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View Full Version : What A Talent, What an Entertainer, What a legacy.



Tyler Howell
10-09-2006, 7:51 AM
A number of creekers were treated to skills of David Marks over the weekend at a seminar sponsored by the Minnesota WW Guild.
Like the Energizer Bunny, Dave just kept going , and going, and going!!
The seminar was held at MCAD, Minnesota College of Art & Design. A wonderful facility with a fine shop filled with old and new "arn"

Clearly challenged by a cold and audio/video issues, Dave popped cough drops and plugged on with style through a life time of WW experiences.
He wore me out, I had to bail out 1 1/2 hours after the seminar was to end and he was still going strong.

From an educators standpoint, he used a multitude of props and techniques to educate, inspire and entertain. He worked his way through three tables of supplies and managed to loose his glasses only once.

I wasn't able to get close enough for a shot with Dave as he was mobbed the whole time. Trying to get creekers together for a shot was like herding cats. I was able to catch creeker Charlie Kocourek with Dave.

One constant theme was "this ain't rocket science you can do this".
I walked away inspired, came home, and started messing with that lathe.;)

Thomas Prondzinski
10-09-2006, 8:18 AM
Tyler
We finally ended it at 6:20pm,what a class act. He makes you a believer that if you can dream it you can do it. Came away with alot of inspiration to go out and just do it and not think about if I can or can't. I bought his gilding and patination kit,but he is going to send it as he ran out of kits.Someday I will be going to Santa Rosa California. Great to see all the creekers,met a new creeker Al.


Tom:D

Karl Laustrup
10-09-2006, 8:43 AM
Sometimes living in a big city has it's plusses. Wish I could have been "inspired" in person.

Guess I'll just have to wait for Tyler to make a visit down this way and be inspired through osmosis, or whatever. ;) :D

Karl

Al Willits
10-09-2006, 10:39 AM
Had a great time there, sat next to Tyler just to annoy him...:)

Got to meet some pretty nice people too..:)

As a newbie I was a bit concerned with Dave's experience he'd talk way over my head (I know, ain't hard to do) and some of his presentation was, but the majority of it was understandable and enjoyable.
I missed his Saturday's seminar due to work, but the Sunday one was what I really wanted to see anyway, dealing a lot with inlay and double marquetry (sp?) still not to sure of the double stuff, but his positive attitude and "you can do it" statements, do instill more confidence than before I seem him.

Have to say thanks to the MWG for having him here and thanks to David Marks for coming.
He indeed turned out to be a very personable person, unlike what I was expecting.

I would enjoy seeing one of his seminars anytime.

Al

Charlie Kocourek
10-09-2006, 3:50 PM
Hey Tyler,

If I knew that my pic would be on the world wide internet then I would have waved and maybe even smiled a bit! I really enjoyed talking with the other 'creekers.

This was a great seminar and I learned a lot, too. The first day was about bent lamination, and guilding and chemical patination. The second day covered the double bevel marquetry, inlay, and router jigs. Some of the bent lamination and especially the chemical patination was just awe inspiring!

I have to put in a plug and a thank you for the Guild. The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild is probably one of the best guilds in the country. This is the fourth of these seminars that they have sponsored. Previously it was Graham Blackburn, Frank Klaus, Jeff Jewit, and of course David Marks. They offer these seminars at WAY below cost! This year was the most expensive, $40 for a two day seminar at an outstanding facility with a world class presenter. And free beverages, too!

There are lots and lots of other benefits that we get for our measly $30 per year membership! Certainly the star was David Marks but the Minnesota Woodworkers Guild deserves a lot of credit, too!

Dan Oelke
10-09-2006, 3:56 PM
I'll pile on to say that it was awesome to sit a listen to David go on and on and on and on. I bailed about 5:30pm on Sunday when my head was swimming. He is definetly a great guy. It was fun to listen to him talk about his various experiences TV and otherwise. I could have done with a few less slides - especially of the artsy wall hangings - but that is just my opinion.

One of the things he did drive home is that "you can do this" - anyone can do it if they want to. It was funny to hear him talk about planning and doing test finishes, etc first. But then hearing him talk about his actual projects there were an aweful lot of "design opportunities" when something broke or didn't go as it was supposed to - often due to lack of foresight.

I did go home and found that you can buy plain Ostrich Eggs from Amazon (of all places) or ostrich.com. Seemed like a cool idea to try out experimenting with gilding and patina.

Jerry Olexa
10-09-2006, 5:46 PM
I understand David is a high quality guy with a good common sense approach...

Mark Singer
10-09-2006, 9:56 PM
David is a great woodworker and a great teacher as well! It is hard to find one person that has aquired his range of skills....

Corey Hallagan
10-09-2006, 10:06 PM
Tyler, lucky you and sounds like it was an awesome time. Did he cover his flat work and turnings. I also like to listen to him talk about his guilding work.

Corey