HOULTON, Maine — Hank Lemerise stood over his lathe on Saturday afternoon, his brow furrowed in concentration, curly wood shavings piling up around his feet.
He ran his rugged craftsman’s hands over the wooden bowl he was sculpting, having evened out rough edges and sanded the bowl until the wood was as smooth as paper.
An audience crowded into his makeshift workshop at Visions art shop in downtown Houlton, marveling at Lemerise’s precision and asking questions about his craft as he demonstrated the art of wood turning.
Lemerise, a Houlton resident and avid craftsman who has nearly two years’ experience at wood turning, was volunteering his time at Visions on Saturday so others who are interested in the craft could ask questions, seek advice, and learn more about it. Paul Porter, a fellow wood turner, also was showcasing his skills for the crowd.
Wood turning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects. Those objects often are crafted on a lathe, a machine tool that spins the block of wood so the crafter can carefully apply a specialized wood chisel to the spinning block, eventually carving out the shape of the object being created.
The workshop that Lemerise and Porter were holding is part of a series of events being sponsored by the Southern Aroostook Cultural Arts Project, a nonprofit that supports and promotes art in the region. SACAP maintains the Visions art shop, which sells work created by area artists and also features a gallery that has a new exhibit every month.
Barbara Sutton, executive director of SACAP, said Saturday the nonprofit would sponsor such workshops every Saturday through May.
“This is our second workshop,” Sutton said. “We held our first workshop last Saturday, and we started with watercolor. Every Saturday, we will have a different medium and we are going to bring in local artists to demonstrate the craft, give people ideas about how it works, talk about what sort of materials they will need to do it and what sort of resources are out there to support them. These are all free for anyone who wants to participate.”
Ellyzabeth Bencivenga, a 13-year-old from Limestone, attended Saturday’s workshop with her grandfather Thomas Cote.
Cote, a Limestone resident and award-winning woodcarver, is the owner of Carvings By Cote, and Bencivenga is a fifth-generation woodcarver. She also has won several awards for her work, including a best-of-show award for youths at the Maine Wood Carver Show in Augusta.
While she has wood turning experience, she said she attended the event at Visions to gain more exposure to the craft and to see some of the pieces others are working on.
These types of workshops, gallery openings and a diverse inventory of artwork are helping to draw more attention, and more people, to Visions, Bob Cowperthwaite, the president of SACAP, said Saturday.
“We are seeing a tremendous flow of traffic in here now,” he said. “Things are happening here. We are seeing good participation in our classes. It is great to see, and we could not do it without the support of our volunteers.”
Located at 66 Main St., Visions opened in 2004 after years of planning and fundraising.
Before the shop’s opening, SACAP intermittently showcased the work of area artists in a temporary gallery downtown.
At this point, nearly every inch of the store is taken up by pieces for sale. The walls are covered with paintings, photos, drawings and murals, and shelves hold sculptures, pottery and wood crafts, including bowls, ornaments, pens and other pieces made by Lemerise and Porter. Patrons also can find handmade baskets and CDs and DVDs made by musicians and videographers.
Sutton said Saturday that sales at the store have increased significantly over last year.
“We represent around 50 juried artists in the shop,” she said. “People can come here and not only find a gift for anyone, they also can see the wide range of talent that exists right here in this area.”
The workshop this Saturday, “How To Become A Self-Published Poet,” will be led by Lloyd Archer. Other Saturday workshops, which are held from noon to 2 p.m., will center on doodle drawing and fiber arts.
Once spring is over, Sutton said, SACAP is looking to put on summer workshops.
“We want to hold a workshop on photography, and we are looking for other ideas as well,” she said Saturday. “We want to offer as broad a range of workshops as we can.”
For information about the workshops, call 532-9119. For information about SACAP and the Visions art shop, go to www.sacap.us.