2026 Demonstrators
My turning journey began in 1986 when I started a 5 year production turning apprenticeship. I was trained in all aspects of turning in many different materials and enjoyed my time learning so much, it became an addiction! I now count myself very lucky to be able to travel the world doing what I love, demonstrating and teaching my skills to others, embarking on their own turning journey. I still enjoy creating, making and writing about turning from my own workshop in the Southwest of England, located on the beautiful Jurassic coast.
I have been working with wood since age 15. Wood is my favourite material to work with and each piece I make has its own special story and shows off the beauty of the natural material.
I focus on making custom bowls, plates, boxes and many other turned objects by hand. Always with great care and attention to detail. My creations show my love for woodworking through their quality and detailed designs.
Derek lives in rural Pennsylvania. Initially studying philosophy in college, but a born artist, he choose to follow in the path of his father who was a bird carver. When he began turning, he approached the lathe as a sculptor, primarily exploring and pushing the boundaries of multi-axis turning with a mixture of german ring turning added in. His main effort was trying to create a visually descriptive and versatile language born out of the arcing and circular cuts of a lathe. At the heart of his work he treats the lathe almost as an unusual camera, with every subject passing through its lens adding to a visually novel circular zoo of wildlife.
In the fall of 2009, following a career in national sales and marketing, Mike took a weekend intro class in woodturning, absolutely loved it! Mike set up a lathe studio at his home, joined Central Ohio Woodturners (COW), and turned over 1000 bowls his first year while experimenting with "winged" shapes and natural edge forms. Upon seeing a number of Mike's large "winged" forms COW asked Mike to demonstrate his methods, after which two experienced turners humorously shared, "Mike, we're concerned for you, we think you're turning these large crazy shapes because you don't know what you're not supposed to be turning." As Napoleon Hill said, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Or more humorously, "I have great faith in fools, self-confidence my friends call it." ~ Edgar Alan Poe.
Heather Marusiak sits at her work bench holding a wooden mask that resembles a crow skull
Inspired by the ancient landscape, particularly by the fossils found in her home in the Kansas Flint Hills, Heather’s intensely carved, textured, and colored woodturned work reflects her curiosity and reverence for the living, breathing world. Heather holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in art education and has experience teaching art at all levels across several states and abroad, with the transformative experience of motherhood inspiring her to make art professionally. She believes aesthetic experience is normal and necessary to the human condition and in her practice she searches for sense of self and sense of place, drawing on interests in deep ecology and mythology, combining familiar forms, textures, and colors to bridge the gap between the worldly and other-worldly.
Working as a builder/carpenter, woodturning was a craft I knew very little about before 2001. I had done some research and found a woodturner in my nearest town. Lucky for me, this woodturner was one of the finest turners in Ireland. Willie Stedmond, one of the founding members of the Irish Woodturners Guild, was giving night classes to which I attended a few. It is always my first advice to anyone interested in woodturning, get some lessons and join a club. I also did the latter and met some great people who helped and encouraged me along the way.
My turning has progressed and moved through different areas of this wonderful craft as the years went on. I had many years and long periods of no woodturning time whatsoever due to work and other commitments, but the draw was always there. The need to make shavings! I am very proud of the recognition I have received from my peers and other artists over the years for my work, demonstrating and winning pieces. I am also very honoured to have my work in collections across the world. When Mark Baker, GMC Woodturning magazine approached me to write for him, I was completely taken aback. I straight away said no to Mark, but Mark persevered and said he would help me. So, with huge thanks to Mark I have many articles gone to print.
As of late, with the dawning of virtual woodturning, I also have entered into the world of delivering IRDs, (Interactive Remote Demonstrations), in high definition. Working as a team, myself, my daughter Chloe and Helen Bailey, are able to offer an excellent well prepared service to clubs and individuals. We also run a meeting called “Meet the Woodturner”, where we interview artists from all over the world and get a fascinating insight into their woodturning lives and careers. Our audience is from all over the world and attendees get to ask the guests questions through a chat box on the virtual platform we use. These fantastic meetings have made the world a small place for the woodturning family to come together for evenings of great entertainment.
