Arch,

I have had the benefit of having the San Diego Woodturning Centre in my
own back yard. It has enabled me to take a number of classes from many
"world renowned" turners without paying the travel costs.

One of the pitfalls of taking classes with the luminaries of the field
is that it is easy for a novice to be overwhelmed by their tutor. At
the risk of name dropping, when I took my first class (John Jordan), I
turned like him, finished like him and sharpened like him. Then I took
a Raffan class and I was a Raffan affecionado. I went through a Stuart
Batty phase, a Jimmy Clewes phase, a Christian Burchard phase, etc. -
you get the idea.

At some point, you need to take the new tools and concepts you have
learned and make them your own. Instead of looking at the masters and
trying to deviate from them, you need to arrive at "what turns you on",
THEN apply the tools, tricks and tips. I've been turning now for about
seven years and consider myself very competent, but I still struggle
with finding "me" in the turning. You can't get that in a class nearly
as easily as a new grind on a bowl gouge.

Joe Fleming - San Diego