Mid Atlantic Woodturners Association

04/09/2026

https://youtu.be/Sb3ljvHPutc

Overview of the 2026 Mid Atlantic Woodturning Symposium

04/07/2026

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium is open for Registration. The event will be held at the the Wyndham Resort in Lancaster, PA from Friday, September 25 through Sunday September 27. We have another all-star lineup of demonstrators this year including:

Derek Weidman USA
Colwin Way England
Heather Marusiak USA
Tomislav Tomasic Croatia
Pat Carroll Ireland
Mike Sorge USA

The event will include all of the activities you have come to expect and enjoy including:

Instant Gallery
Vendor Area
Raffle
Hands On Area
Silent Auction
Peoples Choice Awards

Information including Registration details, hotel booking etc. can be found at mawts.com. More details will be forthcoming, so stand by for more information. It's not too early to sign up!

Come to the Mid Atlantic Woodturning Symposium September 25-27, 2026! We are pleased to offer an all-star lineup of demonstrators Derek Weidman – USA Colwin Way – England Heather Marusiak – USA Tomislav Tomasic – Croatia Pat Carroll – Ireland Mike Sorge – USA SlideSlideSlide Rick Bake....

11/16/2025

A Look Back at the 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium

The Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium was held in Lancaster, PA from Friday, September 19 to Sunday, September 21. It was our eighth event, and by all accounts the most successful. The approximately 200 participants were treated to demonstrations by an international lineup of professionals including:

• Helen Bailey​​ England

• Steve Cook​​ USA

• Greg Gallegos​​ USA

• Eiko Tanaka​​ Japan

• Jakub Weisflog​ Germany

• Hans Weisflog​​ Germany

• Jim Williams​​ Canada

Participants went home with new ideas and new skills to practice. If you were among them, we hope you have had success trying them out.

The event also included the popular Hands-On skills area, our favorite vendors offering amazing tools, supplies, wood, and various kits.
The very popular Raffle was filled with a multitude of tools, supplies, kits, certificates for training sessions, and opportunities to spend a day in your shop with an artist of your choosing. We are very grateful to our generous donors who made these items available.

The Silent Auction, another staple of the Symposium, was also a big hit. Attendees went home with a variety of items including tools, supplies, and some unique items produced by our demonstrators during their rotations.
We’d also like to recognize the winners of the People Choice Awards, as voted on by the attendees. They include:

• Best Segmented​ Gary Mayhew

• Best Hollow Form​ Larry Zarra

• Best Sculpture ​​Kip Lockhart

• Best Bowl​​ Danielle Barbour

• Best Decorated​ Mitch Friedman

• Best Pen​​ Anthony Chiarello

• Best Novice Piece​ Naomi Machelle

And a special shout out to our Best in Show winner Doug Reesor as chosen by professional appraiser Suzanne Perault. His creation featuring multiple nested hemispheres of various wood species was amazing!


All in all, it was wonderful weekend and we appreciate our attendees and especially all who made it happen. The Symposium is a massive effort involving planning all year to create a special event.

Please keep in mind that we will be moving to a new venue for 2026. The Wyndham in Lancaster will be the site of next years event, and we hope to make the transition smooth and easy. While the Marriott was a wonderful facility for us, rising costs have caused us to seek out an alternative option, and we will pass along any cost savings to our participants. Be watching for new information starting after the first of the year, but please put September 25-27, 2026 in your calendar now as a ‘save the dates’ reminder. In the meantime, please stay in touch through of website www.mawts.com.

Regards,

Rick Baker, President MAWTS

09/16/2025

Barry Gross Will Be Demonstrating at MAWTS September 19-21.

We are pleased to announce that Barry Gross will be joining us again this year at the September 19 -21, 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA.

Barry is well-known for his high-quality pen and other spindle turning kits and supplies offered through his company, BG Artforms. Barry is a long-time supporter of the Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium, and we are pleased to announce that he will be offering demos in our Hands On Room.

To register for the Symposium, please visit www.mawts.com. There you will find signup details, discounted hotel room information, the schedule for all weekend activities, and more.

Looking forward to seeing you In Lancaster this weekend!

09/15/2025

Eiko Tanaka Will Be Demonstrating Her Lacquerware Technique at MAWTS September 19-21

With all of the wonderful international turners we have presented since our first Symposium in 2016, Eiko Tanaka will be our first to join us from Japan at the September 19 -21, 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA.

A truly talented artist, Eiko is known for her beautiful lacquerware pieces like these pictured.

The skills to be learned from Eiko in this area are well worth the prices of registration alone. As can be seen from the above examples, her lacquering techniques are second to none. This presents an opportunity to gain skills not available from any other turner.

As the production of Japanese lacquer was industrialized in modern period, the limited ancestry had gradually started revealing the woodturning technique to outsiders, however, it is most recently that women, as woodturners, participate in the field of woodturning.

