The Art Of Education
Woodturner Shares Love Of Craft With Artisans, School
Last updated Saturday, August 16, 2008 5:10 PM CDT in Our Town
By Marla Hinkle
The Morning News
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MOUNTAIN VIEW - The lines form a delicate black vein pattern across the bowl Wright Pillow holds in his hands. This spalted wood created by moisture and decay is used to form singular works in which no piece will be exactly like the other.
Pillow's woodworking is also unique. The 72-year-old Memphis, Tenn., transplant has made Mountain View, a long-treasured vacation spot, his home for the past five years.
He is a retired United Methodist minister who worked for 42 years as a minister of education and formation, a pastor and a professor at Memphis Theological Seminary. Woodworking was the gift he gave himself upon retirement.
A stained glass window is a symbol of his life's work. The piece came from the last church he served in Memphis - Everett Memorial United Methodist Church. Light streams through the green, red, blue and beige glass onto the projects Pillow creates.
The shop Pillow built is 900 square feet, where most of his work centers around a 1,000-pound Powermatic lathe.
Two other lathes are a Jet mini-lathe that allows him to perform more intricate designs and a micro lathe from New Zealand, for crafting extremely small turnings.
Pillow also uses a 36-inch scroll saw made for him about 25 years ago from a Branson, Mo., artist.
Wood chips fly as he demonstrates how to even edges on a warped bowl. Shavings form a large pile under the lathe. A covered bowl with a dove design is one of his personal favorites. The catalpa wood is from the area. The wood on the lid is Red Heart and comes from west Africa.
One piece of special-order wood costs $75, he said. Most wood is brought to him by a tree trimmer. When he cuts a piece of hardwood like cherry or walnut, he drops the pieces of wood off in Pillow's driveway rather than destroying them.
"Sometimes I will use a pattern; often I will draw it by hand. On this one the process began with a piece of walnut. I cut out the outline of the pattern," Pillow said.
"Each of the pieces is like a children's puzzle, requiring different colors of wood. There is something magical about the beauty that is hidden in the middle of a log."
The pieces form into a hole he has made, and once that process is completed, he pours epoxy over it to seal its surface.
More wood comes from a man who visits Pillow's mountain property to collect wood.
"See this spalted maple's black streaks? This has been laying around almost a year."
Usually Pillow turns a rough blank from green wood and lets it dry anywhere from six to 12 months, allowing the moisture to reach an acceptable level.
Watching the colors rise out of the wood during the turning process is a highlight for Pillow.
The body of one work features spalted maple, and the bottom is imported Lacewood. A candleholder is made with spalted sycamore. Pillow uses several local woods in addition to exotic.
Works are sold in the Arkansas Craft Gallery in downtown Mountain View.
Also, he makes toys that are available at the Ozark Folk Center. He displays a T-Model Ford truck and train set made from sturdy yellow pine.
"It can be tossed around and survive really well," he said. Pillow has made toys for his grandchildren and vessels for the Arkansas Food Bank.
"Bowls are fun to make. This one is a big salad bowl for large groups."
All his bowls are food safe. He suggests washing them with warm soapy water, and when the finish begins to dull, rubbing it with mineral oil.
He is one of about 100 or so exhibitors at the Arkansas Craft Gallery, and one of about nine woodturners. Mountain View is home to several working pottery studios, glass blowers, fiber, metal and clay artisans.
Although Pillow moved to the resort town to relax, he finds himself spending about 20 hours in the shop and 20 hours on the administrative side of his role as executive director of the Arkansas Craft School.
Its mission is to educate aspiring and practicing craft professionals for success in the creative economy.
Art Partners
Pillow is driven to develop the school, which will be a fully accredited craft school. The Arkansas Craft Guild is the oldest and most statewide guild in Arkansas, he said.
The guild has provided him with an outlet for his work and a network of artists who challenged him to thrive in his creativity, he said.
The cooperative and retail entity started about four years ago and developed into an educational arm for the Arkansas Craft Guild Support Organization, a nonprofit organization.
The guild has now partnered with Ozarka College and the Ozark Folk Center to form the Arkansas Craft School. Courses are offered at Ozarka College.
"We are quite proud of what we've been able to do, and we are on our way and think it will be a success, once the economy turns around."
The woodturner has experienced the benefits of attending a craft school. Although Pillow's father, Sam, was not a creative crafter, he made furniture and toys for his family. During World War II, his father served at the former Millington Air Base in Memphis and built barracks.
"I've been around crafting all my life. My dad made grandfather clocks in his retirement, and I was a very good student. Through the years, I began to develop my own woodworking shop and my woodturning fascination was an opportunity for a creative outlet I needed."
The artisan was introduced to woodturning at an Elderhostel event at Arrowmont Craft School about 15 years ago in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
He took courses in woodturning from Nick Cook and Bobby Clemmons at Arrowmont Craft School in Gatlinburg, and several teachers at the Joseph Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.
Grady Spann, general manager at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, said the school has the potential to have a great impact on Arkansas arts.
"We are just now developing this concept. The impact is huge statewide to offer a degree program through Ozarka College. We teach people not only crafting, but also to manage the business as a lifelong pursuit.
"The partnership with Wright is marvelous. It will continue to improve the quality of crafts in Arkansas. He is very talented with woodturning."
Mountain Jewel
The craftsman's personal goal is to see the Arkansas Craft School develop as a healthy entity.
