Kevin Jesequel is a woodturner living in Portland, Oregon. Taking an interest in hollow forms (with the intention of making an urn) after the passing of his mother in 2020, he has quickly become recognized as one of the top hollow form artists today. His work has been published several times in American Woodturner and he has been a juried and invited artist to numerous exhibitions. He was selected by the American Association of Woodturner’s POP Committee to receive the 2024 Artist Showcase at their annual symposium and enjoys demonstrating and teaching at clubs and schools across the country. In his demonstrations, Kevin emphasizes techniques that can be applied across a wide variety of woodturnings, not just the topic being demonstrated. Kevin finds great value in local clubs and is an active member of the Cascade Woodturner’s Association.

Hollow Form With A Fingertip Opening
I will demonstrate my process for creating hollow forms with clean lines and small openings. Through a combination of hands-on turning and discussion, this demonstration will include everything from selecting the wood to mounting it on the lathe and shaping the form to hollowing and finishing. I will also cover tool selection and use, ergonomics and body mechanics. Hollow forms do not need to be complicated or require expensive tooling to create.

Hollow Form With A Natural Void
I have found that by leaving the natural surface of the log in the blank and manipulating the blank on the lathe, we can create much larger, natural edge voids using any piece of wood. This concept is similar to creating a natural edge bowl in that I turn the outside diameter large than the piece of wood. Though, the resulting natural edge opening is in the side of the vessel. The thought of hollowing with such a large void may seem intimidating, but it is actually excellent hollowing practice because you can see the cutter working inside the piece as it turns on the lathe, and these are a lot of fun to make!

Peel, Slice, (Shear) Scrape
No, it isn’t a recipe for potato salad! In this demo, I will show how these three main cuts that apply to all woodturning. I will mount wood on the lathe that is part spindle, or end-grain oriented and part bowl, or face-grain oriented to show the similarities and differences of each cut in both applications. I will then show the cuts in action as I turn a small footed bowl.

Having A Ball
Spheres are simple and satisfying to turn without a jig. I will show you how easy it can be with a simple set of shop-made cup chucks. I will then demonstrate how to make and use a jam chuck to hold the completed sphere for further surface decoration and/or hollowing

Surface
A bit of surface texture on a finished piece goes a long way. Whether the piece will be painted or left bare, I will demonstrate some simple surface treatments that will transform your finished piece into a multi-sensory experience. I will also cover working with defects and crack repair.

Kevin’s 2027 FWS photo gallery:

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