Dennis and Marion attended high school together in King City, Missouri. They kept in touch during their busy adult lives, so Dennis knew about Marion’s hobby of building detailed models of ships, and Marion was aware of the work Dennis did with the wood lathe. Marion called a few year back to ask Dennis if […]
‘Twistwork’ is the way that traditional woodturners refer to spiral work – primarily a kind of carving – on spindles and bannisters. This embellishment was considered the most skilled work in any turning shop, according to the late Alan Batty. The reason being it was the last process before the end of the turning and […]
Dennis has returned to making some functional bowls from highly figured ambrosia. The markings in this softer maple are from insect-borne disease in the tree. Bowls are about 7-8″ diameter. These have a simple mineral oil finish which can be renewed as the bowl develops a patina of use, creating a long and useful afterlife […]
In 2020, we missed all of our Holiday craft shows. For the first time, there was enough inventory of the trees to send them to friends and family for Christmas. That means a new round of collected scrub oak branches from our friend, Tony Bevis, who has been doing fire mitigation in his yard. Dennis […]
Last year’s trees from scrub oak sold out, so an entire new forest is now emerging from the lathe. Some of the bark this year still has lichens, which are common on our low-growing scrub oak trees. Dennis will have holiday products at the St. Peter’s School fair on November 9th, and at the Cheyenne […]
This vessel is lighter than a distant planet, thanks to its very thin-walled body cut from Colorado Aspen. And, tropical tulipwood (one of the rosewood family) picks up the colors caused by stress in the aspen tree. As the woods age together, they will continue to darken somewhat, and some of these pink tones […]
In the fall of 2018, Dennis updated his traditional turned trees by moving away from our local supply of aspen. He began turning branch wood from scrub oak trimmings. This variety of Gambel Oak grows primarily in the Pikes Peak region, and features wonderfully complex heartwood and a rough-textured bark. The new trees have sold […]
Dennis has joined the group of Pikes Peak area artists at the Boulder Street Gallery on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs. He will have different products every month, to coincide with the Gallery’s participation in First Friday events. In January, Dennis will show a variety of bowls with his stone inlay. New for […]
…and wants us to be happy.’ – Benjamin Frankin Dennis turned these three elegant tap handles at the request of some friends who make their own beer. All three feature captive rings at the base. Two are from walnut, and the twisted one is sycamore. For twistwork afficionados, this is a 4-start, graduated, and slightly […]