Julia Swyers

I first learned about wood turning while taking a general carpentry class at a local college.  I had recently moved into a new house and wanted to make furniture for my home.  Once in the woodshop, I was drawn to the row of lathes at the back of the room with all the turning tools lining the wall. Here and there were the practice pieces left by other students featuring glue ups of exotic woods, broken bowls or half-done candlesticks. I was intrigued by the handheld scale and tactical quality of what could be made on a lathe. I soon enrolled in workshops learning bowl making and spindle turning, eventually setting up my own shop at home. I like to make functional pieces to warm the home.