Inspiration

David Upfill-Brown applying finsih to chair legs

For me, one of the best things about being here (the Studio Fellowship at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship) is taking inspiration from all of the incredible work produced by the faculty, staff, fellows and students. I was particularly inspired over the last month watching David Upfill-Brown produce 5 exquisite chairs.

Although I wasn't here when he went through the design process for this chair, just watching him take rough cherry boards and turn them into beautiful chairs has been a rare treat.

More work on the membrane box

Box sides--veneer glued to an MDF coreI've had two weeks of various experiments trying to figure out the best way to configure the lid and membrane on my current project. At this point I'm getting tired of mucking around with it and I'm going to build the box and figure out the top later.

So next week I'll be focused on getting the box together. I've already glued up the veneer and core for the sides of the box and now need to figure out the bottom and the frame for the membrane on top.

One idea I've had is to just stretch the membrane in a frame and then build some sort of kinetic element that sits in a top tray. Maybe if could be triggered by sound or proximity to create movement under the membrane as someone approaches the box??? If anyone has any thoughts or ideas, please post a comment--I'd love to hear from you!

Grid used in a failed kinetic experiment for the boxThis grid was used in one of the mock-ups that I didn't like. I like the grid, but the movement element for the box just didn't work out.

Under the hood

Several dozen bamboo skewers installed in the lid matrixHere is peek under the membrane of my current box project. The idea is that items put in the tray of the box will telegraph through the membrane. As an experiment, I cut and mounted a hundred or so bamboo skewers between two pieces of MDF drilled to accept them. I found a nut that fit on them perfectly. It even cut threads as I screwed them on using a nut driver.

The mock-up of the top is working and I'm pleased with how the rubber dye worked on the latex top. It has a very organic look to it--kind of like frog's skin or some sort of granite.

I have a couple of other ideas and I'm hoping to get one of them sorted out tomorrow. I'll post that one when it's done.

First fellowship project

Top membrane (dyed latex)It's day 11 of my fellowship and I've starting working on a small box. The lid of the box will have a flexible membrane that will distort to telegraph small items left in the top tray of the box. I've just applied dye to the latex membrane and I'm pleased with how it's come out.

I'm still working on the dimensions of the box and I'll need to cut down the lid as it's much too thick and this point. Another thing still to determine is the outside treatment of the box.

In addition to working on my first project, I've been making lots of small things for my bench--a shooting board, bench hook, and shelf for the back of the bench. In the evenings, I've been resurecting an old handsaw that I picked up at a garage sale for $3. It's a Disston D-23 from sometime after 1928 and before 1955.

CFC Fellowship

In addition to co-teaching a two week course this summer, I'm also going to start a 12 month fellowship in June.

From the CFC website:
The Studio Fellowship Program provides emerging and established furniture makers, carvers, and turners with a stimulating environment for the exploration of new work. The program offers free studio space and other benefits to individuals who are willing to commit anywhere from a month to a year to expanding their creative abilities.

So if you happen to be in Maine this summer or anytime during the next year, stop by and say hello.

Slideshow of my Summer Workshops Assistantship

I made a short slideshow with a few of the highlights from the summer workshop assistantship I did this past summer (2010) at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. I spent 10 weeks having fun, learning a lot, and working long hours. If you haven't checked out the workshops available at the CFC, I highly recommend it.

Enjoy. -mj

Heading back to CFC -- this time as an Instructor

I'm thrilled to have been asked to co-teach a summer workshop at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. I'll be out in Maine at the end of August and the beginning of September for the two week introduction to woodworking course. I'm excited (and humbled) by the prospect and really look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones while I'm out there.

The tiny shop make-over

I've been working to declutter the shop in preparation to start some new projects. Here's what the shop looks like right now (it's quite a mess). I've been selling things on ebay and craigslist to make room for a used shopsmith that I'm planning to pick up this weekend up in Eugene.

Michael Fortune working with students on chair design

 

Michael fortune working with students on design
Originally uploaded by Mark Juliana.

This past week (and the one coming up), I'm assisting in the 2 week Michael Fortune chair design class here at the CFC. Michael is wonderful teacher who clearly loves sharing with students.

 

As the class assistant I am absorbing a lot of great stuff  watching him work with students on their designs, models and mock-ups.

Workshop Bldg. at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship

Here I am again at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship--this time not as a student but as an assistant in the summer workshops. I'll be here until mid-June working in the various classes offered during that time.

It's already the middle of the second week and I've been helping Peter Korn and Craig Satterlee with the 2 week Basic Woodworking course.

