Martha Diefendorf
I have always loved wood. I took a woodworking course at Penland School of Crafts and designed and built wood furniture on a custom basis while my children were young. After retiring in 2015 as a policy analyst, evaluator and consultant at the FPG Child Development Research Institute at UNC, I serendipitously fell into woodturning after meeting Frank Penta. I had the opportunity to learn about tools and basic techniques at his shop working along side of and sharing ideas with other turners. Attending symposia in NC, VA, TN and Ireland has been an inspiration, and taking weekly lessons from Don Leydens has been invaluable and fun. I am drawn to the natural beauty of wood and simple, pleasing shapes, and have started experimenting with the intricacies of lamination and the whimsy of embellishments.