John C. Campbell Folk School

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I just spent a fun week at John C. Campbell Folk School, taking a hollow form class with Rudy Lopez. It's the first time I've been a student there, and it was a nice change from being an instructor (e.g., just a week of fun turning without any responsibilities). The folk school experience is fantastic - good company, good food, a beautiful campus, hiking trails, music, and more.

I will be teaching two classes next May - one is a long weekend, the other is a week long. Registration is now open. It would be great to see women in my classes. This past week, I was the only woman. When I taught in 2024, I had no women students.

https://folkschool.configio.com/search?st_t=2077&st_ti=2514&range=5%2F1%2F2026%7C6%2F6%2F2026&txt=Wolfe&cid=2527

Here are the hollow forms I made over the course of five days.

So much fun, so little time...

Retirement has been such a fun time to explore art. Aside from a rough first year due to a major shoulder injury and then a terrible kidney infection and surgery, I've enjoyed having the freedom to make art.

Here are some recent projects from 2024 and 2025:

Vessel, using twisted cane and a merletto pattern. I took a glass class with Jon Capps during spring semester at The Ohio State University. The focus was on cane techniques. I learned so many new techniques and had a blast.

This is a 2 ft X 4 ft oil painting I completed this week. I had been working on it since July 2024 - using three-hour open studio time slots at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. It’s based on a photo I made from Schnormeir Gardens in June 2024. There is a five-acre pond full of beautiful koi, and you can feed them from a shaded pavilion at one end of the pond.

This is a small Bill Luce bowl that I worked on for an exhibit/auction honoring his legacy. It was on display in 2024 at the American Association of Woodturners Symposium.

The 2024 solar eclipse passed through Ohio. I always enjoy making photos of these spectacular events. This is my version of Bailey’s Beads, as totality started..

2025. Collaboration between Andi Wolfe and Bob Rotche. Cherry, glass, acrylic paint. 15"H X 8.5"W X 6.5" D. There are 307 flame-worked pieces of glass.

This was a fun collaboration. Andi did the initial turning and shaping and then sent it to Bob to do his magic (detail carving and painting, stand construction). Meanwhile, Andi worked on the glass for about 14 weeks - one or two 3-hr sessions each week. After installing the glass, Andi did some final painting to add iridescent highlights on the back.

This will be in the AAW Auction June 13, 2025.

Sometimes life get interesting

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It's been awhile since I posted updates. The primary reason is that I had a misfortunate mishap where I dislocated and broke my shoulder, and damaged a tendon and my rotator cuff. This took place in mid-April. I had successful repair surgery on May 2nd and have been doing physical therapy to rehabilitate my shoulder.

I had already started my artist residency for the University of Wyoming's Microbestiary project. I'm one of three artists who are working on interpreting microbiology through art. The other two are Tristan Duke and Reza Safavi. We had a visit together in March where we visited scientists and facilities at the University of Wyoming. I was scheduled to do a second trip in May, but had shoulder surgery a few days before the trip was to happen.

I was about half-way through my installation project for the residency when my mishap occurred. As soon as I was released from the sling after my 6-week post-surgery appointment, I got back to the project.

My main project for the residency is an installation of glass blown and sculpted borosilicate protozoans. I included 168 protozoans to fill a 3 ft X 9 ft space (same proportions as a microscope slide). I had fun doing research on protozoa for this project, and I enjoyed making my sculptures. The exhibit opens on August 26th, at the University of Wyoming Art Museum, and will run through the end of the year.

There are 168 protozoans in this installation, which is titled Microcosm

I based the sculptures on real protozoans. There’s more diversity in these eukaryotic unicellular organisms than I had ever imagined.

This was my mock-up installation. The frame for the exhibit will be different, but the arrangement of the sculptures will be what is shown here.

Here’s a link to a video I posted on instagram, which gives a more intimate view of the installation: Microcosm

Exciting news...

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I retired from my academic career on December 31, 2022. I'll still be interacting with the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, but as a professor emeritus.

