This month's featured woodworker gives us a different look at woodworking. Dr. Crowder is a woodturning. The pieces that he has created on the lathe are simply incredible. I know you're going to enjoy getting to know Dr. Crowder and his passion for creating works of art on the lathe. (I'll have a picture of Dr. Crowder when the full article is up on the website.)

When did you first get interested in woodworking?

Clay- I first became interested in woodworking in high school. My Dad gave my brother and me a shopsmith ER-10. It had a tablesaw, lathe, drillpress, and sander all in one. The first time I ever turned anything on the lathe was in high school, in fact I still have the first thing I ever turned. It's an old clunky looking ashtray made from walnut. After high school though I lost woodworking for a long time. I picked it back up after completing my residency in medicine and moved back to Maryville from Florida where I had been in the Air Force. I had a little room in my basement and still had that old Shopsmith ER-10 and I began building small stuff for the house. But I wasn't turning anything at this time. Then around 1982 I began woodturning again and just fell in love with it. I started making little bowls and stuff. At this time I was totally self-taught. I hadn't taken any classes at this point. I probably could have taken an ax and turned something just as good [laughs]! Then along about 1985 Rude Osolnik (a famous woodturner from Kentucky, to learn more about Rude visit www.rudeosolnik.com ) came to Knoxville to teach a workshop on turning. I had turned a piece of maple and he said now that's OK, but he gave me several pointers to make it even better.

Talk a little more on learning how to turn. You mentioned that you were self-taught in the beginning but when that could take you only so far where did you go to learn more?

Clay- I read some things in Fine Woodworking at that time that taught me some, but their weren't a lot of books on turning. So I was strictly self-taught until that weekend that I spent with Rude Osolnik. Since that time I've gone to Arrowmont (School of Arts and Crafts) countless times to learn from the experts. (Go to www.arrowmont.org for more information).

Just like with furniture making there are many styles of woodturning. What's your favorite?

Clay- I'm a bowl and vessel turner. I like natural edge pieces also because I like wood to talk to me. I like wood that's not plain. I like wood that has figure, wood that has some character.

On our website we'll have pictures of some of the incredible bowls and vessels that Dr. Crowder has turned that shows off that amazing figure and character that he talks about. That plus the rest of the interview will be up on our website soon!