---

Ron Manning

Mount Nebo, West Virginia

I turned my first bowl in October of 2018, but my love and appreciation for wood began much earlier in life. My dad was a part time carpenter and I remember “helping” him work on projects in his shop when I was only six years old. That love for wood continued into high school where I took every wood shop class I was allowed.

After graduating Highschool I received my Associate’s Degree as a Structural Designer and went on to enjoy a 49-year career in Structural Engineering. During that period, I would spend my free time making furniture and various other wood projects. I also worked part-time as an apprentice building houses.

Upon retiring in 2013 my wife and I moved to Mt. Nebo, WV. We began going to local arts and crafts shows and events. In the summer of 2018, I saw some beautifully turned wood bowls at one of the arts and crafts fairs that we attended. I told my wife “I would really like to learn how to do this”. In October of 2018 I was invited to join the West Virginia Wood Turners Association in Lewisburg, WV. I joined, and with the help and advice of my fellow club members I turned my first bowl. Since then, I have learned to turn Platters, Pens, Spindles, Tree Ornaments, Artistic and Ornamental turnings, Lidded Boxes, Inside Out Turnings, Piercing, Pyrography and how to combine Resin with wood. My love for wood is still growing.