D a v i d E l l s w o r t h :
T e a c h i n g t o L e a r n
S T O R Y B Y
Left:
Stratum Sphere, 2004
spalted sugar maple
13 in. dia.
Below:
Line Ascending, 2011
pecan, paint
5.25 x1x1.3 ft.
Left: A t his small-group
workshops, Ellsworth’s
students learn both the
lathe and its place in
contemporary craft.
J e s s i c a S h a y k e t t
H E IS O N E O F T H E M O S T E M U -
lated w o o d tu rn ers in A m erica .
B u t D a v id E llsw o rth n ever
feels th reaten ed b y co p yca ts.
“I f a stu d en t cop ies the w o r k o f
th e m aster to learn th e skills o f
on e’s cra ft, he or she w ill e v e n -
tu ally g r o w tired o f th e m aster’s
w o r k and realize his or h er o w n
v o ic e - th e v o ic e w e all search
fo r in our w o r k ,” he says.
H a v in g spen t m ore than 30
years in the classroom , E llsw orth,
ele cte d to the A C C C o lle g e o f
F e llo w s in 2001, k n o w s a th in g
or tw o about gu id in g students
through that process. A t his hom e
in Pennsylvania, E llsw orth hosts
th ree-d ay sm all-group w o r k -
shops, w h e re stud ents learn not
o n ly h o w to turn w o o d , bu t also
the h isto ry o f the con tem p orary
w ood tu rn in g m ovem en t through
his co llectio n o f artists’ w o rk s
d atin g b a ck to th e 1940s.
H is m antra: “T h e k e y to
b ein g a go o d teach er is b e in g a
go o d stu d e n t.” E llsw o rth takes
pains to learn ab ou t each stu -
d en t on an in d ividual le v e l, so
he can d raw from their e x p e ri-
ences and d eve lo p a m ore p e r-
so n alized curriculum .
E llsw o rth holds a m aster’s
d egree in sculptu re, b u t he
d eve lo p e d a passion fo r the
lathe in ju n io r h igh w o o d sh o p .
A chance en cou n ter w ith tea ch -
er and ceram ist P aul Sold n er
led to his first jo b d eve lo p in g
a w o o d w o r k in g program at
A n d e rso n R an ch A r ts C e n te r
in C o lo ra d o in 1974.
“ I n eve r th o u gh t o f [the cra ft-
ed arts] as a career until I ran
in to P au l and g o t in v o lv e d in
the A n d e rso n R an ch , w ith the
w h o le p h ilo so p h y o f cra ft as an
art form - th at really chan ged
m e,” says E llsw o rth , to d a y
re n o w n e d for his th in -w alled
h o llo w vessels.
E v e n tu a lly E llsw o rth m o ve d
on to b e co m e an in stru cto r at
A rr o w m o n t S ch o o l o f A rts and
C ra fts in T e n n e ss e e , w h e re h e ’s
tau gh t sin ce 1983. In 1986 he
co -fo u n d ed th e A m erica n A s s o -
ciation o f W o o d tu rn e rs, and
to this d ay he en cou rages the
w o r k o f begin n in g and p ro -
fessional w o o d tu rn ers alike
th rou gh sem inars, pro gram -
m in g, and con trib ution s to the
A A W jou rn al,
A m e r ic a n W o o d -
t u r n e r .
H e re cen tly published
E lls w o r t h o n W o o d t u r n in g
,
a com p reh en sive gu id e to his
ph ilo soph ies and tech niques.
W h e n h e’s n o t em b olden in g
oth ers, E llsw o rth has been
e xp erim en tin g la te ly w ith a
n e w series o f h igh ly co n stru ct-
ed, m in im ally turn ed p ieces
created from w o o d fou n d on
his p ro p erty , in ad d ition to c o n -
tin u in g to m ake and m arket
tools th at h elp oth er w o o d tu rn -
ers e x ce l in their w o rk .
F o r m akers startin g ou t
in a n y m edium , E llsw o rth has
ad vice: D o n ’t b e afraid to share
m eth od s w ith oth ers in yo u r
o w n field and b e y o n d to gain
b o th con fid en ce and p ersp ec-
tiv e .“ G e t ou t o f yo u r o w n
b a ck ya rd , exp o se yo u rself,
and b e co m e vu ln era b le,”
he says.
“ It’s the o n ly w a y
to m aintain a balan ced
e g o , w h ic h y o u m ust
h ave in order to sur-
v iv e as an artist.”
> 9
* d f l
ellsw orthstudios.com
J e s s ic a S h a y k e t t i s th e
A m e r ic a n C r a f t
C o u n c il lib r a r ia n .
S t i l l M
o r e t o D
i s c o v e r
v i s i t J e s s i c a ’s m a s t e r c l a s s
colum n online ( b it .lv / A C C
M aster'), w h ere yo u ’ll find addi-
tion al im ages o f E lls w o rth ’s
w o r k and ph o to graph s o f him
at the 1985 A r r o w m o n t sym p o -
sium th a t sparked th e id ea for
the A m erica n A sso c ia tio n o f
W o o d tu rn e rs. O r read his C o l-
lege o f F e llo w s profile in
A m e r i -
c a n C r a f t
( A p r ./ M a y 2001), and
w a tc h a v id e o ch at w ith him
from this p ast A p ril.
T h e A m erica n C ra ft C o u n cil
library is one o f th e largest c o l-
lection s o f cra ft, art, and design
publication s d o cu m en tin g the
studio craft m o ve m en t from
th e 1940s to th e p resen t day. Its
n e w ly launched - and still g r o w -
in g - D igita l C ollectio n s data-
base brings thousands o f these
resources to the w e b , in clud in g
h istoric exh ib itio n catalogs and
g r o o v y P o rtab le M u seu m slides
from th e 1960s, ’70s, and ’ 80s.
T h e library is free and open
to the p u b lic, 10 a.m . - 5 p.m .,
M o n d a y - F r id a y . V is it us in
M in n eapolis or stop b y online:
acc.koh alib rary.com .
080 american craft dec/jani2
A scen d in g
photo: John Kelsey /
Sphere
photo: David Ellsworth / Teaching photo: Courtesy of the artist
