Lyn Walker
Mountain City TN - When the Johnson County Center for the Arts opened on College Street, Lyn Walker was the very first wood artisan. He learned about plans for the Arts Center the year before from Cristy Dunn, who would become the Arts Center’s Director.“Lyn was part of that dedicated team of volunteers that renovated our College Street building in the summer of 2017,” said Dunn. Since the beginning, Walker has remained one of the Center for the Arts most sought-out artisans.
About 17 years ago, after retiring from working for the Federal Government, he and his wife Carol moved to Johnson County from eastern Virginia to“escape the traffic, mosquitos and humidity,” he said.
Walker served 20 years in the U.S. Navy and then worked 20 years for the federal government. It was during his time with the U.S. Navy that he received an Associate’s Degree in Art in the State of Washington. He was doing illustrations for the interview documents of Vietnam War P.O.W.s and was offered a chance at the art program. He was the only military student in the class.
Walker's love of art started early,“My father was a house painter and hung wallpaper,” said Walker.“When I was 5 or 6 he would bring home the wallpaper scraps, and I would draw all over the back of them.”
As an artist, he has worked in nearly every medium; watercolor, charcoal, pastel, ceramics, photography and sculpture. He has created pen and ink illustrations for a book; worked at a stained glass company in Norfolk Va.; a taxidermy business in the state of Washington; and has completed one oil painting.
Asked how he started woodturning he said,“I’ve always dabbled in different kinds of woodworking. Several years ago, there was a woodcraft store in Johnson City that was closing down and the last class they offered was on woodturning. I loved it.”
All of his earlier experiences with different art mediums has strengthened Walker's artistic abilities and it shows in his woodturnings.“Lyn Walker is a master bowl turner,” said fellow woodturner John Mast.“His finishes amaze me.”
To beginner woodturners Walker advises,“Study and do research first. It’s expensive. All the equipment is expensive. Read books, magazines, watch videos online and then decide what you want to do.”
“I consider Lyn to be a very skilled artisan,” said Ray Comeaux.“Along with being a good friend, his skills are second to none in creating beautiful turned objects, and I feel very honored that he has been willing to share his knowledge with someone such as myself who is fairly new to turning on a lathe.”
Asked about his future projects Walker replied,“I still have bowls to turn.”
You can see his work at the Johnson County Center for the Arts’Gallery on Main at 129 W. Main St., Mountain City, Tennessee. He is also one of the showcased artists in the Gallery on Main’s June show, Going with the Grain.
