OTI Symposium
(updated 1/24/08)
OTI 2008 Symposium
September 26 - 28, 2008
St. Louis, MO
The Ornamental Turners International Symposium is held once every two years and is the single best place to learn about the ancient and mysterious craft of ornamental turning. The world’s best ornamental turners will be there, many from the United States and Canada but also from the U.K, home of the famous Holtzapffel company and the birthplace of the Society of Ornamental Turners. These meetings feature machinery, materials, works of art, and the expertise of the best and the brightest working in the ornamental turning field today.
This year's symposium will be held at the Sheraton Westport Hotel Plaza. It is located at:
900 West Port Plaza Dr
St.Louis Mo.63146
800-822-3535
Home of the 2008 OTI Conference
Full Service hotel with an indoor and outdoor pool, restaurant, bar and a brand new work out room!
Complimentary Shuttle to the Airport and Harrahs Casino
The Sheratons are the Only two hotels in Westport Plaza (Westport Plaza is a 42 acre entertainment complex featuring 16 restaurants, specialty shops, comedy club, theatre, funny bone comedy club, live music and nightly entertainment www.westportstl.com)
For Reservations please call 800-822-3535 let the agent know you would like to make a reservation at the Sheraton Westport Plaza and that you are with the OTI 2008 Group. You will need a credit card to reserve your room. Rate $89.
If you would prefer you can email lauren.barry@swphotels.com
You can get more info on the hotel here:
Sheraton Westport
Ornamental turning is not simply decorating a turned piece ornamentally. Instead, the phrase refers to a technique of cutting geometric patterns into the work piece using the control and precision of mechanized apparatus. You really need to see it being done to understand how it manages to accomplish the beautiful and wondrous patterns that it does.
On the agenda for this year already are leading speakers on rose engine work, straight line turning, historical aspects of rose engine turning, rare and unpublished ornamental turning material, new thinking in the use of the dome, ellipse, and double eccentric chucks, the different types of cutting frames and their uses, exotic woods and other materials for ornamental turning, and a panel question/answer discussion with the experts.
Current Program (updated 1/23/08)
The registration fee is $200 per person, and spouses can attend just the Saturday night banquet for $35 (of course, spouses are welcome to attend the entire event for the regular registration fee as well). There will be a set of optional activities for the spouses as well – tours of St. Louis and the like. Only OTI members are permitted to attend this event.
View Spouse Program (preliminary)
Also this year, for those with an ornamental turning mindset, is an exhibit at the Wood Turning Center in Philadelphia. Titled “Rose Engines and Kings”, the exhibit shows leading works of OT and connects the art to the European and Russian royalty, who practiced ornamental turning as a diversion. See the Wood Turning Center web site (www.woodturningcenter.org) for more information on this exhibit.
Registration for the OTI Symposium will begin in February 2008. Additional information will be sent to OTI members, so if you are not a current member please contact Alan Bugbee, 37 Fox Den Road, West Simsbury, CT 06092 with your $35 annual membership fee. Questions about membership or the symposium can be address to steve@finetools.com.
Registration Form (in .pdf format)