Bring the dream instructor to you

[hockenbery]

Host a dream workshop in your town.

The economics are quite simple.
Going to a school like Arrowmont (which I highly reccommend) may cost $1000 to $2000 depending on travel, room and board and tuition. Tuition is usually the smallest of these fees.

Most turning clubs have the resources within their memberships to pull off a multiday workshop.

I'll add a few notes here: If you get serious about hosting a workshop feel free to contact me for more information.

Last January Sherry and I hosted Cindy Drozda in a 3 day workshop in our Studio. It work out so well that we decided to Host Jimmy Clewes for a 4 day workshop the end of this month.

We undertook this for a variety of reasons: We learned so much in the multi day workshops that we wanted to bring this experience to our new freinds in central Florida. Another big benifit is being able to spend time with freinds like Cindy and Jimmy.

It can take almost a 6-12 months to set up a class.

To run a class you will need
Students, Instructor, Class room, lathes, bandsaw, grinders, wood.

Expenses: Instructor will recieve their daily fee for each class day + travel expenses and room & Board. Negotiate a travel expense maximum you will need this for determining tuition.
Materials: We usually charge a separate materials fee based on the cost of the wood and a new bandsaw blade. Lot of cutting in a class.

Students: We set tuition based on the (instructor fee + travel costs + incidentals) divided by the number of students. The different instructors will each have a prefered number of students usually 4-5 . I get each student to pay a non-refundable deposite 2 months before the class. Wood turners are really honest but getting the deposite makes them check their calendar. I have had students drop out at deposite time because they discover their son is getting married that week or they are on a cruise.

Classroom and equipment: We have Large Shop with a Oneway 2436, General 260, 20" woodfast and we borrow club lathes to make a class set. Students volunteer to bring their lathe.
For masters classes it is well worth the effort to get big machines. Cindy's class could have been taught on the mini's but you get so much vibration it is difficult for students to do the delicate work. The big thing with finding a classroom is power to operate 4-5 lathes on 220. + a bandsaw.
The good instructor want a classroom set up and ready to go. They don't want to waste time fixing machines and truing tool rests.

Choose a workshop that matches the need of the potential students.
A worskhop on bowls and hollow forms will be easier to fill than one on piercing. Think skills - a Michelson worskhop is about advanced gouge techique, wood movement, and learning to turn thin - a hat is just the project.

We've meet most potential instructors at symposiums or art shows. When I've asked if they would be interested in teaching, Only 1 has ever said no.

It can be a lot of work setting up a class, particularly cutting the wood for all the bowls that you will never turn. But it is fun work. Its the sort of investment of time and energy that pays dividends you never expect.

Happy Turning,
Al

 

[Hugh]

Al,
Nicely done!

I agree that getting instructors to visit is good for a club and it's members. More exposure as some of these turners would never go to Arrowmont or ?. If a club can catch an instructor making a swing through it can be cheaper than having one just come to one club for a demo/workshop.

But I think everyone should save up for a trip to Arrowmont or Anderson Ranch or ? It is just a bunch of fun being around a bunch of other people who are interested in their craft/art.

I am going to save your thread for future use. Good job!

Hugh

 

[DeanGThomas]

Variation on the theme

The Kansas City Woodturners is a chapter that is able to do similar stuff. I don't know that they've done multi-day workshops, but what they've been able to do is to bring in some "name turners" over the years for one-day hands-on sessions with the addition of a day-long demo/lecture setting on the same trip.

The guest turner comes in, usually on Friday, and does the lecture/demo on Saturday for interested/available club members plus other turners in our area. We have 3 chapters in the metro area, another 1 hour away, plus 3 or four more within about 3 hours. Small $$ charge, lots more people educated. In the 15 months I've been there, I've seen over 100 folks at such a demo. Demo time is about 6 hours of teaching/talking, plus a lunch break.

Then, on Sunday, there's a hands-on session in our clubhouse (a GODSEND, but a different thread) for 8-10 folks who pay a bigger fee and make their PAID reservations early. Those sessions fill up quickly, often creating something of a waiting list. John Jordan was our last guest turner. He agreed to do two separate hands-on sessions, staying over for both Sunday and Monday hands-on sessions to separate audiences.

This has worked out really well for lots of the members. Many get a significant exposure to great guest turners for a minimal cost, and a few get a significant and much more personalized exposure for several times the cost of the "lecture" version, but still a whole lot less than it would cost to travel and stay outside the area.

While not as great as a 3-5 day experience would be, still pretty darned good for those limited on vacation time and strapped for "available funds".

 

[hockenbery]

Dean,

That sounds like a great demonstration program.

People learn a lot watching demonstrations.

From what i have observed, the average turner learns a lot more in a one day hands on than they do watching a dyt long demo.

Further they learn 10 times more in 5 day hands-on workshop as compare to a 1 day workshop.

Consider this. When planning the next demonstrator. Try putting together a 3 day workshop. If the club agrees to pay the travel the workshop can run really inexpensively.

Happy Turning,
Al

 

[Bob Edwards]

Demonstraters

This is a great thread with lots of valuable info. The Alamo Woodturners have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. May I suggest you could be overlooking another valuable opportunity. There are often one or more members in a club that are very good turners and do a respectable demonstration. We don’t all have John Jorden or Bob Rosand in our clubs but I’m sure you have a “go to†turner in your club that demonstrates. I have done demos in several clubs for no more than expenses and sometimes less. I happen to be retired so I can do club meetings out of town on weeknights, but I have also done Saturday sessions.
Where possible a member of the club I visit will reciprocate. In fact a member of the Austin TX club dose our kick off demo every January. In addition to area clubs, when the wife and I travel I will often try to attend club meetings on my route. I have sometime been able to coordinate a demo while in the area. I am not a pro but I have been turning for 30 years and if nothing else I have made a lot of valuable mistakes that I am happy to share.
A great resource is the POP directory on the AAW web site. Under Resources, Professional Directories, click on “ POP page†Select Demonstrator Directory and follow the instruction. You can even inter a ZIP Code and radius in miles and list all those willing to demonstrate. It is always an education to meet a turner with a different slant on doing something you’ve been doing for years

Bob Edwards
www.alamoturners.com/bedwards

 

[PapaDoc]

The program chair for Georgia Assoc. of Woodturners, Jim Sibley, has done an excellent job in providing us with top demonstrators. The format has varied somewhat but we try to combine a meeting demo, followed by several hands on days that would accomodate 4-6 turners. Then, we would offer a day long demo that was open to all for a minimal charge. This has worked well for us here in Atlanta.