ROBERTO FERRER
My natural curiosity of knowing how things are built and how mechanisms work led me to explore different jobs such as construction, auto mechanics, body shop among other things. In my mid twenties I started carving sculptural bowls and vessels using a limited number of handheld power tools. Although the results were somewhere satisfactory, it was hard on my body and time consuming as well. And this is what eventually led me to pursue woodturning as a way of removing wood in a more efficient manner and to lay the base for the sculptural work I currently create.
In July 2019 I received a Professional Outreach Program Excellence Award at the Symposium organized by AAW. My work was featured in the AAW journal in August 2019 as well as the October issue of the same year. In 2020 I was among the invited artists for the Professional Outreach Program Exhibition, where I presented a sculpture with my own interpretation of Quetzalcoatl.
In recent years I have been invited to demonstrate at local woodturning clubs and to teach in woodworking schools. I also provide online demonstrations worldwide. Since 2018 I have taken part in multiple fine art shows where I have received several awards including outstanding achievement, best of category as well as best of the show. My work now lives in major private collections across the US and Europe
Demonstration Topics
Embellishing wall sculptures and conventional turnings.
Are you tired of Plain wood, or unattractive grain? Are you looking for different ways to make your work more appealing, or to stand out? In this demonstration I will show and explain how fast and easy it can be to give both sculptural work and simple turnings a completely different look using only a handful of tools. These pieces can later be torched or colored to achieve striking effects. I will also talk about wood selection, grain orientation, and sharpening, and different kind of finishes.
Wall sculptures made easy.
During this demonstration I will share with the attendees the technique I have developed to create unique shapes and patterns in a safe and easy manner. Despite this looking like a complicated process, it is quite simple, specially for anyone with basic woodturning skills. Using only the lathe, a grinder, conventional turning tools, and a jig I have designed for this specific process. I will guide you through the steps I follow to complete a wall sculpture from start to finish.
Back to basics, From a fresh log to a finished bowl
With a little bit of practice and a few sharp tools anybody can successfully turn a bowl. During this demonstration I will share my approach to bowl turning, starting from selecting the blank, all the way to applying the finish. Although every turner eventually develops its own way of doing things, the basics are the same. Some of the key points will be: harvesting wood, processing the blanks, roughing out the shape, drying out the rough out, remounting on the lathe, sanding and finishing.
