Irv Kurtzman lived in South Windsor. He started turning wood several years ago, and had studied at seminars throughout the Northeast as well as at The John Campbell Folk School in North Carolina where he studied with Alan Lacey, a world famous turner. He was a member of the Central Connecticut Association of Wood Turners, and the American Association of Wood Turners.

The wood he used was from local trees that had been cut for firewood or cleared for other reasons. Many had holes and occlusions, and even spalting, making them not usable as boards, but he incorporated these occlusions and made his bowls beautiful. The other choice would have been to purchase exotic woods from remote forests from all over the world. Unfortunately this practice is decimating these forests, because in many cases new trees are not being replanted creating the problems we now see as global warming. He did not want to add to these problems, and thus used local wood for his art.