Arrowmont 2026 - Carolina Mountain Woodturners

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Arrowmont 2025 Participants

Carolina Mountain Woodturners
9th Annual Retreat
April 30 thru May 3, 2026

About the Event

Signup Process

Classes

Schedule

Teachers

Join us for the Carolina Mountain Woodturners’ 9th Annual Retreat.

Seasoned CMW members know that our annual retreat is a highlight of the year for members who come together on the campus of the ARROWMONT School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN for 3 nights with great woodturning and socializing over 4 days. New members quickly make friends, receive copious expert learning support, and consistently report their turning skills to have improved dramatically during the Retreat.

Classes are offered for beginning, intermediate, and experienced turners. Housing and meals will be on the ARROWMONT campus. The event is kept affordable by instructors and organizers volunteering their time and efforts.

Participants will use large and midi-size lathes. Topics include sharpening, basic cuts, bowl-turning, hollowing, and a variety of turning projects.

Use the link on this page to start your registration. You will be taken to the Arrowmont Event page. Scroll to the bottom to register.

Registration for CMW activities...

Registration starts March 9 and continues until all spaces are filled. Once filled, there will be a waitlist established in case vacancies open.

Facilities Fee: $100 paid to CMW to cover the cost of the studios
Material Fees: Students pay material fees to instructors at the retreat. Fees are usually $10.00 to $25.00 per class.

Click Here To Register For Arrowmont

Signup for Arrowmont housing/meals...
We will send out information on how to sign up for housing and meals after registration (see above). Payment for this begins March 10 and is done directly through Arrowmont. But DO NOT CALL THEM UNTIL March 10!

Meals: All participants pay $201 for Arrowmont’s meal package (9 meals) regardless of length of stay due at registration.
Housing: Participants are encouraged to stay on the Arrowmont campus Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. However departure Saturday evening is an option. Evening gatherings on the porch are not-to-be-missed. Costs for room options are listed below.

Bill May Hall
- Single - $130/night
- Double with private bath - $85/night
Red Barn
- Shared bedroom/bath - $45/night

For this year’s CMW Arrowmont Retreat, students will select first and second choice class preference for each day during the registration process.

We will make every effort to accommodate your first choice. In the event a class is over-subscribed, students will be selected from the list randomly. If you are not selected, you will be given higher priority for your first choice class the following day.

Based on your feedback about having sufficient time to finish all projects, Sunday has been reserved as a demo and open turning day. Designed to allow students to finish projects, start a new project, or learn new skills from the instructors. The studios will be open until 11:30 AM.

Christine Smith - Carving

This will be a carving class - a feather! - involving power carvers and burners, not a turning class.

Students will have the option to carve a small feather for a finial or larger full size feather as time permits. You may even bring your own turned piece to carve on. If bringing your own piece, a surface area of 5-6" tall by 3" wide is best. Wall thickness should be left at 1/3" and the piece should be sanded to 220 grit for best use of the microcarvers.

We will be using microcarvers and burners. Please bring a dust mask and small desk fan.

Christine Smith - Lidded Box
First and foremost will be safety.
In this class students will be taught securing the wood in the lathe correctly. Students will be shown the correct methods for parting off a piece. Form and design are key elements of this class. Hollowing techniques are also incorporated into this beautiful box.

Kevin Felderhoff - Turning a Small Bowl

This half-day class introduces the fundamentals of bowl turning using a screw chuck. Students will learn safe mounting, shaping, hollowing, sanding, and basic finishing techniques while focusing on clean cuts and consistent wall thickness. Ideal for beginners or those refining core bowl-turning skills.

Kevin Felderhoff - Turning a natural/bark edge bowl
This full-day class explores the techniques and safety considerations of turning natural and bark-edge bowls. Students will learn how to mount irregular blanks, manage interrupted cuts, preserve bark edges, and shape and hollow the bowl with control and confidence. Emphasis is placed on tool control, form, and safe turning practices.

Mitch Jones -Wide Rimmed Bowls and an Intro to Creativity
Learn how to safely and efficiently turn a wide rimmed bowls from stock that is easy to procure! Attention to detail, tool control and good tennon construction will be the focus while turning the bowl. After the turning is finished, we will discuss and try out some easy embellishing techniques to take our pieces to the next level!

Pat Carroll -Taming the Skew
This class will focus on beads and coves in spindle orientation turning.

Safety at the lathe and in the workshop
P.P.E.(Personal Protection Equipment)
Types of skew
Grain direction
Timber
Securing wood in the lathe
Tool ergonomics
Tool rest positioning
Speed
Direction of cut
Scraping versus peeling
Finishing

Pat Carroll - Off Center Candlestick
Pat will show you how to design and make an off-center candlestick. Come and experiment in what happens when you intentionally alter the center of rotation of the piece of wood on your lathe. Fun, exciting, and surprising results are a sure bet!

