Meet Joaquin Juatai | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joaquin Juatai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joaquin, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I enjoy woodturning, and progressing my art. I decided to sell my work to support my tool buying habit. New techniques, new skills, new styles of turning all require tools, and my collection wasn’t paying for itself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As I learn more and more about turning, I strive to develop not only the skills to push my own limits, but the ability to teach those skills to others. There are not many new things under the sun, but there are new, better, more efficient, and more effective ways to create those things. Woodturning is a timeless art, but it requires the discipline to develop and maintain skillfull turning. My goal is to walk away from the lathe every day having improved my skills, and having learned something more about the wood, about design, about a tool, or about myself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d start in the back yard, firing up the grill and sitting by the fire pit. Exploring local museums is definitely on the list, visiting small towns, seeing some of the history of North Carolina, all are part of what I’d like to do. I definitely would make a trip to Kitty Hawk, to see where powered flight first occurred.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mentors, Bob Bender and Mark Sillay.

Website: https://Wahtiewoodturning.com

Instagram: @wahtiewoodturning

Facebook: Wah-tie Woodturning

Youtube: @wahtiewoodturning

Other: TikTok: @Wahtie_woodturning

Image Credits
Stephene Sartin
Joaquin Juatai