Around and Around we go

I had a fun afternoon yesterday with my friend, Joyce.  We took a class in woodturning and each made a bowl.  I had never used a lathe before and was a bit intimidated by the whole thing.  The teacher spent an hour and a half going thru safety and demonstrating how to get started on making the bowl.  The class started at 1:00 and went until 5:00, but we were still there at 6:00 sweeping the floor.

The class was offered to cancer survivors (which Joyce is) and their friends and family members.  She invited me to come along.  It was offered by her medical provider in conjunction with the Artisan Center.  The Artisan Center is run by the local technical college.  They offer classes in pottery, jewelry making, woodworking, quilting and sewing as well as open lab time where you can rent their   equipment for 3 hours at a time.  This class was only $5.00 which was a steal.  We were in class with 4 other women and we all had a great time.

Here are a couple of photos of us at work.

 Joyce with our teacher (left) and his helper

 Joyce is ready to work at her lathe.  She is all buttoned up to keep wood chips from falling down into her shirt.

 We used a wood gouge to cut and shape our bowls.  We also had to wear a face shield to avoid flying wood chips.  Mine was mostly covered with dust so we had to stop from time to time to run the windshield wipers. LOL

 Here's my bowl.  Waiting for sanding and finishing.

Once I got past my initial nervousness of using the lathe, I had a great time.  The teacher did a super job and he helped with all the details, like making it actually look like a bowl!!!