One of the great topics of the summer was why are there not more women in woodturning and woodworking. I jumped in head first in June teaching multiple rotations in the Women’s Turning Room at the Atlanta Woodturning Symposium. I met many new woman eager to learn and take the information taught back to their communities. The new group, Women In Turning or W.I.T. has also started a face Book page which is very active. Local groups are forming and getting together for exchange of skill and support in a male dominated craft. I think this group has brought more awareness to the idea that the woodworking fields need to be more inclusive to gender, race and age.
In July I had the honor of teaching my first all woman Woodturning class. It was really wonderful and extremely controversial. Only Peters Valley would entertain the idea of the class (female director). I feel my job is to teach skills and instill enough confidence for these woman to feel comfortable joining in at local clubs and events. I believe I succeeded. Here are some pictures:
