I continue to be amazed at the level of skill, and willingness of club members to share knowledge and teach others. It’s a great outlet and a great way to spend some time creating something from nature by expressing the beauty of the wood.
H.E. Guy Burman, MDThe display case on floor 1A at Cheshire Medical Center features a variety of projects created by members of the Monadnock Woodturners Club, a group of individuals from the region who share a common interest in creating objects on a wood lathe. The group was founded almost 30 years ago by six physicians from Cheshire Medical Center and the group’s longstanding president, Charles Sheaff, a retired woodturning teacher from Keene State College.
“All of this started back in 1995," Sheaff explained in a 2019 article in ELF. “There was a group of doctors working at (Cheshire Medical Center) who discovered that they had a mutual love of woodturning. They then came up with the idea of reaching out to other like-minded people, and put a small ad in the paper, inviting anyone who was interested in this craft to contact them."
Today, there are 90 active members, ranging in age from 14 to over 96. Usually, 30 to 40 people attend the monthly meeting. Members create bowls, vases, and other commonly turned objects at their homes and bring in some of those pieces so they can share feedback and ideas. They also teach each other woodturning techniques, contribute to area charities, and provide pieces for fundraisers.
A few times each year, the group has a challenge project where members are asked to turn objects with a common theme. The most recent challenge was to create a turned work that would fit into a 6-inch cube. Those items are displayed in the case at Cheshire.
As you peruse the wooden treasures on display at Cheshire, you’ll notice two familiar names: retired family medicine physician Bob Englund and H.E. Guy Burman, MD, a general surgeon and director of Cheshire’s Breast Care Center.
Englund started at what was then known as the Keene Clinic and Cheshire Hospital as a general internist in 1976. In 2002, he cut back to part-time work and he was one of the two physicians who started the Hospitalist Service at Cheshire.
He was juried into the League of NH Craftsmen 12 years ago and participates each summer on the Sunapee Craft Fair, and many of his works are featured in each of the League’s seven galleries throughout the state. He participated in in Keene’s Art Walk, from May 31 to June 9, 2024, with a large display of his woodturnings along with wonderfully creative works of fabric artist Nancy Belsky. For the challenge project, Englund created a small wooden bowl.
Burman created a ring and bracelet holder made of Zebrawood for his child. He’s enjoyed woodturning as a hobby for fifteen years but his current interest increased after his sister gifted him a lathe during her fight with cancer two years ago. He has found a wealth of knowledge, and comradery in the community found with the Monadnock Woodturners Club.
“I continue to be amazed at the level of skill, and willingness of club members to share knowledge and teach others. It’s a great outlet and a great way to spend some time creating something from nature by expressing the beauty of the wood,” Burman says. “The projects in the display case range in levels of complexity. There are utilitarian pieces and artistic pieces, but they all show the creativity of the turner, and the beauty that can be revealed when imagination and technique guide the shaping of the wood.”
For those who are interested, The Monadnock Woodturners Club meets monthly in Keene. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page or contact Charles Sheaff at 603-313-1138.