The 12 students in the course are done with practice joints in poplar and have moved on to the final project of their own design (within reason--they only have about a week in which to build them) in the wood of their choice.

Right about now (10:20pm on Wednesday) the dedicated (or overly ambitious in project scope) are still in the shop working on dovetails. To the left is Barrie who came all the way from Wales to take the course. He's deviated a bit from the proposed bench project and instead is building a little bookcase with dovetailed corners.

When I left the workshop building around 9pm he was hard at work chopping out the waste of his tail boards. This was shot with a very wide angle lens so that giant chisel in the foreground that looks longer than Barrie's arm is a distortion (it's about the same size as the one he is holding).

This past weekend, David Upfill-Brown and I went fly fishing on the St George river. He has a canoe so we paddled up the river a couple of miles and fished along the way. We caught (and released) a few really nice smallmouth bass and a pickerel. We also saw 5 or 6 beaver (a first for me), bald eagles, blue heron, and too much beauty to recount in text. The day was perfect at about 70 degrees with very little wind and few bugs of the human biting persuasion.

Center for Furniture Craftsmanship summer workshop assistant

Just heard from Peter Korn! This summer I'll be in Rockport, Maine working as an assistant in the summer workshops at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship! I can't wait to get back to CFC (read about my time in the 9 month course 07/08) and I hope to blog about the experience of being a summer assistant.

Between now and then, I'll continue volunteering at the Ashland High School woodshop 2-3 days a week. There are a number of really talented students producing some great work in the class. One student is making a very nice hand-cut dovetailed box. He's been working on it for a few months now and it's looking great.

I'll get some pictures of it next week and post them here.


Going on in my much reduced shop: Still setting things up post move. The new shop space is a tiny 1 car garage that also contains quite a bit of camping and other gear.  I'll post some pictures of it soon (did I mention it's really small?). I've been working primarily with hand tools--including hand ripping with a panel saw. It's been fun, but it definitely slows down the pace of work. Although it has given me quite a bit of time to tryout Lie-Nielsen's new panel saws. Here's a mini-review:

Review of Lie-Nielsen Panel Saws
After using the crosscut (12ppi) and rip version (7ppi) of these new saws from Lie-Nielsen for about 6 months, I feel I have a fair understanding of how well they perform--in a word: They are FANTASTIC. Both saws track well and cut fast. They came from LN ready to work and have held their sharpness well working in domestic hardwoods.

In use, I've ripped several 80 inch long 1/4 inch edge strips for cabinets out of red oak and had just a few minutes of work with a handplane to get the cut line up to finish quality. The tote fits nicely in my hand and the saws are light enough to use for extended periods of time. My only complaint, and it's really more of a product request, is that they would make a full size version of each saw. I've pulled the rip saw out of the kerf several times while I adjusted to its length.

sketches from my nature journal (moleskine)

A sketch of the IOOF building in Ashland Oregon. From my nature journal.

Helping out tomorrow's woodworkers

For the last couple of months, I've been volunteering 2-3 half-days a week at the Ashland High School woodshop. I've learned a lot working with the kids and I'm amazed at what they can get done in just 90 minutes 2-3 times a week.

Of course they aren't all superstars churning out amazing work--some of them are just in woodshop because it's a great place to coast and an easy A. Hey, I remembering being that kid--although I coasted in technical theater production, not woodshop.

It's sad to find out that most high schools no longer have a woodshop program and of those that do, many face the budget axe in the near future. I guess it's hard to justify woodshop when there is no woodshop section on the No child Left Behind tests.

Anyway, it's been fun working in the high school shop. I only hope it's around for future generations of students.

The last lunch

 

Last day of school
Originally uploaded by Mark Juliana.

Just unloaded a few photos from the camera and thought I'd post them to the blog. Here's one of our class at our last lunch. We're eating leftovers from our graduation dinner the night before.

 

And now with a bit of perspective I ask myself would I do it again? Yes, without question. The time for me in Maine was exactly what I needed--I don't know if I'll become a designer/maker of furniture as my sole source of income, but I hope it will definitely be a big part of the rest of my life.

A note to the guys in my class:
Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. Your work was inspiring and your wit and energy made the class what it was--great.

A note to the CFC staff and instructors:
You guys are fantastic. Everything about the school is top notch and the love of teaching this stuff shows in how well the school is run.

And then you're done...

Nine months gone in a flash.

A bitter-sweet parting of ways.

A long drive ahead.

Would I do it again? No thought required--a definite yes.

See you back in Ashland.