Wood Symposium 2026

Welcome to the Wood Symposium 2026 hosted by Intersections Wood Collaborative October 16 - 18, 2026 in beautiful Owen Sound, Ontario.

We are delighted to invite you to join us for three days of inspiring presentations, exhibitions, demonstrations, international speakers, vendor displays, evening programming, pre-and post hands-on workshops, and so much more. Wood Symposium 2026 will connect and inspire beginner to experienced woodworkers and woodturners. 

For more information, email symposium@intersectionswoodcollaborative.org.

About Intersections Wood Collaborative

Intersections Wood Collaborative is a not-for-profit woodworking studio which continues to honour the legacy and vision of internationally renowned visionary artist Stephen Hogbin (1942-2022) by providing classes for all ages, lectures, mentorship, demonstrations, and more for woodworkers. Visit www.intersectionswoodcollaborative.org for details.

Symposium Registration

Registration is now open! Use the links below to register for the Wood Symposium 2026

Featured Presenters

Mark Sfirri

Mark Sfirri is a teacher, researcher, writer, photographer, and curator. His artistic practice is as a furniture maker and woodturner.  He is best known for his multi-axis turning, which is something that he first started exploring in the mid 1970s.  He was the recipient of the American Association of Woodturners “POP Merit Award," in 2024. Last year he had two solo museum shows of new work: “La Famiglia” at the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia PA and “The Flower Show” at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown PA.


Website: https://www.marksfirri.com

Marilyn Campbell

Marilyn Campbell is a self-taught turner from Kincardine, Ontario.  Her unusual approach to problem solving led to much experimentation with epoxy resin as a second medium to wood.  Over the past 25 years she has developed simple techniques for using resin as both a decorative and a structural element to create a unique look.  Her work has garnered many awards and has often been cited for its originality.  Marilyn has demonstrated and taught her methods throughout Canada, the U.S., Australia, France and England.  She has participated in many juried shows and international exhibitions and has been featured in several books and magazines.  Her work is included in private, public and museum collections throughout North America and abroad.

Michael Fortune

Designer/maker, teacher and mentor Michael C. Fortune is one of Canada’s most respected and creative contemporary furniture masters. Since his career began 33 years ago, Fortune has become acclaimed for his innovative, but resolved, designs for one-of-a-kind objects in wood, commissioned residential furnishings and items in limited editions. His work has brought him an international clientele and reputation. He is acknowledged for both his technical and design expertise, giving lectures and workshops across Canada and the United States. 

David Bell

David Bell is a wood turner who has been involved in woodworking for nearly 50 years. The craft of woodworking and its lustre began in the basement of the family’s stone farmhouse, on the outskirts of the picturesque village of Elora, Ontario. David’s interest in working with wood was inspired by his grandfather. David gained a further interest in art based on his mother’s pottery making. Thus began a continuing fascination in becoming a maker and artist. David is the President of the Waterloo Wellington Woodturners Guild in Waterloo, Ontario, and a member of the Grey Bruce Woodturners Guild in Kincardine. David is an instructor at Intersections Wood Collaborative in Owen Sound and a participating artist on the Elora Fergus Studio Tour for over 10 years.

Michael Brolly

Michael J Brolly is a woodturning artist from Philadelphia, PA whose lathe turned objects have gone on exhibit all over the country and the world. Recently, his Michael Brolly: REDUX retrospective exhibit showed at the DeLong Gallery, and "Cradle to Cradle" and "Serious Play" have toured the country highlighting this woodturner's unique turning style which has evolved from carving and texturing to sandblasting.