Tim Tucker - Platter Class
Platters offer the opportunity to show off the grain, colors an other interesting aspects of wood - better than bowls! And depending on the style you select to make - platters can provide a wonderful palate for surface embellishment. We will be turning 10” platters - and the style is YOUR choice. So, PLEASE….open Pinterest and search “turned wood platters”. This will provide you with hundreds of designs to choose from. Pick 2 or 3 and print them - or draw/sketch what you like about these and bring these with you. This is IMPORTANT…..It will allow me to help you achieve the shape and design you desire.

Tools you should bring: standard bowl and/or spindles gouges in 3/8”-1/2” size. Large round nose scraper is helpful but not required. Other scraper or negative rake scraper profiles may be helpful. A parting tool, and any beading or texturing tools you like are welcome too. I will have a number of tools that you can use as well.

This is YOUR design choice - and while I will advise you if asked, I will assist you in your effort to have a platter created by your design criteria. Don’t have vision of what it should look like? - See Pinterest and pick something!!

Prepare to have a safe - AND fun day at the lathe!

Tucker Garrison - Tool Sharpening
Sharpening - This class will be instruction for safe and sharpening techniques for your woodturning tools. Bring any of your woodturning tools for which you wish to learn about sharpening.

Holland Van Gores - Hollow Form
My instruction will cover taking a 6" section of green wood mounted on the centerline of the pith or, when the piece is large enough, side or end grain. We will hollow the piece through the bottom to achieve a form not usually turned on the lathe. I will also show students how to create a bottom or plug to complete the form. Students should bring any tools they are comfortable using. I will bring what I have, but it may not be enough to keep everyone busy, so bring what you have in the way of hand-held hollowing tools

Holland Van Gores - Embellishing

We will use Micro-carvers or reciprocating carvers to texture the work before applying Milk paint Students should bring any tools they are comfortable using. I will bring what I have, but it may not be enough to keep everyone busy, so bring what you have in the way of hand-held hollowing tools and any micro-carvers or reciprocating carvers. I will bring different colors of milk paint to finish your piece.

Tim Swihart - Creating & Using Custom Color Accent Waxes for Burned Surfaces

Torching wood after turning can create wonderful textures that beg for color! Demonstrators in recent years have shown variations of the concept but all lean heavily on their existing stash of a commercial product that was no longer in production. I figured out a way to make my own custom colors using common materials. Join me as we focus on basic burning as a finishing technique, common design issues unique to burning, as well as creating and using custom colors. We’ll start with small pre-turned pieces so we can jump quickly into the process, problems, and solutions. Time permitting, you can turn, burn, and custom color a new piece from a provided blank. Class is open to all skill levels.

Blanks and equipment will be provided

Tim Tucker/Pat Carroll - Coring Demo
T and Pat will go over the 3 systems on the market today - and discuss the pros and cons of each, and how to choose which is right for you.
Coring will save you MOST of the time in cleaning up shavings - as compared to just wasting all of the wood inside a large blank. Learn how to measure the bank, and choose the correct cutter arm and support. And how to adjust the shape of the roughed out blank as you core - and the basic guidelines for coring in general. Bring popcorn as the banter between T and Pat should be quite entertaining.

Christine Smith

Christine started woodturning in 2016 and was immediately hooked after turning her first piece. Within just two years, she became a full-time woodturner in 2018 due to the high demand for her work at shows and galleries.

The pandemic in 2019 altered Christine’s woodturning journey, leading her to begin carving birds of prey. Since then, relief carving and sculpting with locally sourced woods have become a major part of her artistic practice.

Today, commissions, demonstrations, and the growing demand for her classes all reflect the quality and intricacy of Christine’s work.

https://christinewoodturner.com/
https://www.instagram.com/christinesmithwoodturner/

Kevin Felderhoff

Kevin an instructor at the John C. Campbell Folk School and will teach Turning a

Natural / Bark-Edge Bowl and Woodturning a Small Bowl.

Kevin’s love for building and working with wood began during his high school years, when he

built two roll-top desks - projects that sparked a lifelong interest in woodworking. He credits an

exceptional shop teacher with instilling strong fundamentals and an appreciation for

craftsmanship that continue to influence his work today.

He is well known for his wood cowboy hats, wood-turned footballs, and flying-wing

vases—pieces that blend technical precision with artistic design. Kevin’s work was featured

twice in 2025 on Fox & Friends Weekend: once on Made in America, spotlighting his wood

cowboy hats, and again during the National Tailgating segment featuring his wooden footballs.

