News

American Woodturner, August 2024

American Woodturner, August 2024, vol. 39, no. 4

Three pieces that Mike turned, and that I woodburned, appear on the front cover of the August 2024 edition of American Woodturner, The Journal of the American Association of Woodturners. The story that appears inside is about Mike's journey from lawyer to woodturner, beginning back in 1999. He also talks about his two bouts with stage 4 cancer, his distinctive hollow form shape, teaching and leading workshops, and other collaborations besides mine. Mike and I began to collaborate back in 2013. 

Even though I've known Mike for over fifty years, I still found the article to be fascinating, and very well written. It's seven pages long and includes some great photos of Mike's work. I get a mention and an inset with some of my artwork highlighted, but best of all is having my artwork featured on the front cover. If you can find a copy of the magazine, buy it and read the story!

 

 

2024 AAW Live Benefit Auctions

The American Association of Woodturners (AAW) will be having their benefit auctions on May 24th & 25th. The auctions take place during the AAW's annual Woodturning Symposium, being held in Portland Oregon from May 23-26.

Zillij, 3.8" x 4" x "4

The AAW Live! Auction on May 24th has the collaboration piece Calico on auction. This is actually a collaboration between three of us—Mike turned the winged piece, hubby Rick carved the edges, and I did the pyrography.

The POP auction on May 25th has the piece Zillij in it. Zillij, or zellij, is a style of mosaic tilework that I find absolutely beautiful. Zillij tilework incorporates mathematical, artistic,and spiritual elements and is a vital decorative element in the history of Moorish art and architecture. The beauty of Moroccan zillij tiles was the influence and inspiration for this piece, although it was my own interpretation of this design form.

Mike also has a beautiful buckeye burl piece in this year's auction. 

Please check out all the other wonderful pieces in this year's AAW Premier Wood Art auctions. Your winning bid helps the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) educational and outreach programs.

 

Turned and Scuplted Wood 2024

Wood Symphony Gallery's current exhibit, Turned and Sculpted Wood, runs from March 1st through March 31st, 2024. In this year's exhibit, I have collaboration pieces Discovery, Stellate, and Nebula. This is the eighth year in a row Wood Symphony has presented this show, so head on over to this year's exhibit to view all the other wonderful pieces by artists from around the world.

I finished two other pieces, but not in time to be included in this show. Mike shows both pieces on his Instagram page, along with a close up of Counterbalance.

The one piece, Duality, is buckeye burl. On his Instagram page, Mike also gives you a look at a much larger buckeye burl that he hollowed out. Absolutely amazing!

 

2023 AAW Live Benefit Auction

Akkorokamui

This year, Mike and I have a collaboration piece in The American Association of Woodturners benefit auction titled Akkorokamui. The AAW auction will be held on Friday, June 2.

An Akkorokamui is an octopus god from Ainu folklore — a sea monster that resembles a giant octopus and ranges up to 390 feet in length. According to Ainu folklore, it is said to live in Hokkaido's Uchiura Bay. It is so large it can swallow whole boats and whales in a single gulp. It is said that when it appears, the whole earth and sky appear red. For this reason, fishermen and sailors have stayed away from the water when the sky is red. More on the background and history of the Akkorokamui.

 
Mike also has a beautiful natural edge maple burl hollow form in this year's auction. 

Please check out all the other wonderful pieces in this year's AAW Premier Wood Art auction. Your winning bid helps the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) educational and outreach programs. 

Update: Akkorokamui sold at auction for $950!