Carl Durance

Growing up on a large poultry farm in Ontario, working with his hands came naturally to Carl, instilling values of strong work ethic and respect for all things natural. His creative instinct and desire for challenge led to the position of Associate Director of a leading-edge computer software research and development group at the University of Waterloo. Carl now focuses that creative energy and desire to learn to ever-increasing artistic endeavours. He is accomplished in different art forms, using clay, glass, metal, stone, and wood, including lampworked/flameworked glass, pottery, stained and fused glass, bird carving, glass enamelling on metal, jewellery, and wood turning. Carl lives in a tranquil country setting hemmed between Colpoys Bay to the North and the Niagara Escarpment to the South. Carl started turning wood in the mid 1980s. He is currently a member of the Grey-Bruce Woodturners Guild in Kincardine, Simcoe Woodturners Guild in Barrie, Thames Valley Woodturners Guild in London, American Association of Woodturners, Segmented Woodturners, and Ornamental Turning International. Through a combination of instructional training and self-taught (trial & error), Carl continues to develop and refine his technique. Carl concentrates on domestic hardwoods, including maple, cherry, birch, butternut, and walnut. He enjoys using exotics on occasion. He likes to incorporate surface embellishments, such as textured, air-brushed, gilded, or woodburned accents, on a turned piece. Carl shows his work and teaches a variety of workshops at the Southampton Art Centre in Southampton, Intersections Wood Collaborative (formerly Stephen Hogbin's Intersections Wood Gallery & Studio) in Owen Sound, and, Owen Sound Artists Cooperative in Owen Sound, and is a regular presenter at other guilds and public events.

Lenore Keeshig

Award winning Anishnaabe storyteller and basketmaker.

John Kelsey

As founding editor of Fine Woodworking magazine, John Kelsey has been at the forefront of contemporary North American woodworking for decades. His presentation will explore the lasting impact in woodworking of Stephen Hogbin, regionally focussed yet internationally known designer-craftsperson, in the 1960s and '70s when his discovery of the woodturned cross-section emerged as one of the brash new ideas in furniture, architecture, sculpture, and really all craft-based arts.

Brian Nelson

Brian Nelson launched his woodworking career in the mid-1990s by completing courses at the Centre for Furniture Craftsmanship in Camden, Maine, and establishing an independent furniture studio in Thornbury, Ontario.

Tina Scherz

Tina Scherz is a woodworking enthusiast, who enjoys this quiet pursuit with limited use of power tools. This hand tool focus has led her to explore various greenwood projects, including Building a Chair from a Tree using the book of the same name by Jennie Alexander. Working the chair pieces for this project offered a deep appreciation for the structure of wood.

John Terpstra

For 40 years John Terpstra worked as a cabinetmaker and carpenter, learning on the job, starting in small companies before becoming self-employed out of his own woodworking shop. At the same time, he was writing and publishing books of poetry. The words and the wood overlapped. His seminar will describe how, and feature work from both halves of his creative brain.

Vic Tesolin

Vic Tesolin began his career in woodworking after serving 14 years in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. After an honourable discharge, he went on to study furniture design and making at Rosewood Studio under the guidance of some of North America’s top furniture makers.

Over the years, Vic has had the pleasure of holding various woodworking-related positions, including Editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement Magazine and Woodworking Advisor at Lee Valley Tools.

When he’s not teaching, you’ll find Vic combining his passions of woodworking and education into various forms of communication: Blogging for Fine Woodworking Magazine, co-hosting the FWW Shop Talk Live podcast, creating social media woodworking content, and writing articles for magazines including Fine Woodworking. Vic is also the author of two books: The Minimalist Woodworker and Projects from the Minimalist Woodworker.

Malcolm Zander

I began woodturning in 2000. Obviously I have a lace fetish. This I blame on Binh Pho, whose seminar in Albany I attended in 2003, after which I immediately went out and bought a dental drill and compressor and airbrush. The lesson is to attend as many woodturning conferences as you can, because you never know where one demonstration may lead you. I am very interested in form, seeing different manifestations of form in wood, fiber, glass, and ceramic art, and I am exploring these differences and similarities in my art, together with the influences of texture and color. Woodturning for me is a very rewarding pursuit, because in a relatively short period of time one can produce something of real beauty. Of course, from the sweep of the Grand Canyon to the structure of a microbe to the form of a flower, the greatest artist of all is nature. We cannot compete with nature, but we can be inspired by it.

Frank Didomizio

I worked for many years as a Professional Engineer and Manager in the Power Industry. Although I had a very demanding business career, I found time to explore and develop my interest in working with wood. I became interested in creating modern and classical furniture in the 1990s. This led me to joining the Kawartha Woodturners Guild in 1997 where I quickly found my true passion was woodturning. I joined the Guild executive and became President of the Guild in 2001, continuing to serve on the executive for many years to this day. Throughout the years I attended many AAW symposiums and took classes with nationally known professional woodturners when the opportunity arose. I am now fully focussing my efforst in the pursuit of woodturning, participating in a few art shows each year, displaying my work at various galleries, demonstrating for woodturning guilds and teaching woodturning out of my studio.