Kevin has published the following articles in the AAW Journal:

A Commemorative Urn – For a Special Friend
A Bark-Edged Flying-Wing Vase
Threading Acorns Made Easy – Demo
Annual CMW Retreat Builds Community

To learn more, visit www.kevinfelderhoff.com

Mitch Jones

Mitch is a woodturner from Central Kentucky and lives in Gatlinburg,Tennessee. He enjoys living in the mountains with his wife, Nikki, and their three cats. In winter 2014, Mitch took a community class at Arrowmont and was hooked on woodturning. That summer he was lucky enough to get into Rudy Lopez's "Anchor, Bevel Boot Camp" and a lasting friendship was born. Two years later, Rudy introduced Mitch to Scarlette Rouse and they have both impacted Mitch's art and life as mentors and friends. Mitch began assisting every class at John C Campbell and Arrowmont that he could. He had the opportunity to assist Emmet Kane, Curt Theobald, Jerry Kermode and Aaron Hammer early in his woodturning journey.

Mitch instructed his first community class at Arrowmont in 2018, and has instructed or assisted over 2000 hours of studio woodturning classes. In 2024 Mitch was introduced to embellishing by Andi Wolfe, and is heavily influenced by her style/mentorship. While Mitch enjoys turning embellished orbs and bowls, his true passion is teaching beginners how to turn wood and supporting schools that are growing the arts and crafts movement. He believes that we have to find more woodturners in order to ensure we have a future where we still have clubs and symposiums and he tries to do his part. In 2025 Mitch taught over 200 beginners, ages 9 to 90, how to turn wood and is trying to match that number this year.

Pat Carroll

Working as a builder/carpenter, woodturning was a craft I knew very little about before 2001. I

had done some research and found a woodturner in my nearest town. Lucky for me, this

woodturner was one of the finest turners in Ireland. Willie Stedmond, one of the founding

members of the Irish Woodturners Guild, was giving night classes to which I attended a few. It

is always my first advice to anyone interested in woodturning, get some lessons and join a club.

I also did the latter and met some great people who helped and encouraged me along the way.

My turning has progressed and moved through different areas of this wonderful craft as the

years went on. I had many years and long periods of no woodturning time whatsoever due to

work and other commitments, but the draw was always there. The need to make shavings! I am

very proud of the recognition I have received from my peers and other artists over the years for

my work, demonstrating and winning pieces. I am also very honoured to have my work in

collections across the world. When Mark Baker, GMC Woodturning magazine approached me

to write for him, I was completely taken aback. I straight away said no to Mark, but Mark

persevered and said he would help me. So, with huge thanks to Mark I have many articles gone

to print.

As of late, with the dawning of virtual woodturning, I also have entered into the world of

delivering IRDs, (Interactive Remote Demonstrations). Working as a team, myself, my daughter

Chloe and Helen Bailey, are able to offer an excellent well prepared service to clubs and

individuals. We also run a meeting called “Meet the Woodturner”, where we interview artists

from all over the world and get a fascinating insight into their woodturning lives and careers.

Our audience is from all over the world and attendees get to ask the guests questions through a

chat box on the virtual platform we use. These fantastic meetings have made the world a small

place for the woodturning family to come together for evenings of great entertainment.

Holland Van Gores
Holland Van Gores was born in Southern California, where his love for working with wood started in childhood. He spent his career in building construction, focusing on finish woodworking, which deepened his appreciation for the versatility and beauty of wood.
Much of Holland's work is inspired by the organic shapes and textures found in the sea. Living in the Caribbean for 34 years, he was captivated by the clear, warm tropical waters, which profoundly influenced his art. His pieces often reflect the fluidity and intricate detail of marine life, bringing a touch of the ocean's magic into each creation.
Holland's creative process is a blend of precision and artistry. He begins on the lathe, carefully forming the initial shape. The piece is then hollowed and dried before he meticulously reshapes, carves, and textures it. This dedicated process allows him to transform wood into stunning works of art that evoke the serene beauty and vibrant energy of the sea.

Tucker Garrison
Tucker Garrison is a long-time member of CMW, a master turner and generous teacher and long-time CMW board member.

Tim Tucker
This is my 8th year in turning. And I am happy to be a member of CMW - where I have had benefit of mentorship by some of the most famous and talented turners today. Easy Platters has evolved into a fun class where we practice skills that make us better turners via tool control and understanding some of the finer points of clean cuts.

My turning philosophy is simple: The 3 Fs. They are:
Fine wood -(does not have to be exotic or expensive - but it needs to have visual interest either inherent or because of what we will do to it.

Form- The piece turned should make the eye tell the hand to touch or pick up the piece

Finish- quality wood, and work are either lifted by - or wasted by our sanding and finishing. I strive for a fine Furniture Finish.

Tim Swihart
I’ve been turning as a hobby since the mid-90’s with a primary focus on functional pieces (handles, knobs, pens, seam rippers, bowls, etc). After moving to Asheville in late 2015 and joining CMW, I’ve picked up a lot of new insights, skills, and experiences. Small projects like vases and ornaments are among my favorite “canvases” for exploring new techniques and material.

After a day of woodturning classes, participants gather on the covered porch to strengthen friendships and enjoy the evening in the Smoky Mountains.