more Greenwood Fest photos

UPDATE – I completely forgot to point out, these photos are from Marie Pelletier, Plymouth CRAFT’s intrepid photographer. Thanks, Marie.

Some might be repeats – I can’t keep track.

home of Swedish cowboy coffee

Tobias Eklund and Pär Brask  from Morakniv were there all weekend, offering Swedish cowboy coffee and talking knives…it was great having them with us.

Tobias Ecklund of Morakniv

 

Pär Brask and Ian discussing knives over coffee

Darrick Sanderson (ol’ #16) brought his own lathe, set up outside the pavillion drawing in the crowds to see what all the commotion was about.

Darrick Sanderson

The lathe pavillion was always jumping. Not sure if this shot is during Robin Wood’s class, or during Darrick’s in the Fest. Rare shot of the floor being cleaned of shavings.

turners trompin’

Tim Manney, helping people get sharp and stay sharp.

Tim Manney sharpening

They were never not carving.

around the woodpile

Spoons!

spoons

There was much fan-bird mania.

fan bird feathers being spread

 

fan bird

Pete Galbert kindly supplemented our shaving horse throng. These got used in many groups; drawknife work, fan birds, and more.

horses all lined up

Pete Galbert demo’d drawknife stuff for his class.

push & pull

Dave Fisher’s students concentrating hard on letter-carving in basswood.

 

letter carving

For a minute, I though Joel was being serious here, as he tries the spoon mule. But no, still grinning ear-to-ear.

spoon mule

The tip of the iceberg.

a fraction of the full week’s output

 

some Greenwood Fest pictures

I’m getting nowhere sorting Greenwood Fest pictures, so will just post a few here & there rather than trying to write a comprehensive blog post about the event. The wood gets delivered in a dump truck. Easy to unload, but last year we just left a large jumbled heap for people to sift through. This time I asked for (& got) volunteers to sort and lay out the wood so it was less hazardous. Then – I kept worrying we’d run out. Doesn’t look like enough, but it was…

Here’s Curtis Buchanan on his way to work, no doubt some hijinks between him & Darrick Sanderson on the pole lathe there. It was a great pleasure to have Curtis join us this time…

Way back in my woodworking DNA I’m a chairmaker – and I kept going back to Curtis’ sessions to see what he was up to, and to admire his chairs. So much so that I bought this one – I never bought another chairmaker’s chair before.

Barn the Spoon. BOOM.

So much hands-on component, so much real-world connection.

This place was always busy.

The ladyslippers were in full bloom.

 

Robin Wood came over from England. He ran several sessions, this one, with JoJo (seated on the right), about their tool-making operation Wood Tools.

Our old friend Joel Pontz brought his tent, his borrowed dump truck and his eager help. Then he took Jane Mickelborough’s folding spoon class. Here he’s cutting the bridle joint that forms the hinge.

Stopped by Dave Fisher’s pre-fest course on carving bowls, to see just who the quickest ones were who got to sign up for that class. Under 10 minutes I think it took to sell out…

And Dave in a later session demonstrating how he does the finish work on one of his bowls.

thank you for Greenwood Fest 2018

I am just about done sorting and sifting through my workshop, putting it back together after Greenwood Fest 2018. I’ll post photos from the Fest in the next couple of days, but first I want to offer great thanks to the Plymouth CRAFT board and volunteers for helping Pret, Paula & I to run this event. I don’t have pictures of them all, but there’s a large group of people working very hard to make things run. They all did multi-purpose duties, and we appreciate their support. There’s always the risk of missing someone in a venture like this, and if I do, I’ll sort it out. Here goes: Ben Brewster with his AV help; David Berman, design work (& bed-making); Mary Salcedo & Jake Peters for all their hustle; Rick McKee for help setting up & breaking down; Joel Pontz – the tent and the dump truck, Chris Devine – the WOOD! The staff working in the Greenwood Shop deserve special mention – Elizabeth Creedon, Pat Baker, Charlotte Russell, Caroline Chapin, Janice Card, Kirsten Atchison, and Dorothy Price. Then Marie Pelletier, who shot the photos (& bed-making); Tobias Ecklund and Pär Brask from Morakniv; and Ben Strano and Barry Dima from Fine Woodworking. Pete Mickelborough, Zak Wolstenholme and Sean Vivide for all their pitching in to help. And Bryan MacIntyre, guarding the life.

UPDATE = knew I’d forget some. Mike & Tammy Race, for ferrying people from the bus, hosting in elegance our wayward travelers and their unflagging support of all Plymouth CRAFT endeavors. And Josh Hockenberry for the airport run when we were too swamped.  Pat Kirby for his constant help and smile. I’m sure I’ll add some…

A very special thanks to the hard-working kitchen staff at Pinewoods who kept us all well-fed.

The next big thank-you goes to the incredible instructors who set aside time to travel to us – we’re very lucky to have such great friends.

front row, l-r: Dave Fisher, Darrick Sanderson, Curtis Buchanan, Tim Manney, back row, l-r: JoJo Wood, Robin Wood, Barn the Spoon, Jane Mickelborough, Pete Galbert, Peter Follansbee, Paula Marcoux

Greenwood Fest 2018 instructors

And all you folks who came from far and wide – if you didn’t buy tickets, we couldn’t do it. Here’s the group photos – some got away just before it, but that’s most of you. Thanks.