 

2023 Turned and Sculpted Wood Exhibit

Murmuration of Stars

Wood Symphony Gallery's current exhibit, Turned and Sculpted Wood, runs from March 1st through March 31st, 2023. I have one new piece in the exhibit entitled Murmuration of Stars, and two of the pieces -- Cycle and Plume -- from the last Small Treasures Exhibit. Mike has six pieces in the show. I would have liked to have gotten more done, but I've been having a lot of vision problems recently and barely got the one new piece finished in time. I'm still trying to resolve the problem. It started in the Fall with blurry near vision that would let up some if I rubbed my eyes a little, opened them wide and forced myself to focus. But by November I couldn't drive. If I turned my head, I couldn't refocus in front of me, and all the cars driving past or headlights at night caused extreme feelings of being unbalanced. At this point, I see everything doubled. I've gone from the optometrist to an ophthalmologist to a neuro-ophthalmologist. Blood tests and brain scans haven't shown anything amiss, which is good, so it's a bit of a mystery. I just got a pair of glasses with prisms in them the other day, which seem to help with driving, although I've only tested them out once on the expressway. Near vision, which is what I need to woodburn, however is still doubled. I'm doing eye exercises and hopefully I can regain my sight. Mike and I are having a "solo" (duo?) show in October, so I'm determined to train my eyes to work together again. Meanwhile, check out all of the wonderful pieces Larisa Safaryan has curated.

Small Treasures Exhibit 2022   

Three of my pyrographic pieces are in Wood Symphony Gallery's current Small Treasures Exhibit, which runs from September 1st through September 30th, 2022. This is the gallery's annual exhibition of what they describe as "small wood wonders," since pieces can not exceed 6" in any direction. The piece  featured here in the gallery's ad (Plume) was a collaboration between myself (pyrography and ink) and my brother-in-law Mike, who is a fantastic woodturner.

Mike and I have three collaboration pieces in the exhibition besides Plume. The other two pieces are Cycle and Akkorokamui. 

Mike also has three of his own pieces in the exhibition: a maple burl hollow form, a madrone nested set, and another maple burl.

More of our collaborative pieces may be viewed on my artist page, and for more of Mike's pieces, please visit his artist page. Also please take a minute to view all the other wonderful work by the 34 artists that are featured in the current show.

 

2022 AAW Live Benefit Auction

Sprocket

Once again, Mike and I had a piece in The American Association of Woodturners benefit auction. AAW held their 36th annual symposium from June 23–26 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I usually get nervous as our piece is being auctioned, but I have to say the auctioneer this year was pretty funny and I was laughing more often than biting my nails. I think he wasn't sure of how Mike and I were related, but when someone yelled out I was Mike's sister-in-law, the auctioneer said well, huh, how many people get along with their sisters-in-law. And then the same person yelled out Mike lives in California and Georgianne lives in New York, to which the auctioneer replied, well, that'll do it!

 

Mike had a beautiful box elder burl hollow form in the auction. Our collaboration piece was also a box elder burl I titled Sprocket—a name the auctioneer said fit perfectly.

 

American Woodturner

Journal of the American Association of Woodturners

 

February 2022: I'm excited that the The American Association of Woodturners asked to highlight me and Mike on the back cover of the winter edition of their journal, American Woodturner. They sent me several copies to hand out to friends and family.

 

Check out the February 2022 vol. 37, no. 1 of American Woodturner, and all of their other editions, at woodturner.org.

 

 

 

2021 AAW Live Benefit Auction

Friday through Saturday, July 16–17, 2021, The American Association of Woodturners held their annual symposium virtually. AAW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and craft of woodturning worldwide through education. The symposium went virtual in 2020, as did pretty

Solar Flare

 much all events due to the pandemic. This year it went virtual once again. According to their website, the AAW all-online virtual event featured live educational woodturning demonstrations, special interest sessions, panel discussions, live and silent auctions, an Instant Gallery, prize drawings for all the virtual attendees, a virtual trade show, and more. Visit the AAW website for more information, a schedule of events, and session descriptions. Remember, it’s all virtual!

On Friday evening, AAW held their live benefit auction. I always get butterflies in my stomach listening to the fast talk and the infamous going once, going twice line.

 

Mike & I had two collaborative pieces in the 2021 auction. Mike turned a piece of cedar into an object I’m not exactly sure how he managed to do in one piece. I added my pyrographic design after looking at it for a good long while, thinking about my approach. The piece is 2.5" x 9" x 3.75" and I named it Solar Flare (well, actually my husband named it since I consider him my wordsmith). 

