Joe Devinny












Joe Devinny
For 35 years, I was professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California. During that time, I was pursuing woodturning as a hobby. Since retirement, I have made woodturning a second career. I joined the El Camino Woodturner’s Guild, and attended classes and demonstrations by master woodturners.
The mechanical aspect of woodturning comes easily to someone with engineering training – it requires an ability to conceive and design complex objects in three dimensions and familiarity with measurement and machinery. At the same time, it clearly requires artistic creativity. A bowl must be a pleasing sculptural composition that is effectively complemented by the figure of the wood – even as it requires tight joints and a smooth finish.
I make pieces using simple forms to emphasize the color and shape of wood – creating natural-edge bowls. I make pieces using segmenting techniques, in which many small blocks of wood are combined to create geometric patterns. Finally, I also use multi-axis turning to create complex shapes that are really small sculptures.
I am a member of the Artist’s Studio Gallery, and display my work in the Promenade mall location.