TITLE: PODOCARPUS
ARTIST: DAVID GOOSMAN

"My first priority in turning an object is for it to have a gracefully curved shape. The second is to obtain as smooth a surface as possible to bring out the beauty of the wood, but it involves many hours (15-30) of hard labor with 10 stages of abrasives and lots of handwork.

"I enjoy seeing others delight in the beauty within the wood as well as the technical challenge of trying to make more difficult objects than before."

David is a PhD physicist retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and has always liked to make and create things. Living in a new house necessitated many items to be made from wood and later frames for his wife's paintings. He got exposed to art while attending many art exhibits and painting demonstrations before starting woodturning in 1996. He learned woodturning by reading a book and practicing.

The natural bark often lines the top edges of the objects he turns, as well as along the front. In order to obtain the largest piece from a given log, the center of the tree is left within the bowl but it is more challenging.

David won a silver award the first time he entered the Alameda County Fair Fine Arts competition in 1996 and two years later he won two silver awards and several since then.