Owen Sound Wood Symposium Announces Speakers, Opens Registration
Intersections Wood Collaborative has opened registration for the Intersections Wood Symposium 2026 and released the names of 15 speakers who will present at venues in and around Owen Sound in October.
Intersections Wood Collaborative has opened registration for the Intersections Wood Symposium 2026 and released the names of 15 speakers who will present at venues in and around Owen Sound from October 16 to 18.
The Owen Sound non-profit announced the symposium in the spring, when it issued a call for proposals from woodworkers, artists, educators and arborists. The speaker list is the first substantive program detail the organization has made public since.
Sessions will run at four venues — Grey Roots Museum, Harmony Arts Centre, Grey Gallery and Intersections Wood Studio. The organization says pre- and post-conference workshops will also run, but has not released dates, locations or a cost for them.
Who is speaking
Presentations span technical practice, art criticism and the cultural history of the craft. The announced speakers and topics are:
David Bell (Elora, Ont.) — Basket Illusion Effect on Woodturned Objects
Michael Brolly (United States) — Cool Bent Lamination Techniques
Marilyn Campbell (Kincardine, Ont.) — critique session at Grey Gallery
Frank DiDomizio (Selwyn, Ont.) — Multi Axis Disc Lathe Techniques
Carl Durance (Wiarton, Ont.) — spoon carving
Michael Fortune (Warsaw, Ont.) — Working Wood by Hand and by Machine
John Kelsey (United States) — Five Decades of Fragmental Woodturning
Lenore Keeshig (Neyaashiinigmiing, Ont.) — Exploring the Art and Tradition of Basketmaking
Brian Nelson (Thornbury, Ont.) — The Art of Woodworking: Getting Creative
Tina Scherz (Toronto) — Green Woodworking: Riving for Strength
Mark Sfirri (United States) — Stephen Hogbin: Groundbreaking Approach and Influence
Chris Sisson (Hamilton) — Thinking Outside the Box: Hand-chased Threads
John Terpstra (Hamilton) — The Poetry of Wood and Woodworking
Vic Tesolin (Stoney Creek, Ont.) — A Jack and a Block: Exploring the Use of Hand Tools
Malcolm Zander (Ottawa) — Adventures in Piercing Complex Turned Works
Organizers have not said which speakers appear on which day, or at which venue.
What else is on the program
Alongside lectures and demonstrations, the symposium will include a gallery exhibition of registrants’ work, vendor displays, a visit to the Grey Roots wood shop and its collection of historic local woodworking tools, a tour of the Grey Sauble Conservation Arboretum, and an evening banquet for registrants.
The host
Intersections Wood Collaborative is a not-for-profit woodworking studio and education centre at 299 10th St. E. in Owen Sound.
It runs workshops, lectures and open studio events, and was incorporated in March 2022 to carry on the studio founded by Stephen Hogbin, the Owen Sound-area woodworker, artist, designer, writer and environmentalist who died in 2022.
Hogbin’s work is itself a subject at the symposium: American sculptor Mark Sfirri’s session addresses Hogbin’s approach and influence. Intersections hosted a virtual presentation by Sfirri on Hogbin’s work previously.
Registration is open at intersectionswoodcollaborative.org.
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