AAW Forum Opens Voting for March 2026 Olla Vessel Turning Challenge

The AAW Monthly Turning Challenge for March put eight forum members to a focused test: turn an olla vessel, one of the oldest water-storage forms in ceramic tradition, and see what a woodturner can make of it.

The forum moderator opened voting with a characteristically direct assessment: "This month's turning challenge was form-centric: turn an olla vessel. We had eight participants submit eight excellent pieces. Some natural, some embellished, all very cool."

The eight entrants — Darryn Achall, David Bartell, Phil Hamel, Rick Moreton, Paul Paukstelis, Tony Rozendaal, WH Seelinger, and Ifer Thompson — each brought their own interpretation to the form. Logged-in members can expand thumbnail images of all eight pieces before committing to their picks, giving voters a proper look at surface treatments, proportions, and embellishments before casting their ballots.

Each member gets two votes, cast in secret, with one firm procedural note: once submitted, votes cannot be changed. The window closes April 2 at 9:59 PM.

The timing lands just as the forum recognized Chris Lawrence's "Dragon's Grip" as the Turning of the Week for March 30, keeping community attention squarely on form and craft in the final days of the month. The monthly challenge and the weekly recognition operate as parallel engines of engagement on the AAW forum, one rewarding a specific assigned form, the other spotlighting standout work from the broader membership.

The olla form, with its rounded belly and typically narrow neck, demands confident tool control and a clean commitment to curves. That kind of technical specificity is exactly what makes these challenge results worth tracking beyond the vote count. Whoever takes the March title will likely field questions about their approach, and the winning piece has a way of surfacing as a demonstration topic at chapter meetings or online sessions in the months that follow.

Results will be tabulated once voting closes on April 2.