About seven years ago, Coquitlam resident Jim Johnson started to chip away at his hobby of woodturning a little more seriously.
In his brightly lit studio at the back of his home, Johnson began to gather a number of quality tools to ply his craft: a lathe, drill press, band saw, sanders, grinder, carving gear and - of course - a high-powered vacuum to suck up the shavings.
"Once I got going, there was no turning back," he said. "It became very addictive."
Working primarily with his favourite hardwood, western maple, Johnson used ideas he had sketched down to shape his vision for the solid mass. He did this in his spare time in the afternoon, before he returned to his night job as a newspaper mailer.
Often, he would recall a phrase he had heard to "let the wood do the talking."
And so he would allow the chunk he had acquired (usually for free) to tell him what creation should appear, based on its size and markings.
"It makes sense," he said, "because what you get should dictate what you do with it - not the other way around."
Johnson's curiosity for woodturning piqued further after he joined the Greater Vancouver Woodturners' Guild. Not only did it give him a new perspective to his passion, but the designs being done by the other members pushed him to improve, too.
Besides bowls, Johnson was now turning wall hangings and experimenting with dyes and inks. As well, he was producing intricate handiwork (such as punching holes) that added many more hours to get to the final product.
Soon, there was a buzz about his artwork. Through word of mouth, he sold a few pieces and saw some of his objects featured at Joye Designs Gallery in Port Moody.
Tomorrow (Thursday), two of Johnson's handcrafted items - Dazed and Four Seasons - will be on display for a month at the Port Moody Arts Centre as part of a juried exhibit focusing on wood crafting.
Organized by Belcarra's Des Wilson, who used to be on the PMAC society board, the gallery show that wraps up on Aug. 11 is meant to coincide with the city's centennial celebrations this year.
"We wanted to show the history of wood in Port Moody," Wilson said. "At one time, the city had seven sawmills and it was a very important component to our past."
Wilson, who is also a member of the Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild and will have his own artwork in the exhibit, said the show will include a wood fair on Saturday that highlights the various aspects of working with wood - be it manufacturing furniture and boats, making paper or jewellery, weaving baskets or carving bark.
Johnson, who will be part of the wood fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the arts centre grounds, is no stranger to demonstrations. With the guild, he regularly sets up at Brentwood Mall in Burnaby to introduce the public to wood turning.
"We enjoy people watching us," he said. "They get ideas and we can get ideas from them, too.
"Wood turning has become such a pleasure for me," he contined, "and I like that people will be able to come out to the wood fair on Saturday and see what's being done out there."
The opening reception for the Celebration of Wood: Form and Function exhibit is Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Port Moody Arts Centre (2425 St. John's St.). The artists showing are:Adrienne Peacock, Art Liestman, Chris Wong, Christine Yurchuk, Dave Wagner, David Bradford, Des Wilson, Don Portelance, Enrique Morales, George Blackstone, Gerry Moss, Jim Johnson, Joan Marr, Marco Berera, Mary Walker, Meredith Nicole, Michael Dunn, Myda Schmidt, Pat Taylor, Peter Smith, Rae Yano, Rick Wiebe, Rosa Chang, Ross Pilgrim, Sandy Morito, Shirley Campbell, Straight Line Designs, Sue Cowan and Yoshi Kamai.
