June - San Diego Woodturners

San Diego Woodturners Page 7 June 2013
In Memoriam: Dale Nish
Dale Nish passed away near
midnight on the 25th of May
from complications of a blod
clot in his left lung.
Dale was one of the world’s best
known woodturners and writers.
His three books (Creative Woodturning,
Artistic Woodturning,
and Master Woodturners) have
influenced a whole generation of
turners. His broad knowledge of
turning and more than 30 years
as a teacher make him a master
of most of the tools and techniques
used today.
Nish became interested in woodworking
while in high school
in Alberta, Canada. He pursued
woodworking into a teaching
career, eventually becoming a
professor at Brigham Young
University in Provo UT, where
he taught for 28 years, retiring
in 1995. A prolific writer, Dale
authored four benchmark books,
the most popular of which was
Creative Woodturning[1]. These
books served to inspire and
instruct aspiring woodturners, as
did his lectures and demonstrations
at universities, and many
of the leading arts and craft
schools.
As a result of this book, Nish
was asked to demonstrate and
lecture at various venues, primarily
in the United States. One
of the early venues was at a
symposium organized by Albert
LeCoff and his twin brother Alan
and held at the George School of
industrial Arts in Pennsylvania,
where Palmer Sharpless was a
teacher and supervisor
In the late 1970s, Dale developed
an interest in bowls turned
from flawed wood, especially
wormy ash, which has become
a signature piece. He appreciates
the Oriental ability to accept
and enjoy natural materials and
surfaces with serenity and satisfaction
not found frequently in
Western cultures. This approach
allows him to explore in his
works the shrinkage, cracking,
and insect damage.
During the 1980s and early
‘90s, Nish traveled extensively
and demonstrated in England,
Ireland, Canada, Norway, New
Zealand, Alaska, and many of
the lower forty-eight states. In
1993 he was awarded an honorary
lifetime membership in the
AAW.[2]
Dale was instrumental in starting
the renowned Utah Woodturning
Symposium in 1979, originally
called Symposium West ’79,
in Provo, Utah. Demonstrators
included Albert LeCoff, Frank E.
Cummings III, David Ellsworth,
Dale Nish, and Bob Stocksdale.
The symposium was renamed
the Utah Woodturning Symposium
and has been held every
year since. Nish directed the
Utah Woodturning Symposium
until 1988. Initially the workshops
and symposiums were
held at various times between
April and November. By 1985
the symposium had grown to the
point that it was beginning to
interfere significantly with the
regular semester classes at BYU.
As a result, the 1985 symposium,
which was initially
planned for fall semester, was
pushed into the early summer of
1986, when fewer students were
on campus and the facilities
were available without disrupting
so many classes. Since then
the symposium has been held in
May or June of each year.
The symposium has since continued
with Kip Christensen, a
great friend and a fellow faculty
member, from 1999 until 2007.
Following the 2007 symposium,
Nish and Christensen appointed
long time friend and symposium
supporter, Mike Mahoney to the
position of Director.[3]
In addition to Creative Woodturning,
Nish has also authored
Artistic Woodturning[4], Master
Woodturners[5], and Woodturning
with Ray Allen[6].
Dale’s wife Noreen passed away
September 6, 2011.