David Ellsworth, one of the most successful woodturners in modern times, will receive a Masters of the Medium award on April 26 from the James Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Institution.

As the Renwick Alliance explained in an announcement, the award “recognizes artists of consummate craftsmanship who have contributed to and influenced their chosen fields.” The Masters of the Medium awards are given every two years to people working in ceramics, wood and furniture, glass, metal and jewelry, and fibers and baskets.

“What makes this award special is that it’s not coming from the woodturning community,” Ellsworth told FWW in a phone interview. “I do appreciate all the awards I’ve received from woodturning organizations,” he said, “but this signifies an acceptance of woodturning” from a wider artistic realm. Members of the Renwick Alliance, representing different crafts, vote for the award recipients. “It’s pretty nice for a woodturner to get an award like this,” he said.

Ellsworth is the third woodturner to receive a Masters of the Medium award since they were first given in 1997. Bob Stocksdale received the award in 2003; Edward Moulthrop, in 2001. Other recipients in the wood and furniture category are Wendell Castle, John Cederquist, and Judy McKie, leaders of the studio furniture movement.

The James Renwick Alliance, founded in 1982, is an independent organization that helps advance scholarship and education on contemporary American crafts. Among other things, it assists the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in adding to its permanent collection.

Ellsworth began woodturning in 1970, and is perhaps best known for his hollow vessels with extremely narrow openings The photos above show two examples. His work appears in a half-dozen galleries and some 14 museums. He was one of the founders of the American Association of Woodturners.

Over the years, Ellsworth has developed and successfully marketed his own turning tools, sharpening jigs, and instructional DVDs. He also operates a school at his studio in Quakertown, Pa.

Last fall, he published “Ellsworth on Woodturning” (Fox Chapel Publishing, $29.95, paperback), which is equal parts how-to, philosophy, and gallery. Written in a refreshingly clear, direct style and abundantly illustrated with photos of his (and others’) work, Ellsworth’s book would make a useful addition to any serious woodturner’s library. One unique feature of the book is Ellsworth’s focus on exercise—limbering and loosening exercises that he practices himself and teaches to his students, in order to improve their balance and control at the lathe.

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