My time in retirement will be spent mostly on making art, but I will finish out a bunch of research projects that need to be attended to soon. One new development is that I'm now represented by Jacob Stout Gallery (https://www.jacobstoutgallery.com) in Dublin, Ohio. I'm the first wood artist to be part of this new venue, which is located at 24 N. High St in Historic Dublin. The gallery specializes in Sculpture, Jewelry, and Glass. My work fits into the sculpture category.

In addition to the gallery, there is a glass studio in the back area of the lot where classes are taught. Jacob Stout has some big ideas for his new space, and I think there's a good chance for this historic district to morph into an exciting arts district.

Adventures with wood and glass

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This past summer I took a two-week intensive course on flameworking with Gianni Toso. We were working with soft glass, which is fun. However, several of my glass friends and instructors have insisted that I should be working with borosilicate glass - especially for making the stands I use for my carved leaf bowls. So, I jumped into that realm this semester by taking an independent study course in glass at The Ohio State University.

I'm sold. I will continue to play with soft glass, but I can foretell that my future work will be mostly in boro. The funny thing is that when I order borosilicate color rods from one of my suppliers, they send me stickers that are about marijuana use. I do not intend to ever make bongs or other smoking apparati. I do get a kick out of the stickers, though.

My first wood and borosilicate glass sculpture is Bole-tangle, which is 11 X 6 X 5.5 inches, and made from black walnut and Oregon myrtle. The hollow form is light-weight. I made this to look as if the glass vines were growing in and out of the vessel.

In this view, you can see where the vine emerges from the hollow form and lid.

On the lower left side of the vessel, the vine appears to enter the wood.

One major thing I learned is how to repair broken borosilicate glass. It turns out that there are different kinds of connections in boro - hot seals and cold seals. A hot seal is when the glass that is connected is totally melted together. A cold seal does not have this feature and can break with just a gentle tap. So, I learned, by lots of practice, how to make hot seals.

I also found out how much I enjoy making leaves and vine-like structures.

I like the tension and motion of this piece. It has generated a bunch of ideas for future work.

I'm addicted to glass...

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So far I've learned glass blowing, kiln-formed glass, and now I'm learning how to flamework glass. I started with soft glass but am now learning how to work with borosilicate glass.

Autumn is the time of year when I take every opportunity I can to make glass blown pumpkins. I have several styles available on my Etsy store [1]. Here are some examples:

[1]: Handmade Glass Blown Pumpkins https://etsy.me/3dFGdps

The Ohio State University Glass Club will have their Pumpkin Sale Oct 10-11, 2022. It will be in the lobby area of Hopkins Hall from 9 AM to 5PM.

The other thing I’m working on is a hollow vessel on a sculptural glass stand. Here is a teaser:

AAW Symposium - Part 2

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The summer sure got away from me so I'm just now getting around to adding to my symposium coverage. It was really a fun meeting, especially after three years since our last in-person symposium. The event always starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday. This year, for the first time, we had a first-time attendee reception. I was on the planning committee for this and was in charge of the icebreaker. As a prize to the table that had the most points from a game about woodturning experiences, I gave away eight of my glass spin tops. I made these in the hot shop from molten glass. They seemed to go over well, as did the many others I gave to friends.

First-time attendees, playing with my glass spin tops

Examples of my glass spin tops, right out of the annealer.

Making a wooden spin top on a lathe is pretty easy, but it's not particularly easy to make one out of molten glass. I made a bunch of these as skill-building exercises for tool and glass control. Just last week I taught myself how to make spin tops flameworking the glass - wow! That is SOOOOOO much easier!

I had a piece in the Bridging the Gap exhibit, AAW's annual juried exhibition, which starts at the symposium and then travels to The Gallery of Wood Art in St. Paul, MN. My artwork, Ambrosia, received The People's Choice Award. People viewing the exhibit can vote for one piece for this award. It was nice to receive this confirmation about my artwork. It's certainly one of my favorites.