Sunrise (one side)

Sunrise (opposite side)

The other piece was a 4” x 4.75” maple

hollow form, titled Sunrise. I think you

can tell why from the design. The two sides of Sunrise are very different from each other, which was something dictated

by the grain of the bowl.

 

 

Small Treasures Exhibit 2020

 

Several of my pyrographic pieces were in Wood Symphony Gallery's Small Treasures Exhibit. This is the gallery's annual exhibition of what they describe as "small wood wonders." The guidelines were the pieces could not exceed 6" in any direction. The piece featured here (Calico) in the gallery's ad was a collaboration between myself (pyrography and ink), my brother-in-law Mike who turned the piece, and my husband Rick who carved the edges for me.

My collaborative pieces may be viewed on this link, but please take a minute to view all the other wonderful work by the 50 artists—from the United States, Europe, Australia, and South America—that are featured in the show.

 

 

 

2020 AAW Live Benefit Auction

 

Reawakening

Friday through Sunday, July 10–12, 2020, The American Association of Woodturners held their annual symposium. The symposium went virtual, as did pretty much all events this year due to the pandemic. This all-online virtual event featured live educational woodturning demonstrations, special interest sessions, panel discussions, live auctions, an Instant Gallery, prize drawings for all the virtual attendees, a virtual trade show, and more. Visit the AAW website for more information, a schedule of events, and session descriptions. Mike and I had a collaborative piece in the auction. Mike turned beautiful box elder burl that I added my pyrographic design to. The piece is 4.5 x 5 x 5 inches and I named it Reawakening.

 

 

The Art of Giving 2019

Apple Scoop by Rick & Georgianne

The Wood Symphony Gallery is currently presenting their The Art of Giving exhibition. Larisa Safaryan curated the show and has featured pieces created by both prominent and emerging artists from across the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Ireland, Germany, UK, South Korea, Japan and as far away as Australia. She chose to showcase pieces in the exhibit that can be gifted for the upcoming holiday season "to spread cheer." I think she did a wonderful job of choosing pieces that bring a smile to my face. Anyway, the gallery has included works in various media, such as wood, ceramics, metal, and mixed media. Two wooden spoons, hand carved by my wonderful husband Rick Jackofsky, and woodburned by me, are in the exhibit. One spoon is fashioned from a very old apple tree from upstate New York, and the other is from our rhododendron out front. Check the exhibit out! And have a wonderful holiday season.

Solar Flares

Tuesday, July 23, 2019: The annual AAW auction has come and gone. It's always exciting to hear the bidding, although I tend to hold my breath while it's happening. Mojave sold for $850. I'm happy with that.

Solar Flare

One of my newer pieces is Solar Flare #2. I did the original Solar Flare a few months back for mine & Mike's Turned and Burned exhibit. It garnered enough attention that I was asked to do a slightly larger version. Having run out of ideas for names, Mike chose to simply call it Solar Flare #2. Doing pyrography on these pieces was a challenge because I'm so used to burning designs on bowls now that a flat surface gave me pause. For these "board bowls" I still had that central bowl, but what to do with the larger flat surface all around?

The first time Mike sent one of these pieces to me, I stared at it for quite a while, put it away, brought it out to stare at it some more, put it away, brought it out ... I needed to find a way to bring the two disparate parts together into one of unity. Mike said it's incredibly difficult to shape the bowl in the middle of the board. It's all of a piece, not two separate pieces glued together, so he needs to shape this perfect bowl that seemingly floats in the middle of a large plane. It takes some patience and care for him to get it perfect. For me, though, it was an odd juxtaposition of shapes that left me questioning why you would want a bowl in the center of this expanse of flatness.

