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Houma ice cream parlor scoops up a new tradition
October 7, 2014
Nature’s beauty often goes unnoticed. For most, a tree is just a tree, a broken branch is firewood, and a log is just, well, a log. These ordinary background fillers are passed by without a second thought.
For John Barrios, however, these pieces of nature are exciting opportunities to create something beautiful.
Barrios, a resident of Gray, Louisiana, spends his spare time sculpting wood. As a woodturner, he uses a lathe to turn the pieces of wood at a high rate of 2-3,000 rotations per minute. A knife then does the rest of the work by shaping the raw wood into different creations.
The artisan took up the hobby about five years ago, but he already had experience under his belt.
“I’ve always liked working with wood, and for as long as I can remember, I would build things to keep around the house,” Barrios said.
For some projects, Barrios would have to turn the wooden legs of tables on the lathe. After considering what goes into the process, he decided to try to make a bowl. While experimenting, the bowl flew off the lathe and nearly hit his head. Barrios figured he should take a lesson.
That’s when he found himself immersed in woodturning.
Barrios turned to reading books, watching videos and attending a few classes to learn more about his newfound interest and how to improve his skill. But joining a wood turning club has been the biggest help of all.
Barrios is a member of the Bayou Woodturners, a club that meets monthly in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. He has learned the ins and outs of woodturning by sharing experiences with fellow woodturners who bring their own work, trade tips and offer demonstrations for different pieces at the meetings. The Bayou Woodturners also participate in the Freedom Pen Project. The club’s members get together to turn ink pens, creating hundreds in a day. The sculpted pens are then sent overseas to American troops.
Since first taking an interest in woodturning, Barrios has made hundreds of wooden pieces in the shop at his home. That is where he enjoys spending time after a long day.
“It’s a great stress reliever for me,” Barrios said.
What Barrios most enjoys about his hobby, however, is the spontaneous beauty and surprising, creative results.
“It’s like opening a present,” he said. “The thing that really interests me about turning wood is that I might have in mind what I would like to make when I start, but I might end up with something totally different depending on how the wood looks on the inside. Every piece is unique.”
When brainstorming ideas, Barrios draws his inspiration from the same places that provide his materials. Sometimes, when he is driving, he’ll see a log on the side of the road and pick it up.
“I really enjoy the fact that I’m recycling it,” he said of the wood that may otherwise be discarded or used as firewood.
Barrios also enjoys creating new pieces from trees that were knocked down in storms. One of his personal favorites is a piece made from the wood of a tree that was hit by lightning.
“It means something to me because I know the history of the tree,” he said.
The dark oak was turned into a platter, and just seeing it conjures a sense of curiosity about the piece. Its design is marked by dark, swirled spots from the tree’s burls, which add variety in color and texture to the creation. Barrios also left the platter’s edges natural to retain the original shape of the wood.
Though Barrios crafts traditional pieces, he enjoys experimenting and trying new things while working in his shop. He has used a laser to engrave photographs of his family onto wood. He and his wife, Donna, who enjoys doing beadwork, have even collaborated on a few pieces.
The woodturner’s favorite objects to create are hollow forms like vases, which he sometimes turns as thin as one-sixteenth of an inch in order to ready it for design. When he finishes turning the vase, which takes several hours, he adds designs by piercing and wood burning.
Sometimes a hunter will bring in antlers from a deer he killed, along with the shell casing from the shot that killed the animal. Barrios then uses these natural materials to craft handmade ink pens.
“It’s good memorabilia from the hunt they had,” Barrios said.
As with all creative work, the process does get frustrating at times. For Barrios, it’s not easy deciding when a piece is finished, and keeping consistent thickness of the wood throughout an entire creation can be challenging. But these are just minor issues that come with the pastime.
“I like the challenge of turning pieces that have flaws in them,” Barrios said. “I like working with pieces that have defects because it’s natural.”
Barrios especially enjoys working with pieces that seem ordinary but are surprisingly beautiful inside. Sometimes the artist lets the wood take a shape of its own, allowing it to change and move on the lathe as it will.
“I had no idea when I started turning it that all of those beautiful shapes and colors were going to be in the wood,” Barrios said. “That’s the exciting part—you just never know what will happen.”
To view samples of Barrios’ work, visit www.naturesartrevealed.com. The artist also will be at the annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival, held Friday through Sunday at Southdown Plantation in Houma.
Woodturner John Barrios shows off one of his prized carvings at his workshop in Gray. The artist, who will be at the Voice of the Wetlands Festival Oct. 10-12 in Houma, sculpts bowls, vases and other objects from recycled wood that would otherwise be discarded.
