Judges

Emiliano is known for his passion for the Hawaiian calabash and its 500 plus year history and his boxes with hand chased threads. He is one of the pioneers of interactive remote demonstrations and emphasizes form and design: "If the Hawaiians made timeless works of art with stone adzes, we should be able to achieve perfection with a lathe and modern steels.”

Matthew is dedicated to promote and support others.  He began promoting the Utah Woodturning Symposium, leading on to building an instagram page which now has over 127,000 followers, a podcast, and eventually the largest online woodturning symposium in the world.  Woodturning is still his main source of relaxation and creativity. 

Kelly Dunn is an award winning wood lathe artist, specialising in woods from the Big Island and creates bowls, hollow vessels, and art forms full time for art galleries and collectors. He says of himself “I have an intense curiosity as to the workings of the universe and the mechanical and spiritual wherewithal that makes it function. I always hope to grow in my art as the evolution of my talent allows me.”

Melissa is a woodworker/sculptor in Asheville, NC, USA.  She has a BA in sculpture and is a graduate of the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program in furniture. Her work has featured in several magazines, is in collections across the US and local galleries. She works out of Grovewood Village, teaches nationally and internationally.

Lou Fuller is Senior Tutor at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson. She has a degree in Furniture Design and Craftsmanship. Lou developed a furniture making programme for at-risk youth through the YMCA. Lou has worked with Canadian designer and maker, Michael Fortune, as teaching assistant and creating furniture for the Canadian Embassies.

Phil is best known for his coloured vessels, hollow forms and urns with their clear beautiful shapes and flowing lines.  He colours wood to enhance hidden figure in white woods, and make the figure "pop" so that the beautiful "hidden" figure can be seen from a distance rather than just close up. He has won awards in competitions and is regularly invited to teach and demonstrate his techniques around the world.

Rolly’s work has been inspired by the land forms and coastal areas of New Zealand and he works mainly in native timbers that he finds washed up on beaches or along river beds.  Although, most of his large commissioned sculptures have been done in Pinus radiata. He is also well known for designing excellent hollowing tools. Rolly demonstrates woodturning and woodworking tools internationally and his work is in collections all over the world.

Graeme is best known for his sculptural turnings/carvings reflecting his life and environments. His work has been exhibited widely around the world.  He is very active in the woodturning world and commits his time to many creative endeavours.  He was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand ‘CollaboratioNZ’ Conferences in 1998. Graeme has demonstrated and taught at woodworking events throughout the world.