The 23rd Rocky Mountain Woodturning Symposium is making more than just shavings this year, they are setting new standards for inclusivity in communal craft education. The 2025 symposium will be held September 19 – 21 in Loveland, CO and features an array of leaders in the woodturning field, all of whom happen to be women.
The symposium is presented by a group of volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Woodturners chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Volunteer Kailee Bosch is an artist and designer based out of Fort Collins, CO and is helping to produce this year’s event.
“In 2025 we are excited to highlight a selection of talented and diverse women turners who have been historically underrepresented in the field. We are just one of many smaller “regional” woodturning symposiums across the country that strive to create opportunities for woodturners on a more local level,” shares Bosch.
Woodturners that attend the symposium will observe demonstrations of some of the most talented women woodturners from across the globe. Organizers say this is a reflection of the changing demographics of the woodturning craft welcoming the addition of many more woman artists who now take part.
“As with most other woodturning symposiums out there, we strive to have a diverse lineup and that includes having women demonstrators. But here is the thing, the field of woodturning (and the number of women in it) have exploded in the past 15 or so years, which is really exciting. 15 years ago we might have had a hard time composing a symposium of all woman demonstrators, but when we started looking at our list this year, there were a lot of women demonstrators that we wanted to invite. So many that we knew our whole lead demonstrator lineup could consist of women. This was exciting because to our knowledge there has never been an all-woman lineup for a woodturning symposium before, and it seemed like it was about time that there was,” explains Bosch.
While providing representation for women is a focus for this year’s demonstrator lineup, Bosch emphasizes that “Every year, despite the lineup, the goal of the event is to spotlight the amazing turners in our field and give participants inspiration to go back into their own shops and create work, continually growing the field. But this year in particular, we are excited to highlight and share with the community how impactful women turners really are.”
The full lineup of demonstrators this year are Cindy Drozda (CO), Rabea Gebler (Japan), Nathalie Groeneweg (France), Ashley Harwood (SC), Kristin LeVier (ID), Merryll Saylan (CA), Janine Wang (OR), Andi Wolfe (OH), Sally Ault (CA), Emily Ford (UT), Jolie Karno (CA), Heather Marusiak (KS), Tib Shaw (MN), Margaret Stiles (CO), and Katie Stofel (TN).
While the lead demonstrators are selected by invitation, the regional demonstrators are selected through an application process. Program coordinators are also intentional about bringing in more diverse topics to be demonstrated as well.
“We do our best to make a symposium that has a little something for everyone, from the basics of turning (bowls, spindles, etc.) to sculptural turning and carving, and everything in between,” add Bosch.
The application process for regional demonstrators is open to all, however Bosch says that the impact of selecting the women-led lead demonstrator lineup is already showing effects, “Due to the great word of mouth we were getting from our all women lead demonstrator lineup, we had a lot of women apply. Through the blind jurying process, the regional demonstrators selected from applications also ended up being all women.”
The symposium schedule features 45 rotations with 15 presenters and begins Friday afternoon with demonstrations and an ice cream social. Saturday and Sunday feature more demonstrations including hands-on sessions, and a gallery where artists can display, give and receive critiques, and generally enjoy each other’s work. Sunday also features the infamous “Longest Shaving Contest” with the current record holder being Yann Mart at the 2023 symposiums with a 39 foot-long shaving.
As the 2025 event is set to be a groundbreaking event, organizers want the emphasis on inclusion and diverse representation at the symposium to continue on in future events as well.
“We hope that by this symposium, being the first of its kind, we are setting a precedent for future symposiums. Not only ours but all of the other woodturning symposiums out there,” says Bosch, “Like I mentioned before, the inclusion of women in turning has come such a long way, and this is just another step in the right direction.”
However Bosch emphasizes that there is still much work to be done towards creating a more inclusive craft, “Often, if you show up to a woodturning event, there are an overwhelming number of older men. I am really hoping that our event can start to turn this around, and by having an all women lineup we will draw in more women participants. Hopefully this is an opportunity for them to feel comfortable and included in the field.
Our hope is that by showcasing women at our symposium this year and drastically changing the standard approach we start to set an example for other symposiums to have a much more diverse selection of woodturners, woodworkers, and artists of all ages, races and genders. We want the field to be as inclusive as possible and encourage its growth in many different directions.”
For more information or to register for the 2025 symposium visit the event website rmwoodturningsymposium.com. Attendees receive a discount on registration before June 20th, and additional discounts are also offered for teachers and students. You can also find the group on Facebook and Instagram as Rocky Mountain Woodturning Symposium.
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