Olds' woodworker John Smythe took home two prestigious ribbons from the recent Calgary Stampede Western Showcase Woodworking event.
Smythe took the Best of Show ribbon for his handcrafted wooden vase.
He explained that the vase was turned on a lathe from a native clump birch harvested in northern Saskatchewan.
The 10 by 4.4-inch vase was turned to a wall thickness of about 1/16 of an inch. It is decorated with pyrography, airbrushed with acrylic paint and pierced with a high-speed air power dental drill and then finished with lacquer.
Smythe also brought home a second-place ribbon for a turned and carved wall sculpture entered into the Western theme category.
