Physical Education Teacher by day and Woodturner by night, his time away from school is filled with woodturning in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Eric’s mission is to share an exuberance for exploration, connect with authenticity and presence, and to engage in meaningful work with the understanding and excitement that accompanies a growth-mindset.
Judging
Judging will be by the following panel over the period 15 September to 1 October 2025
Judges
-
Eric Lofstrom
-
Paul Barton
In my mid twenties I went to a woodturning display and decided I was going to buy a lathe and start turning. Being self-taught there were many mistakes. I was drawn to the hollow vessel. I loved it's simplicity and the fact that hollow vessels are quite technically difficult to turn. In my work I try to create something that is naturally beautiful showcasing the raw material in its many forms.
-
Simon Begg
Simon is a full time turner based out of Sydney, Australia. He specialises in the more artistic side of turning, enjoying many unique commissions. German ring turning is one of the unique styles that Simon is known for but he also turns hollow forms, does carved embellishment and salad bowls.
These judges will individually use the prescribed scoring system shown below and send their marks to the Steward. The Steward will combine the scores to determine the winners.
Guidelines for Judging
- Should there be any doubt about which category to place an entry in then the Senior Steward has the final decision.
- Each item may be judged in only one class.
- The judges should exclude from the competition any items which they deem to be unfit due to technical or artistic faults.
- Any stand used to support the item will be deemed to be part of the item and judged along with the item.
- All entries received will be judged using the following criteria – each criterion being scored out of 10 points:
- First impressions – visual impact.
- Design, innovation, ingenuity, originality.
- Form, proportion, balance and use of material.
- Creation techniques and skill level.
- Suitability and quality of finish.
- The judges will score each piece individually and points allocated will be aggregated to give a final points score.
- The judges are encouraged in their judging to spread the scores between 1and 10 to provide a clear differentiation between the pieces.
- The scores recorded by the judges shall be available to entrants for the items they have entered in the competition.
- A first, second and third prize, and “Highly Commended” certificates may be awarded in each category.
- In the event that insufficient entries are received for a specific category OR the judge(s) deem the standard is not high enough, the judge(s) reserve the right not to award prizes.
- The items gaining the highest score in each category shall be reconsidered by the judges for the “Supreme Exhibit” award. In the event that more than one item has an equal highest score then the judges will re-evaluate the scores to declare one item “Supreme Exhibit”.
- The judge’s decision is FINAL.