Display cases to feature Tuckessee Woodturners’ Club works May 1-June 7

Release Date: 4/23/2008. Expired: 6/7/2008

If you come to The Renaissance Center on the right night during the semester and walk downstairs, you might just smell sawdust. If this is the case, it’s usually because the Tuckessee Woodturners are presenting their weekly class.

Woodturning has become so popular through the group’s classes and workshops at The Renaissance Center that some of the former participants have now formed the Dickson County Woodturners Club.

Works by the Tuckessee Woodturners will be exhibited May 1-June 7 in the North Wing Display Cases at the center. An opening reception will be 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2.

“The tradition of hand-turned wooden forms is deep and historical, particularly here in Tennessee,” said Armon Means, curator for The Renaissance Center. “Each member of the Tuckessee Woodturners is a trained practitioner of this piece of historic tradition. Working by hand and with machine assistance, often that of a wood lathe, they create unique, one-of-a-kind functional and artistic objects. A small selection of this work will be on display here at the center for everyone to enjoy.”

While there is a tradition and specific process related to the art of woodturning, one of the things that makes the Tuckessee Woodturners so unique is their relationship to one another and their community. Many are longtime members, having been with the group for years, making it part of their individual family history.

As a group the woodturners are highly active around Middle Tennessee. They often organize and direct workshops and participate in fairs, holiday festivals and other community events. They make handcrafted toys for children and objects for both function and enjoyment.

“It is rare that a group of individual craftsmen who gather for something so unique and individualistic in its creation play such a large role in their communities,” said Means. “With members from across multiple counties here in Middle Tennessee the Tuckessee Woodturners are an addition to the area and weekly routine of The Renaissance Center that we are proud to work with on this display of their handcrafted works.”

For more information on the exhibit of works by members of the Tuckessee Woodturners May 1-June 7, contact Means at (615) 740-5545 or armon.means@rcenter.org.

Galleries at The Renaissance Center are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and admission is free.

The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172. For more information, call (615) 740-5600 or visit www.rcenter.org.

Visit the Visual Arts Gallery page for more about the gallery.

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