Why I Turn
I turn for the love of the creative process. I am addicted to
discovery, progress, and the fact that perfection is forever elusive
but, as I strive for 
it, yesterday’s challenges become the basic skills of tomorrow.
I love the distinct smell of the various woods, the sound of the shavings
as they are cut by a sharp tool, and how quickly a form appears from a
block of material. In the past I have enjoyed many other crafts - spinning,
knitting, weaving, basketry, etc, but not only for the tactile sensations.
The aroma of spinning "in the grease", the smell of wet reeds for a basket,
the sound of a shuttle or the clicking of knitting needles all contributed
to the satisfaction of making something. Experimenting with turning unusual
materials such as bone, plastic, tagua nuts, aluminum and horn has led
to many more interesting sensations for the eyes, ears, hands and nose.
I have been making things for as far back as I can remember, but when I discovered woodturning over 20 years ago it became an obsession that has not gone away. It started when my daughter wanted a doll house. During the process of building, lighting and furnishing, I became mostly interested in the tools. This may have a lot to do with the fact that my father was a builder. Over 15 years ago, I designed and began producing a small woodturning lathe. My lathe has a 5" swing and is 12" between centers. A wide range of accessories is available including chucks, tools, a threading jig and indexing plate. This was a new beginning for what I like to call "small scale turning", and what has developed into an area of its own in the woodturning world, with tools, classes, projects and even gallery shows.
With a small lathe comes the ability to be more portable and consequently many people are taking a lathe with them to use at craft fairs, or south for the winter and even on vacation. I am able to travel with 10 lathes, tools and wood in the back of my van to teach classes. There are many school districts that have purchased several small lathes and accessories for less than the price of one large lathe. Shop teachers especially like the fact that many of the small scale projects may be turned from scraps. Because it is something I feel strongly about, I have volunteered many hours of teaching and sharing woodturning with kids. I am involved with turning full time and earn a good income form selling lathes and tools, turnings and expertise.
About Klein Design
K lein Design
-
Bonnie Klein
- 17910 SE 110th Street
- Renton, WA 98059
- Telephone: 425-226-5937