Chris Sisson

Chris Sisson known online as Shisonwood is a 48 year old Japanese-Canadian woodturner from Hamilton, Ontario. Known for his whimsical and often technically demanding projects from puzzle boxes to micro turning his work bridges traditional craftsmanship with modern artistry and a sense of humor. He often mixes traditional woodturning techniques with new technologies such as power carving, laser engraving and a variety of finishes to add texture and vibrant colors to his various works both functional and artistic. An active member of the woodturning community and proud member of the Golden Horseshoe Woodturners Guild he enjoys sharing his expertise through live demonstrations with an aim to bring fun and whimsy to woodturning.

Jim Williams

Jim is the current President of the Kawartha Woodturner’s Guild. He has obtained a great deal of experience and knowledge in a very short time.  He just started turning in 2019 and at that time attended a Hands On retreat in Texas.  Later in 2020 he did one to one classes with Chris Ramsey in Kentucky and in 2022 he also did classes with JoHannes Michelson in Vermont. Jim has demonstrated at regional clubs and was a guest demonstrator at the Southwest Association of Woodturners (SWAT) Symposium in Texas. All of this has helped to hone his skills in making unique wooden hats. He has attended a number of AAW regional symposiums to further his woodturning education and his pieces were featured in the AAW journal in Oct 2022.

Exhibition Information

Wood Symposium 2026 participants are encouraged to join the Wood Symposium 2026 Exhibition located at Grey Gallery in Owen Sound during the Symposium weekend. Grey Gallery is located at 883 2nd Avenue East, Owen Sound N4K 2H2.

Each Symposium registrant is eligible to submit one piece of work for the exhibition by providing an Application Form (below) by September 25, 2026 to Grey Gallery by email to greygalleryowensound@gmail.com. Smaller works are encouraged.

All original works must be onsite at Grey Gallery by 10am Friday October 16, 2026. Drop off times are:
- Thursday October 15 from 5-7pm and
- Friday October 16 from 8-10am.

Artists are responsible for the safe transportation of their artwork during both drop-off and pickup and are required to make their own insurance arrangements.

Sale of works: Work must be available for sale. Grey Gallery will retain a 30% commission on sales.

The exhibition will be open to the public on:
- Friday October 16 from 4pm to 6pm
- Saturday October 17 from 12pm to 5:30pm and
- Sunday October 18 from 10:30 to 1:30pm

Art pick up is by 1:30pm on Sunday October 18, 2026.

In addition to the works on display, there will be a critique session offered. The critique session will be hosted by Mark Sfirri and Marilyn Campbell. Works to be critiqued will be selected by the individual providing the critique. Not all works will be selected. Critique sessions will be offered on Saturday October 17 from 4pm to 5:30pm.

Artist and Work Information Sheet

Please supply the following details to Anne Dondertman by email at greygalleryowensound@gmail.com no later than September 25, 2026

Artist name
Title of work
Dimensions
Medium
Price
Digital image (artist and artwork title in the file name)
Contact information of the artist including email and phone
Brief artist statement (250 word max.) describing themes or process related to the submitted work.
Installation requirements - please indicate whether your work is suitable for wall display. If your piece cannot be easily wall mounted, can it be exhibited on a table or other flat surface? Are there any special requirements for displaying it? For example is it over 20 lbs in weight, or does it require special lighting or connection to a power source? Due to the very condensed timeline for installing the exhibition it may not be possible to comply with all special requests.

Specific questions regarding pick-up and delivery options or exhibition installation can be directed to Anne Dondertman by email at greygalleryowensound@gmail.com or by phone at 226-664-2776 and will be promptly answered.

Travel and Accommodation

All symposium events are held in and around Owen Sound. The primary venue is Grey Roots Museum and Archives (click here for google map directions).

Owen Sound is a scenic 2.5 hour drive north of Toronto Pearson International Airport. There is also bus service from Pearson Airport or downtown Toronto on limited days.

The Best Western Inn on the Bay is offering a group rate for Symposium participants. Other accommodation options in Owen Sound are available here.

Please email symposium@intersectionswoodcollaborative.org with any questions.