TIFTON — A lathe can spin a chunk of wood at 3,000 rotations per minute. The gouges used to carve the spinning wood are incredibly sharp. One mistake can make woodturning a dangerous craft.

Yet, members of the Little River Woodturners Guild focus on the laborious nature of the craft rather than the dangerous. The members work—a variety of woodturned bowls, vases, urns among other pieces—are on display at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage.

On Saturday, July 15 the guild was there for the opening of the exhibit “Beautiful Wood to Beautiful Art.” It was the first time the guild displayed their work together.

“I think it’s wonderful to celebrate creativity,” said Syd Blackmarr, exhibit board member.

One of the guild members, Steve Woodham, has been turning the lathe for around seven years. One of his pieces is round and squat with a glassy finish, another features a live edge—meaning it still has the original bark around the lip of the vase.

He also makes Christmas ornaments, which he calls icicles, depicting the nativity scene, the North Star and decorative elements. The ornaments taper into a thin point and they feel smooth, delicate.

Woodham was invited to a guild meeting on a whim, after showing a friend in the guild a few wood boxes he had built. It was at Jerry Walker’s place that he first saw a piece turned.

“Now wait a minute,” Woodham described his disbelief, “you’re going to take that block of wood, and it looked pretty rough, and then you’re going to turn that at about 1,000 RPM and then you’re going to stick that sharp knife into it?”

Walker told him he was.

“I said I’m going to get back over here in the corner and watch,” Woodham joked. But it wasn’t long before Walker had shaped “a nice round bowl.”

“I wanted to learn more so the next day I went back out there,” Woodham said.

This started his journey of woodturning landing him at the exhibit demonstrating for attendants on his mini-lathe how wood can be turned from a block into a bowl – or really, anything else imaginable.

The biggest challenge Woodham has faced is recreating the high gloss look of Moulthrop’s work.

The Moulthrop’s are a well-respected family of woodturners in Atlanta who have mastered round, high shine pieces. Woodham had his attempt at recreating the family’s work on display.

“I’m not a challenge to them yet,” he laughed.

Since retiring, Woodham spends most days in his shop turning.

“I do it to stay out of my wife’s hair,” he said.

His wife determines which pieces sell and which pieces stay home. They have few from his first years of turning to remind him of where he started.

Different members of the guild approached the mini-lathe to demonstrate throughout the night. Woodham found the lathe absent and stood behind it naming the gouges and tools used to carve the wood each had a uniquely shaped point. He carved the handles of the tools himself.

Wood shavings flew like sparks as he shaped the piece.

“The wood sometimes will argue with you,” Woodham said, “Like a bad customer.”

When a piece has holes or other unchangeable features, it makes for a challenge to the vision of a woodturner. Overcoming that challenge is where the danger and the craft lies.

Towards the end of the night, Blackmarr noted that having an active arts programs means that a community is thriving and healthy. And that art “brings people together.”

“Arts are a bridge,” said Blackmarr. “It’s kind of a trite thing to say but it’s the truth.”

The exhibit will be available for viewing at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage Tuesday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.