John Wessels Pictures for AW article ...

Carl here are pictures of John Wessels pieces for the AW article.
I have loaded the pictures in the format you require for publication and have annotated them with the text that John sent me.

Now that the AWSA Conference is over I have moved them here to my regular woodturning blog as John has requested, as it doesn't matter that others see the pieces that he exhibited at the Conference. The last five pictures are of the magnificient piece that won best on show at last weekend's 2007 AWSA Conference.

The small pics on the blog are about 11-16Kb.

However if you click on each image (of the turnings)a larger image will open. Use 'Shift Click' in Explorer or 'Ctrl Click' if you're using Firefox to open the larger version in a separate window. Once the pic is open, do a 'Right click' and 'Save as' to save the larger image to your PC. Most of the larger pics are about 1000Kb or 1Mb. DSC_5150.jpg for example is 1413 x 1200 = 1.7 MegaPixels in size or 4.71 x 4 inches(this equates to 300 dpi) and the file size is 1,369Kb or 1.369 Mb in size. This meets the requirements for images that you e-mailed to us.

Here is the info John provided me with,

"I am a retired airline pilot. I also did a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and worked for five years in this field. I flew for South African Airways for 30 years. My wife Jane and myself live on a farm on the coast near a village called Wilderness. Cape Town is five hours drive from my home. Woodturning started in my school year at the age of 15. I have always enjoyed working with wood.

Last year I turned 'Birth' and 'Lizard' for the 2006 AWSA Congress. The idea of pewter came from a local craft market where pewter was put on to candle holders. When I was ten years old, I did pewter lessons with my mother, and this all started me thinking.

For the 2007 AWSA Congress, I have made Twin 2007 and a few other pieces.

'Apples – a Baker’s Dozen' has been made to cover the requirements of Schalk’s Challenge. The use of both faceplate and spindle turning.

As a result of offcuts of the Red Ivory and veneer and a drink with Dave Stephenson, a fellow turner, at his home near ours, we came up with the idea of salt and pepper mills. Thus we now have 'Friends'. The Red Ivory 2007 bowl I made in 2000. It was re-sanded and polished and thus qualifies as a second Schalk’s Challenge piece."

John Wessels
Wilderness, March 2007.

'Schalk's Challenge' is a theme set each year by Schalk van Niekerk. This year, 2007, pieces entered for 'Schalk's Challenge' must comprise at least a faceplate turned component and two identical spindle turned pieces.


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Birth, 2006

200 mm dia x 55 mm H

African Blackwood railtie and Red Ivory with pewter

"This piece won John the award for 'best on show' at the 2006 AWSA Conference"


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Lizard, 2006

530 mm dia x 10 mm thickBlue gum burl and pewter lizard













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Close-up of 'Lizard'








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Closer-up of 'Lizard'
















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Apples – a Baker’s Dozen, 2007

120mm x 480 mm

Bird’s Eye Maple, Curly Maple, Red Ivory, (Ash, Walnut, Wenge)-veneer





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Apples

50 – 60 mm H x 60 – 75 mm dia

Apples: 2 x Red Ivory, Cocobolo, Coolibah Burl, Stinkwook Burl, Wild Olive, Terbalnche. Big Leaf Maple Burl, Macassar Evony, Pepper Tree Burl, African Blackwood, Spalted Ironwood, and an unknown burl from my mother’s garden.

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Twin, 2007

55mm x 200 mm

African Blackwood railtie and Coolibah Burl with Pewter.

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Twin, 2007










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Twin, 2007

Underside








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Twin, 2007

Underside















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Twin, 2007

Underside














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Friends, 2007

320mm x 60 m (salt & pepper)

60mm x 255 mm (blowl)

Curly Maple, Red Ivory, African Blackwood (Ash, Walnut and Wenge veneer)









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Friends, 2007

Close up








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Friends, 2007

Close up








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Friends, 2007

Close up








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Brother and Sister, 2007

105mm x 65 mm (Brother)

60mm x 100 mm (Sister)
African Blackwood railtie and Wild Olive with pewter.





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Brother and Sister, 2007









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Black Magic, 2007

45mm x 165mm

Ebony with pewter






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Vineyard, 2007

70mm x 235 mm

Blue gum burl and Hard Pear with pewter









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Fire and Motion - 2007

720mm (diam) x 100mm (ht)

Ekki, Red Ivory, Pewter and Gold leaf

Best on show - 2007 Association of Woodturners of South Africa (AWSA) Conference



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Fire and Motion - Reverse side

Here is the 'fire'









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And the following three pictures show the 'motion'

The piece nestles in a shallow open vessel in which it rotates. The base of the vessel is a slightly domed red ivory disc. The vessel is lined with a piece of thin felt.





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and it spins











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and spins

and that's the 'motion'