Ambrosia - People’s Choice Award

I'm also on the AAW Women in Turning (WIT) Committee. We had a session on Thursday evening about mentoring. For the first time in AAW history, we did a hybrid format for this session. Our panel moderator was remote while our three panelists were at the symposium. We also had a number of guests attending remotely. The WIT Committee is often leading the way in terms of trying out new ideas (e.g., our WIT in-person and virtual exchanges, WIT Presents, liaison program, etc.). Our committee started in 2015. It has been an honor to be part of this innovative program.

Women in Turning hybrid panel session.

As I previously mentioned, it's always great to see old friends at the symposium. David Ellsworth is AAW member #1, and he, along with John Jordan, have been to every AAW symposium. David is really good about mentoring new turners who are becoming "known", and it's always a pleasure to see him at a symposium.

AAW Symposium 2022 - Part 1

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It has been three years since the American Association of Woodturners got together in person for a symposium. This year it was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The attendance was around 1000 - a bit smaller than usual, but still vibrant and abuzz with reunions among friends. There were a lot of fun interactions all through the weekend.

I was the event photographer again this year. I’ve been doing this for the past decade or so. I always enjoy meeting new people, interacting with them as I make photos, and the challenge of finding dramatic lighting and compositions.

The highlight of the symposium for me in terms of making photos was the Battle of the Bowls, which was held after the Saturday night banquet. Stuart Batty and Mike Mahoney have been doing this for years, and I’ve seen several renditions. The set-up and lighting for this particular edition was spectacular for photography. I selected some of my favorites to put into a video set to music. Please enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment either here or on my YouTube video.

Ambrosia

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I finished this work in time to submit it to the 2022 AAW juried show, Bridging the Gap. The title refers to the ambrosia beetles that infected the silver maple wood.

The size is 8.5 H X 11 W X 10.75 D (inches). A piece like this takes a lot of patience. I started it over winter break, in December 2021. I finished it on 3/27/22.

There's a lot of fussing that went into making the details as good as I could - lots of undercuts, lots of challenges. The geometry of the shape makes it challenging as well. I'm happy with the result.

Vitrispathis albus - My Latest Wood and Glass sculpture

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I usually start a new project by thinking about it for awhile and then just jumping into the work. This piece took a different path. I started with a sketch of the overall piece and then worked on each element of the design, in sketches and then figuring out the logistics.

2021. Wood, turned and carved; acrylic paint; fused and sandblasted glass; blown and sculpted sandblasted glass; LEDs.

31.5 X 15.25 X 13 inches.

Side view

Back view

This is the most challenging piece I’ve ever done. The woodturning and carving were familiar and, aside from the design elements, straightforward. The leaf shape (patterned on a spathe in the Arum family) was my first challenge. I had to first make a clay texture mold in the shape of a leaf and bisque fire it. I’ve never done ceramics so this was a fun thing to learn. Then I had to cut two large leaf shapes out of sheet glass, fuse them in the kiln, and slump this onto the texture mold.

The gallery photos below have captions that you can see by hovering your mouse over the image.

The other glass element took myself and a team of seven assistants about 2.5 hours to make in the hot shop. That was then sandblasted after it came out of the annealer. Jonathan Capps was gaffer for the cylinder and then I took over the bench for the sculpting. My glass classmates were fantastic in helping me pull this off.

The only log section in my shop large enough for the base was a 20-year-old honey locust piece. Hard as concrete and cracking like crazy. Enough said… I don’t recommend this approach. I also turned a bowl for the top insert and a disk for the inset base (held by magnets).

The final step was to place LED strip lights in the light chamber and wire it. Right now the LEDs are powered by two 12V batteries daisy-chained together. A big thanks goes to Steven Sabin for helping with this step.

The lighting is soft and subtle. This sculpture is not meant to be a lamp, but it does have a lovely ambiance for relaxing in a comfortable room.

