An artist in action

With the lathe humming and curls of wood flying, there was a lot of action in Larry Froehlich's workshop in Crookston as he demonstrated with chisels, wax and sandpaper how to turn a chunk of black walnut into a gleaming curved wooden goblet.

Saturday and Sunday, Froehlich, whose business is called Turned Works, will be part of Arts in Action at the Grand Cities Art Fest, one of a half-dozen artist who will show festival goers the processes and techniques of turning wood, making jewelry and more.

Arts in Action is just one feature of the 8th annual Grand Cities Art Fest in downtown Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. The festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, will bring together about 160 artists, about 20 food vendors, entertainers and more in Grand Forks Town Square, in Cabela's parking lot in East Grand Forks, and in the Greenway on both sides of the Red River.

In eight years, the Grand Cities Art Fest has become one of the premiere events in area, drawing tens of thousands of people to the downtown. It is organized by the North Valley Arts Council.

The artists who will make up the Art Fest marketplace were chosen from applications submitted months ago, and 12 artists have been named Best in Category. Sunday at 1 p.m., a Best in Show artist and runners-up will be announced. This year's featured artist is David Norstad of Detroit Lakes, Minn.

For Froehlich and other Arts in Action artists, the mission of the art fest will be to show their crafts, share their skills and techniques, and maybe even inspire others to try their hand at the arts as well.

Froehlich, a native of Montpelier, N.D., got his first wood lathe from his father, who intended it for Larry and Cheryl Froehlich's three sons. The boys haven't gotten around to trying it ("Yet," says their father), but for 14 years, it's given Larry an artistic outlet not to mention hours of enjoyment and relaxation.

Froehlich started out his working life in farming, milking cows, and has been in the ag business one way or another ever since, currently semi-retired but still working in outside sales for Crookston Welding & Machine/NAPA.

His start in wood turning began when his wife suggested he try out his father's lathe on a bunch of dying birch trees on a property they owned at the time. Since then he's mostly taught himself, he said. Ninety-eight percent of his pieces are turned from Minnesota woods that were either dying, downed in a storm or taken down when land was cleared, he said.

Froehlich makes bowls, vases and goblets, most anything that's semi-round, he said. He has with various woods including boxelder, cedar, black walnut, Russian olive and birch. How he uses the wood depends on its condition and moisture content.

"I let the wood dictate to me," Froehlich said. "I sort of have an idea when I start but when the wood starts spinning, it comes out what it wants to be."

With small pieces of wood, he cuts them into small strips, glues them and makes cutting boards. He finishes the works with include lacquer, polyurethane or mineral oil. For what he calls "immediate gratification," he'll put solid Hut wax to the wood as it spins on the lathe, which makes the wood surface gleam in a matter of minutes.

Woodworking can be an amazing process, he said, because it feels like finding something beautiful inside something that's ordinary and plain.

"It's deceiving when you start," Froehlich said. "You look at the wood and think you should throw it away, and when you make something out of it, it comes alive."

Reach Tobin at (701) 780-1134; (800) 477-6572, ext. 134; or send e-mail to ptobin@gfherald.com .