Everyone who turns wood has gained knowledge and experience not found in someone who has never turned. And every turner, even the most experienced, can still learn new, yet unexplored aspects of the craft. Even professional turners learn can learn something new when they go to a symposium or watch a demo or a video. And for those of us who have been turning for some time, we all have something we can share with others. Mentoring is not the same as supporting open turning sessions. Mentoring is one-on-one support that is provided at a venue, time, and for a duration that is mutually agreed between the two parties involved. It can be performed at the club studio, at your own shop, or at the shop of the student, and it can be done at essentially any time that is mutually agreeable.

And mentoring involves a commitment to provide a minimum level of support. By becoming a mentor you are committing to spending at least 4 hours with the person requesting mentoring. This can be in one session or broken up into several sessions. How you wish to schedule your mentoring time is between you and the person you will mentor. You will receive an email with their mentoring request and contact information. It is then up to you to contact this person and make your arrangements for the session(s) at a mutually acceptable time, place and for a defined duration. Mentoring is meant to be a fun experience for both parties and should not be a force fit for either party. Once your commitment has been met, any further mentoring sessions are at your discretions – you can continue or call it a day.

If you will be unavailable for an extended period, we can put a notice on your mentor page so that you do not get requests until you are ready.

If you are interested in participating in the mentoring program, please complete the form below.