"I may retire for a sixth time. My wife, Jo, says 'fat chance.'"
He and other school members have met with Mayor Jim Cash and the Chamber of Commerce to examine the program. Mountain View is the engine that drives the creative economy, with crafts, music and dancing.
"If you've ever been here on the weekend, you can see musicians gather on the courthouse square ... it is really an interesting place. I really want people to know about Mountain View. It is a real jewel and carrier of the state's culture."
Mayor Jim Cash said Pillow has helped boost the appearance of artisans at the annual Spring Festival.
"He's done a tremendous job. He has done everything I've asked of him, and I think he does a good job at whatever he does," Cash said.
Classes are online and open for registration, Pillow said. Two classes are in marketing and management, and spring 2009 classes will focus on media. Plans are to develop teaching studios first.
Recently, 25 artisans from the region were approached regarding a plan to construct six buildings that will house the Arkansas Craft School.
Pillow continues to participate in the arts during this fall's Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour Sept. 12-14 in Mountain View. Artists open their private studios to the public during this event.
Henry, a Beagle and Basset Hound mix, barks a greeting as visitors near the shop, which is adjacent to the home. A deck extends along the back, affording views of undisturbed natural beauty.
A musician most of his life, Pillow enjoys listening to the Arkansas Symphony and local folk music. He plays the clarinet and oboe, and Jo Pillow was a singer and church organist.
The couple met while he was doing undergraduate work at a college in Jackson, Tenn. In the 1970s, the family visited Mountain View to camp and explore the Ozark Folk Center.
"I thought it was a good, educational place for the kids and a place to play in the mountains. We went to a cabin in Sylamore and still own one there."
The town, Pillow determined, would be an ideal respite for them to lead a "slower life."
In Memphis, Pillow was drawn to working at inner city churches. His wife was risk manager for St. Francis Hospital for 30 years, so their lives were closely tied to the needs of the city, he said.
He has also served as a church pastor in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee.
That involvement remains the same.
Maureen Skinner, office manager at the Arkansas Craft Guild, said Pillow's participation in anything is a plus.
"He is really organized and brings je-ne-sais-quoi, with just the right amount of brevity and seriousness without making it ridiculous. Wright has been instrumental in the formation of the folk school. His untiring willingness to volunteer, research and be the voice of so many current and up-and-coming artists is inspirational," Skinner said.
Among her favorite pieces, besides toys, is the pointed vessel that is displayed in the gallery. It is a reddish-purple wood with a tall spirelike spindle as the handle.
"Wright is supported by his wonderful wife, Jo, a gracious and charming woman," Skinner said. "Jo has allowed Wright to continue at his personal 'break-neck' speed in spite of his claims to be retired. Jo goes to the shows with Wright and really complements all the things he stands for as well as balancing him with just the right amount of reality."
Part of Pillow's artistic satisfaction comes from working with the community.
"I've always been a developer/program administrator. It's who I am. I have enjoyed applying those skills to this cultural and anthropologically wonderful place."
PROFILE
Wright Pillow
Birthplace and date: Jan. 13, 1936, Henry County, Tenn.
Parents: Sam and Mary Pillow
Siblings: Brother, Sam Pillow of Henderson, Tenn., and sister, Margaret Powell of Springfield, Tenn.
Children: Clare Myers, Julie Wilson and Kathryn Burress of the Memphis, Tenn., area, and son Paul Pillow of Dyersburg, Tenn.
Wife: Jo DePriest
Education: Master of arts degree in church history from Memphis Theological Seminary, a master of divinity degree from Emory University in Atlanta, and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
Membership: American Association of Woodturners, Arkansas Craft Guild
Source: Staff Report
AT A GLANCE
Arkansas Craft School
Mission: The mission of the Arkansas Craft School is to educate aspiring and practicing craft professionals for success in the creative economy.
Applications: The Arkansas Craft School is seeking applicants for Master Craft Artisans and Apprentices for its 2008 Apprenticeship Program. Interested Master Artisans should be skilled in a heritage, traditional or contemporary craft medium.
Apprentices should be persons who have a continuing interest in improving his/her skills as a practicing artisan. The 2008 program will involve one apprenticeship in each of the Arkansas geographic regions - the Delta, the Ozarks, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ouachitas and Southwest Arkansas.
Selected Masters will be paid a stipend of $4,800 for the program, which will begin on Oct. 1 and end on April 30, 2009. There is no charge for apprentices. Masters will work with selected apprentices in their own studio/workshop. Masters and apprentices will be expected to demonstrate their craft at a public event in their region at the culmination of the program.
Applications for both masters and apprentices are available at the Arkansas Craft School's Web site, www.arkansascraftschool.com or by contacting the school office at (870) 269-8397 or e-mailing arkcraftschool@mvtel.net. The school will also accept nominations for both masters and apprentices. To nominate a candidate, a letter from the nominator indicating the reasons for the nomination should be accompanied by a completed application form for the nominee. Deadline for applications and nominations is Friday.
Funding: The 2008 Apprenticeship Program is made possible in part by a grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage, funded by General Improvement Funds provided by the Arkansas 86th General Assembly.
Source: Arkansas Craft School
FAST FACT
What is woodturning?
The art or process of shaping wood into forms on a lathe.
Source: American Heritage Dictionary
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