of age, I continue to work on the lathe daily and produce wood artwork from locally felled trees. In all my work, the purpose is to highlight the natural beauty to be found - even in a piece of firewood. Currently, my work includes pieces made with epoxy-resin and acrylic paint pouring techniques in addition to the wood turnings. I can now produce quality work that can be seen at Sunset Arts Gallery on River Rd. In Grand Bend Ontario or on my website: www.hudgelwoodturning.ca.
Â
Truly, this journey has been a Victory!
Why Woodturning ?
My father taught me woodworking. I helped him remodel an old house into a medical office, and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia from tearing down the old plaster walls without wearing a mask, which people didn’t do in those days (Boy, that ages me!). As a young parent I made my children wooden toys. As an older adult, I made my grandchildren some interesting toys. However, I fast learned that I could not even make a picture frame. I couldn't seem to get the measurements or the angles correct. I did very little woodworking during my busy career, but in retirement I got into woodturning as a hobby. With the type of woodturning I do, one doesn’t have to measure anything – put a piece of wood on the lathe and go for it.!
The first time I ever put a piece of wood on the old lathe I bought, I had a tremendous sensation of artistic creation. That was very invigorating, and that sensation has remained with me all these years later. When you put a piece of wood on the lathe you work in conjunction with the wood. You both contribute to a turned fomr. Yes, you have to have an idea about what you want to make, such as a bowl, an urn or some other design. But, with the wood on the lathe you both design the final product. Yes, the wood really helps you in the design. This sounds crazy, but it’s really true. This whole process gives me such sence of creativity.
Every day, I am working on some project and I put myself to sleep at night thinking about turning something on the lathe. This hobby has turned into a small business. I sell my creations with great satisfaction that someone likes my work well enough to put out a few dollars. I price my products very reasonably, r high enough to recover all the costs of creating the piece in the first place. Currently, I show my work at Sunset Arts Gallery in Grand Bend, Ontario, a tourist town on the Eastern shore of Lake Huron, with its beautiful sandy beaches. It’s great living in a small town as I can leave 5 min before an appointment and get there on time. For box stores, we go to London, ON, a city of ½ million an hour’s drive away. GREAT LIFE!