Chris Lawrence's Dragon Scale Vessel Earns AAW Turning of the Week Honor

A vessel doesn't earn recognition just by looking the part. Chris Lawrence's "Dragon's Grip" won the American Association of Woodturners' Turning of the Week honor not simply because of its textured surface, but because of the sustained craft development visible behind it.

Kevin Jesequel, writing for the TOTW Team on the AAW community forum, singled out Lawrence's work for its strong proportions and execution, noting that the dragon scale embellishment was not a one-off flourish. Lawrence had been refining the technique across multiple pieces, and "Dragon's Grip" represented the culmination of that iterative process. Jesequel's commentary pointed specifically to the vessel's proportions and the decision to continue the curve downward to a point at the bottom, a choice that gave the finished piece both energy and visual resolution.

What pushed "Dragon's Grip" beyond a well-turned vessel was the stand: a dragon's claw. Jesequel called it a successful integration of form, texture, and inspiration, noting that the stand doesn't merely support the piece but completes it thematically. That kind of cohesion, where surface treatment, vessel form, and display function as a unified statement, is rare in turned work and central to why the selection carried particular weight from a design standpoint.

Turning of the Week posts on the AAW forum serve a practical function beyond recognition. They provide a technique commentary model that less-experienced turners can study, and they give club programmers a direct signal of what is resonating across the online turning community. The thread for Lawrence's piece remains open on the AAW community forum, where registered members can view additional images, ask questions, and engage with the specifics of surface preparation and finishing that typically follow a TOTW post.

Lawrence's visible progression with the dragon scale technique across his body of work makes the thread as instructive as the finished piece. For anyone thinking seriously about embellishment sequences or how to design a display that earns its place, this is one to pull up.