Solar Flare #2

Since I don't plan things in advance -- sometimes I think it's due to a lack of patience -- I decided to tackle the central bowl first and do what I like to do best: creating circular rows of varying design elements. Then I hit the flat surface and panicked. Now what!? What could I burn that would add value to the design on the bowl? What I burned on the flat part needed to of equal importance or it would look unbalanced. I'm never sure if the choices I make are good or bad, just that I try to let the piece dictate where it wants to go. Sometimes when I'm done I'll think, oops, shouldn't have done that, wrong direction. Or I might think, well, that came out okay. I'm hoping I managed to create pieces that have unity and are balanced, that no one design element detracts from the whole but holds its own visually, contributing to the overall design.

AAW Premier Wood Auction

Mojave will be in the AAW auction on night one, July 12th

June 27, 2019: One of mine and Mike’s collaborative pieces, Mojave, will be in the AAW (American Association of Woodturners) Premier Wood Auction taking place on July 12, 2019. It is taking place during the AAW’s 33rd Annual Woodturning Symposium being held in Raleigh, North Carolina. The symposium runs July 11–14, 2019. Bid on any of the pieces you like, or just enjoy the experience of seeing some wonderful woodturned art.

Mojave, top view

Mojave is a box elder hollow form bowl that Mike turned and which has my pyrographic designs on it. The piece is 3 x 4 x 4 inches. Mojave is one of my favorite pieces. Sometimes when I finish a piece I think, oh, I could have done better, but I was very happy when I completed this. Always a nice feeling!

All the pieces in these auctions are original and created by hand. If you decide to bid -- and win the bid -- it supports AAW and POP (Professional Outreach Program) educational and outreach programs, as well as the artists who created the work. There are so many pieces I like that all I can say is go look at them.

Mike and I have been in the AAW's auction for several years now and it's always fun, interesting, and nerve-racking when our pieces take their turn on the auction block.

If you happen to make your way to the event itself, down in Raleigh, NC, Mike will be giving three demos on making hollow forms, and will be one of several reviewing critics at the symposium with whom you can get a critique of your work, preregistration required.

 

Turned and Burned

Mike and Georgianne Jackofsky: A Two-Person Exhibition

Rocky Point, maple burl

Exciting news! Mike and I have a "solo" show with the Wood Symphony Gallery, although that seems a misnomer since there are two of us in the show. It was originally to be a show of just our collaboration pieces, but since we were offered a date so close it became pretty much a split between pieces Mike did alone and pieces he turned that have my pyrography on them. I couldn't burn enough pieces in the time we had to get ready. I have a tendency to get caught up in a lot of detail, and I also love to vary my shading, which takes quite a lot of time as I start light and build up in order to get all the varying shades of color. Hence it went from a "solo" show to a two-person exhibition. But that's okay, because the pieces Mike has included in this show are truly awesome. He specializes in hollow vessels, made from unique burls with thin walls and tiny openings, but for this show he also included some natural edge open bowls, some hollow forms with wings (a few of which I also burned on), and some sculptural forms. I particularly like his olive burl vessel.

Patera, olive wood

Mike is the "turned" part of the title, and I'm the "burned" half! I enjoyed doing pyrography on some of the pieces for this show since they weren't all round bowls, and I even made a copper stand for one of the pieces (Rocky Point, above). I also have to mention that Rick carved an olive wood bowl for me to burn on, which is included in the show. I really sweated over what to burn on that because I wanted to make the design special. The exhibit runs from March 8 - 20, 2019. Click here: Turned & Burned.

 

Small Treasures Exhibit 2018

An Exhibition of Small Wood Wonders

Edge of the World, Buckeye Burl, bottom view

Wood Symphony Gallery has included several of mine and Mike's collaborations in their Small Treasures exhibition. Small Treasures features over 100 pieces created by 45 artists from across the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, UK, Japan, Peru, and Australia. The concept of this exhibit was to present pieces, created by both prominent masters and emerging artists, that did not exceed 6" in any direction. I am proud to be part of this exhibit.

The three collaboration pieces that have been included are Edge of the World, Underworld, and Sunstorm.

One of our pieces is also featured in a new book titled Masters of Contemporary Wood Art, which was published in September 2018.