Area Woodworkers - Part 2

Press Release from Chestnut Creek School of the Arts: Woodworkers Participate in Dedication Event Last October

Harold Lambert

“When I was in high school, I did some woodturning in shop class, making a nut bowl and a floor lamp; so when a son told me he had a friend with an old lathe in his garage that he did not want and asked if I would like to have it, I jumped at the offer.  It was an old Shopmate which could be converted to several different tools.

From the beginning, I was hooked.  I had been doing a little woodworking after I retired as a public school administrator, making end tables, coffee tables, etc., but, once I had the lathe, I told my wife that, unless it was round, I didn't want to make it.

Along with the lathe, I received some rudimentary tools, but my woodturning was awful! Thankfully, a friend told me of a fellow who offered classes in turning; so I contacted him and arranged for a day-long tutorial.  This person was none other than Morris Schlesinger.  After spending a day with Morris, I learned about appropriate tools and techniques for turning.  It made all the difference in the world.  I had some friends wanting to get into turning and I referred them to Morris.  They, too, took classes with him.

We then started meeting at Morris' workshop on Saturdays for "open shop days" where we compared techniques, etc.  I also learned of a woodturning club in Roanoke that met monthly and had demos by national and international turners.  Since joining the club, I have met and become friends with a number of really nice, accomplished people.

After a while, I was turning out bowls, vases, urns, etc. until every flat spot in the house was covered with them.  Ann and I started taking my work to local craft shows.  This brought in money to buy more tools, etc.  I told Ann that I needed them and that I was "one tool away from greatness."  She responded that we were "one tool away from bankruptcy!"  I am still doing some woodturning, though not as much as I used to.  They make great gifts for family and friends!”

Brooks Lindamood

Brooks Lindamood has crafted several turned hummingbird houses out of Zelkova Wood (Downtown Galax Trees). Raised near Foster Falls on a big family dairy farm, Brooks learned young how to work hard, work with his hands and fix and operate just about every kind of tool as soon as he could carry them. Since his childhood he’s honed these skills and built several houses. Upon his retirement from Volvo (1988-2019) he turned to more craft-oriented wood working and began studying woodturning.

He makes his family commemorative wood items, mostly games, each Christmas using significant pieces of wood engraving each piece with the year, type of wood used and his initials. “I think this gives each piece meaning of relevance” Brooks shares. Trained also as a Virginia Master Naturalist, Brooks enjoys revering all that nature has to offer and to share his enthusiasm and knowledge to those interested and especially to the next generation.

He was drawn to make things from the wood from the trees taken down along main street in downtown Galax that everyone loves so much that had to be cut down downtown for street improvements and has turned and donated several hummingbird homes as part of a larger fundraiser for Chestnut Creek School of the Arts to re-launch their woodturning studio. He is considering teaching woodturning and other classes at CCSA.

Carroll Hill

born and raised in Galax, has been a beekeeper since the 70’s and has been woodturning for over 20 years. His woodworking started with carving dough bowls until he’d met Morris and started studying woodturning. “Carving was just too time consuming and you can’t sell a piece for enough money to justify the time that goes into it, since spending time with Morris and learning to turn, I’ve never looked back.” He switched to woodturning and has been turning for the past 20 years. Carroll also volunteered for Hospice for a period of time. He and his wife sell their “Crooked Creek Honey” throughout the area, attending several festivals each year selling both turned wooden items as well as their honey.
Carroll has made multiple pieces of Zelkova, the trees that were cut down along Main Street, downtown Galax as part of a fundraiser for the relaunching of Chestnut Creek School of the Arts woodturning studio in honor of Morris Schlesinger, who helped launch these classes. “I want to help carry on this skill and trade and I also want to honor Morris and all that he’s done for me and my craft.” His pieces range from lidded vessels, to bowls, to vases. “This wood is just beautiful to turn- there’s limited cracking, it’s easy to turn, not as hard as Maple and sands easily and takes a beautiful finish. It has wide growth rings that create really nice patterns.” In addition to donating this work to the greater good, Carroll intends to both teach woodturning and facilitate open studio.

Mark Weikel

Weikel was raised in Radford and currently lives in Pulaski. "I setup a home shop about 5 years ago to piddle around in after retiring in 2022 as a project manager in the chemical industry. I have had an interest in anything wood since the 80’s and have collected and restored many antique pieces of furniture over the years. I was introduced to Morris through the talented woodturner Harold Lambert who initially helped me get started in woodturning. Morris was also instrumental in getting Harold started approximately 25 years before my start. After about a year of trying to turn (with some frustration) I took several classes from Morris at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts (CCSA) prior to the COVID outbreak and things started to come together after that. I receive a lot of satisfaction in giving pieces as away that I have turned to family and friends and hopefully look forward to doing more of that. I feel very fortunate in having the opportunity to turn the Zelkova wood pieces for the fundraiser to honor Morris. To date, other than the individuals at CCSA, I have never met anyone who has ever heard of Zelkova wood. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to contribute several turned pieces to such a worthy cause. It’s also exciting to see CCSA facilitate the woodturning studio into it’s next phase."

Joe Reeves

Reeves was born and raised in this area, has always liked working with his hands. Drawn to what others might see as junk and make it functional has always been his goal and inspiration to make something out of nothing. This extends to his having built buildings, home interiors, furniture and more. “All of my pieces are naturally wonky, level with a little bit of slope” he jokes. Retired five years ago from Insurance, Joe also operated Boom trucks in his own business. He’s been working with wood for the past 6 years. He was introduced to Morris Schlesinger through another well-known and talented wood turner, Terry Clark and enjoys making pet urns, biscuit cutters and more. “I have such a reverence for wood, I may have an idea going into a piece, but the wood is likely and most often has something entirely different to say so I just go with what it’s telling me- it is humbling and inspiring at the same time.

“This Zelkova wood is very, very hard wood- it is equally beautiful, I guess you have to pay the piper to get this pretty of a wood to shine through” Having lost all but this bowl in the recent hurricane, he’s thrilled to help carry on Morris’s legacy by donating this piece and contributing to CCSA’s fundraiser and the naming of the woodturning studio in Morris’s honor.