Elizabeth Weber @ FLWT
Finger Lakes Woodturners is excited to welcome Elizabeth Weber to Rochester, New York, on April 12–14, 2025.
Her visit will feature a full-day demonstration on Saturday, April 12, followed by two one-day workshops on Sunday, April 13, and Monday, April 14.
Elizabeth has always been drawn to wooden objects, incorporating vibrancy and movement into her creations. She uses color and shape to bring life to her work, which includes bowls, boxes, and spoons.
A civil engineer by trade, she enjoys crafting unique and timeless pieces. The problem-solving aspect of woodworking is one of her favorite challenges.
Elizabeth is the founder of Icosa Woodworks—a name inspired by the icosahedron, a 20-sided polyhedron representing water in Plato’s philosophy. The name reflects her passion for math and water, as well as her background in water resources.
Saturday, April12, 2025
All-Day Demonstration
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
St. Michaels Woodshop
This demonstration will guide you through the entire process of creating an endgrain box, starting with fresh green wood and transforming it into a finely crafted piece ready for embellishment.
You'll learn how to rough-turn endgrain box blanks, the best practices for drying them properly, and the techniques for refining them into finished boxes with optimal thickness, lid fit, and grain orientation.
Additionally, we'll touch on essential layout strategies, effective work-holding methods, and the various tools that can be used to carve and add unique details to your piece. Whether you're new to box turning or looking to refine your skills, this session will provide valuable insights and techniques to elevate your woodworking.
| Workshops April 13&14 Workshops held at St. Michael's Woodshop |
Pick one or both: Workshops
Turning and Carving Endgrain Boxes
Sunday April 13th 2025
9am – 4pm
$125
Bring your own lunch
Building on the techniques demonstrated on Saturday, this hands-on workshop will take you through the full process of creating an endgrain box. You’ll start by rough-turning your own box blanks in dry wood, learning best practices for drying if you had started with wet wood, and then refining them into finished pieces with proper thickness, lid fit, and grain orientation.
As you work through each step, you’ll receive personalized guidance on layout, work-holding techniques, and tool selection for carving and embellishment. By the end of the session, you'll have a turned box ready for your own decorative touches and a solid foundation for incorporating these skills into your own work.
Perfect for those looking to put Saturday’s lessons into practice, this workshop offers the opportunity to develop hands-on experience and gain confidence in both turning and carving techniques.
Everything you need will be provided. Of course, you may choose to bring your own tools, so here is the list:
| - Spindle Roughing Gouge - Skew - Parting Tool - 1/2” Fingernail Spindle Gouge - Round nose scraper (small to medium size) |
- square corner scraper for sizing internal mortise - Dividers - Faceshield - Rotary Carver with preferred burrs |
From Log to Legacy: A Hands-On Woodturning & Texturing Workshop
Monday April 14th 2025
8am – 3pm
$125
Bring your own lunch. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and turn raw wood into a stunning, one-of-a-kind creation! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll start with a green bowl blank and transform it into a beautifully crafted bowl while learning essential woodturning techniques. We’ll cover how to anticipate and enhance natural wood movement, properly mount your blank for the best visual effect, and shape a striking undercut rim.
But we won’t stop there—this workshop goes beyond turning! You’ll dive into texturing and carving techniques to add depth and personality to your piece. Explore different work-holding methods, get hands-on with power and hand tools, and experiment with surface textures to bring out the wood’s natural beauty. We’ll also explore ways to add color using milk paint, acrylics, and various finishing techniques to achieve your desired look.
Whether you're new to woodturning or looking to expand your artistic approach, this interactive session will give you the skills and confidence to create truly unique, textured, and finished pieces. Come ready to turn, carve, and create!
Everything you need will be provided. After registration we will send a list of optional items you may choose to bring, including your own pre-turned pieces for the workshop.
FLWT will provide all wood and tools for the workshop. Of course, you may choose to bring your own wood or tools, so here is the list:
| - 3/8” or 1/2” bowl gouge - 1/4” spindle gouge - Round nose scraper (small to medium size) |
- Faceshield - Rotary Carver with preferred burrs |
Special Note on Wait Lists: Once a workshop sells out, the only option will be to join a wait list. The wait lists are for each individual event. Thus, if you want to be on a wait list for Sunday and Monday, you need to join BOTH wait lists.
About the St. Michael's Facility
Finger Lakes Woodturners runs workshops at St. Michaels Woodshop, 691 St. Paul St., Rochester, NY, a not-for-profit organization that offers life skills to urban youth through the art of woodworking. The skills and character traits the students develop at St. Michael’s give them a sense of self-worth and helps them establish habits essential to productive living. Several of our members volunteer at St. Michael's to teach woodturning skills to the students.
We are thrilled to have a location to set up our ten full-size lathes, along with an assortment of chucks and turning tools, for workshops, and member-only events. The combination of the St. Michael's space and the FLWT lathes and equipment lets us present a world-class facility for woodturning training.