12/19/00
Master artist Paul Weinberger of Weston uses a technique not found in books to produce his award-winning, geometrically patterned wooden vases and bowls. Weinberger and his craftsmanship are featured in an article by Dave Shombert, “Turning and Learning: Paul Weinberger’s Woodshop,” in the current issue of GOLDENSEAL magazine.
The article reveals Weinberger’s unique segmented turning techniques, which he acquired during his long career as a patternmaker in the local glass industry. In 1988, he sold family-operated Weinberger’s Mould Shop and turned his efforts to creating intricate and artistic wooden vessels in his shop located beside his home in Weston.
Author Dave Shombert, a retired physicist living in Elkins, is learning the art of segmented woodturning from Weinberger through an apprenticeship made possible by the West Virginia Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. In a related article, Gerald Milnes of the West Virginia Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program explains the program’s role in rejuvenating and stimulating traditional folkways in the state.
This issue of GOLDENSEAL also includes several stories about coon hunting and coondogs, an article on Slovene immigrants in Richwood and a profile of an 85-year-old granddaughter of slaves whose dreams were fulfilled in West Virginia’s southern coalfields.
GOLDENSEAL is West Virginia’s magazine of traditional life and is a quarterly publication of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. It is available for $4.95 at Kroger stores or by calling (304) 558-0220, ext. 153.
Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org. The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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