New England boxes way down South

up towards the workshop

I just got back from Country Workshops, (www.countryworkshops.org) where I taught a class how I make a carved oak box, patterned after 17th-century examples. It was great to be back spending time with Drew & Louise Langsner. My Country Workshops experience goes all the way back to 1980, and from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s I was a regular there.

The picture above shows the path up towards the workshop; this is an early-morning view. My kids & I started each day with a walk to see the chickens & cows, then it was off to breakfast, then the shop.

Students learned &  practiced hewing, then planing the oak that was riven from a log…

hatchet & plane work

then some carving work, this case with mallet & V-t0ol.

mallet & V-tool

Once we got to assembly, my photography went by the wayside. So I will have to wait to show the finishing steps…

We did have several watchful eyes through the week. here’s a few,

you can observe a lot by watching

Smokey Joe

 

 

Including the daily visit from the kids to hound Karen to see if her box was done.

Is your box done, Karen?