Northwest Washington Woodturners to Explore Design Principles and Showcase at Skagit Expo

The golden ratio doesn't care how sharp your tools are. The Northwest Washington Woodturners are addressing that reality directly with their April 16 "Basics of Design" meeting, where George Way, Ray Shields, and Roger Dauer will lead a practical session covering proportion, balance, the rule of thirds, and the golden ratio. The meeting starts at 6:00 PM at the Mount Vernon Christian School Auditorium.

For turners who have achieved consistent wall thickness and clean tool presentation but whose finished pieces still feel visually unresolved, Way, Shields, and Dauer will work through the visual mechanics that make a form read well on a gallery shelf or across a craft fair table. These are the same criteria buyers and judges apply instinctively, whether or not they can name the principle behind the judgment.

Before the formal session begins, Critique Corner offers structured peer review on form, surface treatment, and finish choices. Bring a piece you are unsatisfied with: the pre-meeting feedback loop is built for that kind of honest reassessment. Members are also encouraged to bring finished work to be photographed for the club's newsletter and photo gallery, edited by Ray Shields, one of the evening's design instructors.

The timing is hard to ignore. Two days after the meeting, the Skagit Wood Expo and Marketplace opens at the Skagit County Fairgrounds for a full weekend, April 18 and 19. NWWW is listed as a named demonstrating partner on the expo's own site, and the club is actively recruiting volunteer demonstrators. Logistical details for signing up are available through the NWWW website.

What volunteers step into is one of the larger public wood events in the Pacific Northwest: more than 75 vendors, a live wood auction, and demonstrations running continuously across both days. Alongside NWWW turners, attendees will find chainsaw sculptors, sawmill operators, and world-renowned carver Steve Backus on the floor. A portion of expo proceeds benefits Hospice of the Northwest Foundation, based in Mount Vernon, which sharpens the community stakes of the weekend.

Turning at the lathe in front of a marketplace crowd, fielding questions about why a bowl's profile looks right or how a shoulder was planned, is a live test of exactly what Thursday's session covers. The two-event sequence, design fundamentals on April 16 followed by public demonstration on April 18, gives NWWW members a purposeful through-line that runs from the auditorium straight to the fairgrounds floor.