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KENANSVILLE — Fred Benton, 75, from Rose Hill, and Madelyn Sawyer, a 16-year-old from Pink Hill, recently brought home top awards in the youth and adult categories after competing in the NC State Fair’s Best of Show.
Wanda Bell, NC Cooperative Extension Duplin County administrative assistant, told Duplin Journal that both artists represented the Duplin Agribusiness Fair at the NC State Fair after winning Best of Fair at the local level in September. Each year, fairs across the state submit their best home exhibits for the State Fair’s Best in Show competition.
Benton and Sawyer’s entries were displayed and judged in October at the NC State Fair. Benton won Best of Show in the adult division, category 1, for his wooden bowl crafted from four types of wood. Sawyer took Best of Show in the youth division for her Edge grain cutting board made from red oak and walnut. Each artist won $600 and a State Fair Best of Show ribbon.
Benton’s bowl features an intricate design made from padauk (redwood), yellow heart (yellowwood), wenge (blackwood), and a small amount of artificially aged maple. It took him approximately 50 to 60 hours to complete.
Each layer of the bowl, known as a ring, consists of 12 segments. These segments are cut to specific lengths and then glued together to form the ring. Once assembled, the ring is flattened and smoothed.
The segment rings, each varying in diameter, are stacked and glued together to create the rough shape of the bowl. This rough shape is then mounted on a lathe and turned to achieve the finished dimensions.
The feature ring, which is the wide ring displaying the intricate design of various woods, is the most complex element of the bowl. It requires several steps, including cutting pieces of wood to very precise dimensions, gluing them in a specific pattern, and then cutting them into segments to form the feature ring.
After the turning, scraping, and sanding on the lathe, six coats of lacquer are applied. The finish is then sanded down to 1000-grit sandpaper and polished using automotive buffing and polishing compounds to achieve the final sheen.
“If you’ve seen the bowl up close, it’s very, very beautiful — It’s segmented wood. I think he said the wood itself cost $120,” said Bell, emphasizing that it takes a lot of skill to craft a project like that.
According to Bell, Benton’s wife played a crucial role in encouraging him to enter his bowl in the competition, as he initially had no plans to do so.
Bell also shared that this was Sawyer’s first time participating in a county fair and she is already looking forward to entering again next year.
“[Madelyn] was so excited,” said Bell. “Even more thrilled about the $600 and has high hopes of doing a new and better craft in next year’s fair.”