The manufacturing process of lacquerware is divided into woodturning and painting, and these processes are generally done by different craftworkers. Eiko does both of the processes on her own as an artist, so lacquerware, which she makes, creates a unique atmosphere.

Her demos will be unique in that she will be turning on a lathe specially built for her by several members of the MAWTS board. We are also grateful to the George Nakashima Furniture Company for providing an interpreter who will accompany her throughout the weekend.

Eiko’s demos will include Japanese Woodturning: Demonstration and History, and Japanese Urushi Lacquer: History and Wiping Techniques.

To register for the Symposium, please visit www.mawts.com. There you will find signup details, discounted hotel room information, the schedule for all weekend activities, and more.

Looking forward to seeing you In Lancaster next week!

09/14/2025

Jim Williams Will Be Demonstrating Turning Cowboy Hats at MAWTS September 19-21.

We are pleased to announce that Jim Williams will be joining us from Georgia this year at the September 19 -21, 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA.

Among the demos Jim will be offering are Cowboy hat planning, designing, roughout, finishing and fit. He’ll also be demoing a mini cowboy hat.

Jim states: “I have always had a passion for woodworking, but I established my career as a licensed carpenter with an industry focus on custom home construction. In 2017 I began setting up a workshop dedicated to the craft of woodturning. Until retirement in 2019, I gathered tools and followed wood turners and mentors via social media. I attended my first hands on retreat in 2019 in Texas and then in 2020 I spent time with woodturning artist, Chris Ramsey (Kentucky). In 2022, I travelled to Johannes Michelson’s Studio (Vermont) for private teachings to hone my woodturning skills. As I am self-taught, this instructional experience was invaluable. I like searching for that next piece of wood and the challenge of taking a rough block of wood, examining the shape, grain and figure, and then turning it into a one of a kind piece of art. The use of pyrography, piercing, carving, paints and dyes make each piece unique. I love what I do and I hope that my work captures your imagination and inspires you.”

To register for the Symposium, please visit www.mawts.com. There you will find signup details, discounted hotel room information, the schedule for all weekend activities, and more.

Looking forward to seeing you In Lancaster next weekend!

09/13/2025

The Vendor Room is always a favorite at MAWTS. The following vendors will be joining us on Sept 19-21. Tickets still available at www.MAWTS.com

09/12/2025

Steve Cook Will Be Demonstrating Some Fun to Make Items at MAWTS September 19-21

We are pleased to announce that Steve Cook will be joining us from Georgia this year at the September 19 -21, 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA.

Among the demos Steve will be offering are his Platters, Offset Candle Holder, and Bangles with Style and Color.


Steve Cook is the resident woodturner at Four Arches Farm in Pembroke, GA. He enjoys sharing his passionate love of woodworking and woodturning at venues all across the US.
He teaches several times a year at John C. Campbell Folk School in Murphy, NC and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN.

Presently he is an adjunct professor at Savannah Technical College's Historic Preservation Department.

To register for the Symposium, please visit www.mawts.com. There you will find signup details, discounted hotel room information, the schedule for all weekend activities, and more.
Looking forward to seeing you In Lancaster next week!

09/11/2025

Greg Gallegos Will Be Demonstrating at the Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in September

We are pleased to note that Greg Gallegos will be among the seven featured artists who will be demonstrating at the Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA September 19-21, 2025.

Greg has been a professional woodturner for over 25 years, and is known for his stunning use of color and texture in his work. He will be sharing some of his techniques at the Symposium. For a brief video intro to Greg, please view the clip below.

To see Greg and the six other talented presenters who will be joining us, please go to www.mawts.com where you will be able to register for the Symposium, and book your discounted rate room at the Lancaster Marriott.

Looking forward to seeing you later this month!

09/10/2025

Among the many wonderful items that will be offered in the raffle this year is the opportunity to spend a day in the shop with one of these artists.

09/08/2025

Hans Weissflog Will Be Demonstrating at MAWTS September 19-21.

We are pleased to announce that Hans Weissflog will be joining us again from Germany again this year at the September 19 -21, 2025 Mid Atlantic Woodturners Symposium in Lancaster, PA. Hans was with us several years ago and proved to be a true crowd-pleaser.
Hans is known for his "Klein und Fein" (German for "small and fine") beautiful pieces. They have been exhibited and sold in major galleries around the world, and are fascinating in the detail they include.

Among the demos Hans will be offering are his Saturn Box, Box with Pierced Lid, and Open Fruit Box. These delicate and intricate pieces are bound to inspire you.

To register for the Symposium, please visit www.mawts.com. There you will find signup details, discounted hotel room information, the schedule for all weekend activities, and more.
Looking forward to seeing you In Lancaster later this month!