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Wood-turner's wares at festival
Date published: 11/1/2007 OWINGS, Md.--Dave Wardrup has no trouble admitting that when he's creating pieces of art or practical objects on his wood lathe, he's never fully in charge. Often, he said, "the wood tells me what to do. I might be set to start at one spot or at one particular angle, but it won't feel right. The grain and texture of the wood will dictate how to start." The 60-year-old wood-turner, who retired in 2005 after 22 years in the Army and a stint with the State Department, is also clear about his favorite wood. "My favorite truly is whatever I happen to have on my lathe at that moment," said Wardrup, who will admit he likes cedar quite a bit. "You never know what shapes and colors you'll find down in that wood," he said. Wardrup will join other artisans at the second annual Art and Wine
Festival at the Caledon Natural Area in I visited with Wardrup earlier this week at his Like many of them, Wardrup said he wanted to fill up his days after
retiring from supervising security on the construction of "If you've been an active, busy person and you don't find something else that will keep you busy after retiring, you waste away," he said. Wardrup said he had always admired and taken notice of various types of woods he saw in his travels. He also remembered a time in junior high when he got a few weeks working on a wood lathe. "That had always stuck with me as something I wanted to try," he said. Soon after his retirement, Wardrup bought a high-quality lathe from More importantly, he joined a thriving group called the Annapolis Wood Turners. Getting tips from veteran turners, he began crafting bowls, vases, platters and more. Because lathes, wood and custom carving tools aren't cheap--each of his 30 or 40 carving tools cost $80 or more--Wardrup quickly realized he needed to make some money from this new activity. A little trial and error convinced Wardrup and his wife that they preferred wine festivals to craft shows, largely because they enjoy learning about wine and meeting the people festivals attract. With that in mind, the wood-turner developed a line of wine-related products that includes wine stoppers, wine glasses with wooden stems, nutcrackers, cheese plates and other items. A large trailer and custom-made sales display also were necessary. "I've come to realize that a realistic goal in all this is to make enough to pay the expenses plus two nice vacations a year," he said. "I'm getting there." Wardrup's stock goods sell for $15 to $90, with custom bowls or other items fetching as much as $300. One of the things he's proudest of is that the eight or more barrels of sawdust he generates in a week are completely recycled. "I'll deliver it once a week to the Amish market near thehappyturnerinowings.com
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415 |
