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Being a woodworker is like being a chef, according to local woodworker Willie Wolf. "It's about creativity. All the basic ingredients are the same. It's about how you put them together and present them that's unique," he said. Wolf is hard at work in his spacious woodworking studio on Dead Indian Memorial Road outside Ashland. Set off from the twisting, winding road among autumn leaves drifting down from oaks, his studio is filled with tools, wood and in-progress pieces bound for the Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild Annual Harvest Show of Fine Woodworking on Thanksgiving weekend in Ashland. Woodworkers from Southern Oregon and Northern California will display toys, vases, bowls, boxes, shelves, chairs, beds, tables and other handmade pieces in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Great Hall at 70 E. Main St. on the corner of Main and Pioneer Streets. During the week before the show, the Elizabethan costumes and play posters that normally fill the downtown building's windows will be replaced with woodworking, giving passersby a sneak peak at what they will find, said Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild member Jens Sehm, who will be among the 18 woodworkers displaying pieces. The guild show opens daily at 10 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28; 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29; and 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30. Among other pieces he has made, Wolf will display a kitchen island on castors made of maple finished to satin-smooth perfection. Wolf, who enjoys cooking, specializes in mobile kitchen islands. He made one for himself several years ago that he still uses every day. He also enjoys the challenge of creating pieces with wood inlay. An end table he is crafting features a finely cut hummingbird in dark walnut sipping from a delicate flower made from light-colored maple. "Most woodworkers are looking to differentiate themselves," he noted. "Everyone can make a table. How do you make a table that stands out?" Wolf, who previously had a career in the high-tech industry, said he enjoys woodworking because he likes creative problem-solving, meeting with clients and the hands-on aspect of the work. "It's very tactile, very satisfying and very rewarding," he said. Woodworking is not without its dangers. Accidents with tools and power saws can lead to the loss of fingers, and Wolf has found rattlesnakes snuggling into his rural studio. American woodworkers also must compete with furniture manufacturers that use outsourcing, automation and inferior materials rather than solid wood. Local woodworkers can build items to exactly fit a customers needs. And the end product will be unique and of the highest quality, Wolf noted. "It's the craftsmanship. It's the quality. It's supporting local artisans," Wolf said. "When you're buying a piece of furniture from a local woodworker, it's an heirloom piece that you will pass down. It's not a disposable piece of furniture. That's very important." Admission to the woodworking show is free. For more information, visit www.siskiyouguild.org. For more information about Wolf and his business, WolfWorks Fine Woodworking, visit www.wolfworksfurniture.com. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.