Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions. We meet on the third Thursday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas, demos and information about local suppliers and much, much more.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 and long time member Lupe Nielsen will be sharing her woodworking journey with our group.
Lupe is a once-in-a-lifetime student/woodworker, dedicated to learning, practicing and building in extraordinary ways. She’s tackled a plethora of techniques and applied those skills to the many pieces she’s built - from chairs to tables, entertainment centers to exquisite carvings. It would be hard to find a more motivated woodworker in town than Lupe!
Lupe has hinted that she might possibly move from Las Vegas, so we took this opportunity to invite her to tell us how she got here - not just to this city, but to the level of craftsmanship that most of us can only dream of!
Here are her exact thoughts:
“In the 1990s cognitive psychologist, Anders Ericsson published a research where he wrote about the “10,000-hour rule”, where it takes10,000 hours of deliberate practice to develop expertise in a sport or skill. Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 book, “Outliers” simplified the idea by saying “It takes 10,000 hours to master anything.”
Lupe Nielsen, started her journey into the fine woodworking world on March 2011 when she walked into Jamie Yocono’s Wood It Is woodworking school for the first time. Since then she has deliberately strived to master the craft. She currently holds the record of having taken 30 classes at the school.
Her quest for knowledge did not stop at Wood It Is. She has continued her education by learning from anyone who will teach her. Locally, she has learned to turn wood from Jimmy Clewes, from Christian Brisepierre, and any woodturner that has come to teach in Las Vegas: Stuart Batty, Eli Avisera, Sally Ault, and many more. She tackles carving with Dennis Patchett and Richard Otsubo.
Five years ago, she ventured out of state and discovered the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana, which is the largest woodworking and arts and crafts school in North America. She attends the school in periods of 2 weeks to 2 months on a yearly basis, and has learned from the top craftsmen in the world. She even completed enough courses to complete their “Masters” program, and has even taught at that school as well.
She travels extensively to constantly learn from others. Her adventures have taken her to schools in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Since 2011, she has been diligently working with wood for at least 20 hours per week, in addition to what she does for her handcrafting of magic apparatus business.
If you ask her how much she knows, she currently thinks that she has not even begun to “scratch the surface” of everything there is to learn in woodworking.
Her presentation will be about her woodworking journey, and she will gladly answer any questions anyone may have in pursuing what she considers one of the best and most satisfying hobbies in the world.”
This meeting will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas at 5220 W. Charleston Blvd. As always, the public is welcome to attend the meeting, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call (702) 672-8981.
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