The Experience
The Wood Turning Center houses changing exhibits, as well as a permanent collection, a complete library of more than 25,000 slides, books, photographs and artist histories, and a gift shop filled with handcrafted wood objects of all sizes and price ranges.
Many of the pieces on display in the galleries and offered for sale in the Museum Store have practical uses, but most also emphasize the craft of woodworking as an art form. As you wander through the galleries, consider how artists working with this material have explored its technical, aesthetic, and ornamental qualities.
The Wood Turning Center houses two galleries of changing exhibits of wood art and lathe-turned objects from local, national and international artists. While the Center’s primary focus is on turned and carved wood objects, the Center encourages artists to experiment with other media using turning techniques and other processes.
A third gallery at the Center houses the Resource Center and a Museum Store. The Resource center houses more than 25,000 slides, books, photographs and artist histories.
History
Visitors to the gallery may be surprised to stumble upon a few metal pieces. That’s because more malleable metals — such as aluminum and pewter — can also be turned on the lathe, and the Center is for all members of the lathe-turning community. Although it’s been around since 1986, the Wood Turning Center has only inhabited this beautiful, lovingly-renovated corner red brick building since 1999.
Reaching out beyond the walls at 5th and Vine, the Center also produces traveling exhibits, such as the recent tour “Connections: International Turning Exchange 1995-2005” which will be shown in venues across the United States and internationally. “Cabinets of Curiosity” is another tour from the Center that began its tour in 2003 and continues through 2006.