Parallels and differences

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I've been learning techniques in glassblowing and fused glass since the beginning of last year. Fused glass seems like puzzle solving to me much of the time. However, glassblowing is much more akin to woodturning than I would have ever thought. How so? Both involve rotating material that is shaped, both have highly specialized tools and equipment, both engage the hands and mind during the crafting with an intensity in focus that takes one into a different realm of awareness.

There are lots of differences, of course. Glassblowing often requires a team of craftspeople to complete a project, and the person who designs the piece is considered the artist. This is a concept that is foreign to woodturners. In woodturning, the designer is usually the sole maker involved in creating a piece. The way the material is rotated is also completely different. For example, in woodturning the lathe rotates the material towards the turner while he or she applies the tool - using both hands - to make a form. In glass blowing, the gaffer (the one sitting at the bench) or an assistant turns the pipe or rod holding the hot glass while the gaffer uses a tool to shape the material. The pipe or rod is rotated toward and away from the gaffer, using the left hand, while the right hand uses the tool on the hot glass, which is hanging off the end of the pipe or rod. Hot glass has to be kept in motion or the glass can drop onto the floor or become a misshapened mess. Wood secured on the lathe is much better behaved than liquid glass on a blowpipe.

Having the ability to multi-task and complete tasks in rapid succession is essential in glassblowing, and one certainly gets a full-body workout from spending several hours at a time in the hotshop. If glass gets too cold while it's being worked, it will crack or break. Woodturning is much more sedate in its pace - you can walk away from the lathe and return hours or days later and continue working the wood. That only applies to dry wood, of course. Turning green wood is another challenge that requires a faster working time in order to keep the wood from cracking as it dries.

To make a hollowform in woodturning, the maker removes the material from the inside of the wood blank using specialized tools. A hollowform in glass is formed by blowing a bubble into molten material, which then hardens as it cools. Woodturning is a subtractive process - removing wood to make a shape. Glassblowing is an additive process - gathering material from the furnace and adding it to the pipe or the form that is in the process of being made.

Both activities have their dangerous sides - a spinning block of wood can cause a lot of damage if it is thrown off the lathe and one can be injured in numerous other ways, too. In glass blowing, the temperature of the glass exceeds 2000°F as it comes out of the melting furnace and the working temperature of the glass is not much cooler. When a piece is finished the temperature is closer to 1000°F. Burns are the most common injury in glassblowing, but one can also get cut in various ways, some torches can cause damage to the eyes if protective gear is not worn, and I would hate to drop some of the things we use in the hotshop on my foot...

Common aspects of both crafts include the making of functional objects (tumblers, cups, vases, bowls, plates, candle holders, etc.). Both crafts can be used to make sculptural objects or purely decorative ones. I think most people have a greater appreciation for glass than wood, unfortunately.

Although I'm approaching my two-year anniversary in learning to blow glass, I'm just now becoming comfortable with the material and tools enough that I can actually make things that people think are cool. In contrast, my beginner's stage in woodturning lasted only a few months. At an equivalent stage in my woodturning adventure I was gaining attention (nationally and internationally) for the work I was making. I don't think that will ever happen with my glassblowing adventure, but I'm having a whole lot of fun.

Here's what I've been making in the hotshop this past month. I'm just happy that I can actually make something people can recognize as the object I intend it to be ;-).

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Heres the link to My Etsy Shop if you’d like to see some of my works in glass, including glass-blown pumpkins.

The AAW Benefit Auction

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Ceremony. With Clay Foster. 9.5 X 3.5 X 3.5 inches. Bronze bowl atop a plinth.

Ceremony. With Clay Foster. 9.5 X 3.5 X 3.5 inches. Bronze bowl atop a plinth.

The American Association of Woodturners 2021 Benefit Auction is now posted online. The online bidding begins July 2, 2021. The live auction is Friday, July 16, 2021 beginning at 6:30 pm eastern time.

The link to this piece in the auction is: https://auction.woodturner.org/Andi-Wolfe-and-Clay-Foster-Ceremony-2021_i41808475

Just an update as of July 16, 2021: This piece sold for $2,300.00, and the proceeds go to an excellent cause.