Rob Wallace, Woodturner

09/03/2026

Two weeks from today (Sept. 17th, 6:30 pm) I will be giving a demonstration on turning a “wet” or “green” wood bowl at the Woodcraft Store in Iowa City, Iowa for the Corridor WoodCrafters. I am looking forward to meeting new woodworking friends and introducing woodturning to other woodworking enthusiasts!

06/28/2026

I recently unloaded a stash of freshly cut elm wood from a downed tree in Ames. It took me several hours to cut apart the crown and haul off the branches to get to the desirable trunk sections. All the cross cuts are anchorsealed and are awaiting further processing into bowl, vase, and hollow form blanks. I also dropped off 3 times this amount of log sections for distribution to members of the Ames Area Woodturners. Over 2.5 days, working alone, I estimate that I processed or moved over 2,400 pounds of log sections, branches, and brush. Glad to have gotten this done before our forthcoming heat wave arrives!

06/16/2026

Two woodturning images in the “Gallery” section of the article.

It looks like my participation by doing a woodturning demonstration at the 2026 Ames Downtown Artwalk has made the features column of the Iowa State Daily student newspaper:

Downtown Ames felt completely different during this year’s Art Walk in the best way possible. For a few hours Thursday evening, Main Street turned into a walking gallery spilling with art in and out of shops. People slowly moved from one stop to the next while listening to local music artists. Dow...

04/12/2026

One of my pieces was selected to be exhibited at the Polk County Heritage Gallery (Des Moines) for the “2026 Iowa Exhibited” show.

The Iowa Exhibited artists are officially selected!

A huge thank you from PCHG to everyone who submitted their work, and special appreciation to our juror, Jennifer Drinkwater 🙌

This is going to be an incredible show—you won’t want to miss it! 👀

And now… introducing the selected artists… 👏

(organized Last Name, First Name)
Andersen, Jessica
Bagley, Braden
Bird, Leo
Blumhagen, Lisa
Briggs, Nancy
Burk, Dana
Davis, Martin
Drummond, Meredith
Fry-Schnormeier, Bailey
Gaquer, Bojenna
Heemstra, Jim
Henslee, Stina
Hiatt, Mike
Hoyt, Summer
Huffman, Angie
Johnson, David
Kirkholm, Tyler
Kling, Bob
Klisares, Jeff
Koning, Ryan
Kunzler, Diane
Luber, Patrick
Marentes, Seso
Matthews, Rob
Michels, Richard
Nagorny, Sergiy
Nelson, Stephanie
Nordman, Russ
Prior, Isaac
Roeder, Phillip
Schwartz, Kelly
Scroggins, Justin
Segner, Anna
Shelby, Kevin
Stirling, Audrey
Stoffregen, Margaret
Sunderman, Robert
Tant, Cassandra
Travnicek, Laura
Valentine, Toni
Wallace, Robert
Webster, Richard
Wilson, Michael
Wright, Scott
Zisko, Deborah

CONGRATULATIONS! ✨ Artists selected will be notified with further details on the show.

03/18/2026

These are the demonstration topics being presented at the Turn On! Chicago Midwest Regional Woodturning Symposium being held 30 July to 2 August 2026 in Northbrook, Illinois.

02/07/2026

The spoils of a recent score in the Clearance aisle of our local Walmart - I paid a total of $5 for $39 worth of 5/32” (4 mm) chain saw files. At 50 cents each for 10 files, I think I got a bargain!

01/15/2026

I am very happy to be a demonstrator at the Turn On! Chicago Midwest Woodturning Symposium being held 30 July to 2 August 2026!

I will also serve as auctioneer for the fundraising live auction that follows the Banquet. I have attended this symposium for over 10 years, and can tell you that it is extremely well run by a group of skilled, friendly, and helpful woodturners! There is always a “small group” atmosphere that enables symposium attendees to meet and learn from demonstrators. I look forward to seeing many fellow turners at ToC this coming summer!

12/23/2025

My most recent piece was presented one week ago (16 December 2025) to retiring President of Iowa State University Wendy Wintersteen on behalf of the ISU Faculty Senate.

“Bright Flame of Service” was turned and carved using a piece of Sycamore wood sourced from the ISU campus - it is, literally, a piece of Iowa State’!

The carved vase was colored with aniline dyes and finished with lacquer. It sits atop a plinth in the shape of the State of Iowa, alluding to her service to all in the state - students, university extension, farmers, businesses, and the citizens of Iowa in general.