Greenwood Fest 2018 group

“Spoon-wood” for Jögge Sundqvist

I’ve often wondered when the hell someone would re-write the great Willie Dixon song “Spoonful” for all the spoon-carving crowd. Then I tried for years & couldn’t get it. Once I stopped trying, it came to me. So – sung to the tune of “Spoonful” here are the lyrics I came up with for Greenwood Fest 2018

 

It Could be a spoon made of cherry

It Could be a spoon made of bee-eeech

But one little spoon of Jögge’s precious birch

Is good enough for me-eeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

It could be a spoon made with JoJo

It could be a spoon made with me-eeee

Or just a little spoon that Jane brought from home

a folding spoon from Britt-a-kneeeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

It could be a spoon made from straight wood

Or a crook from your favorite tree-eeee

Barn just made a spoon with his twca cam

That’s good enough for mee-eee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

Paula did all of this planning

so we could carve spoons all week

Chris cut the wood from his bucket truck

they both get big thanks from me-eeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

To decorate his spoons with a jackknife

Dave uses sorcery

There’s no way his is an Earthly skill

It’s Way Beyond the likes of me-eeeee

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

Curtis and Tim have a different way

They bend their Crooks with steam

What’d you expect from chair makers

It’s good enough for me-eeeee

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

 

Some learned spoons from the internet

Some learned spoons from Tee-Veeeee

If you use an axe and a couple of knives

You can trace it back to ol’ Vill-eeeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just wild about that spoon wood

Just wild about that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

That spoon, that spoon, that spoon wood.

Greenwood Fest 2018 is nearly here

Next Monday, June 4th, the Plymouth CRAFT crew and most instructors descend on Pinewoods Dance Camp in Plymouth Massachusetts to begin setting up Greenwood Fest 2018. We’ve been working pretty steadily prepping stuff for a couple weeks now – Paula wrangling schedules and logistics and Pret & I have been making the next batch of lathes for bowl turning. The first season, we used Jarrod Dahl’s lathes, then last year we built 4 lathes and Jarrod brought 4. This year, we’ll have 8 of our own, and we’re gathering all the necessary gear – hook tools, treadles, mandrels – Plymouth CRAFT will now have the necessary equipment to host bowl turning classes outside of Greenwood Fest. All we’ll need is a venue and an instructor. You can tell I made the poppets for the lathes – the wedges that secure some of them are carved.

I kept thinking I had loads of time, and at one point I did. But no more. So now I have a scramble to finish up whatever I can so I have something to show in the retail “Greenwood Shop.”  Will it be the joined stool? The ladderback chair? The carved box? At least one of those things, I hope.

Once the Fest sold out, we started a waiting list. As we’ve got closer to the date, here & there some people have had to drop out for one reason or another, and people from the waiting list get contacted and some of them drop in. The Fest is still full, but the 7 pre-Fest courses have some spaces and no waiting lists. So for any last-minute people with flexible schedules – we have some openings you might like to jump on. If you missed out on the Fest and can come at the nearly-last minute, the pre-Fest is almost as wild an event as the Fest itself. Or if you’re in the Fest, quit your job and extend your stay forward with us. Mid-day Tues June 5- mid-day Thurs June 7th. https://www.greenwoodfest.org/course-details

Spoon carvers – Jane Mickelborough’s folding spoon class (hinged spoon, we call it both names) has spaces. It’s an amazing exploration of a traditional form from Brittany. Something different from a lot of the spoon carving going on, but rooted in a local tradition. No one alive knows more about those spoons than Jane.

JoJo Wood’s eating spoon class. Someone can get into this fiercely popular class. JoJo has been part of both our previous Greenwood Fests. I’ve written lots about her work since we met in 2014, and I continue to be so impressed with her amazingly detailed and nuanced spoons. If you’ve paid any attention to spoon carving, she’s one of the top spoon carvers out there.

 

Tim Manney’s class in sharpening is a real eye-opener. In woodworking, sharp tools make everything better. Tim makes tools sharp, easily. He’ll demystify the processes to sharpen all kinds of tools; hatchets, knives, gouges, chisels, most any edge tool. I have often told the story of the first time we offered this class at Plymouth CRAFT – we had beginning woodworkers running around asking “What else can we sharpen?”

 

If you’re signed up for the Fest, there’s one thing I’ve been meaning to mention for some time. Paint – as far as I can tell, we’ve not addressed painted finishes in our Fest before. Although we have two masters of milk-paint; Curtis Buchanan and Pete Galbert in attendance, in addition to Jögge Sundqvist (who is not afraid of color) – we have a “new-to-you” artisan –  Pen Austin doing some workshops and open demonstrations concerning paint; milk paint and distemper paint.

Pen is British, living in Massachusetts, where she is involved in restoration work in plaster and painted finishes. She trained in architectural conservation and she’s a member of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers of London. Pen was there for the first-ever Plymouth CRAFT event, back in 2014 https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/plymouth-craft/

And featured in Rick McKee’s blog post about building a Shakespearean stage – https://blueoakblog.wordpress.com/2014/07/27/playing-marbles/

I’m looking forward to seeing more of her work and also seeing people work with her. Should be something. I hope I can poke my nose into some of her sessions, I’d like to learn a bit more about manipulating paint. Back to my list of to-be-dones. 

 

 

Carve a Hinged Spoon w Jane Mickelborough

The Plymouth CRAFT crew is moving into full-tilt preparation for our third annual Greenwood Fest. Tickets are sold out for the fest, but there is space in one unique spoon carving class beforehand. Jane Mickelborough lives in Brittany and there she stumbled into a rich tradition of spoon carving unlike anything else we’ve seen – the folding (or hinged) spoons made in that region during the 18th and 19th centuries.

student’s spoons in Jane’s class last year at Spoonfest

She taught the folding spoon class last year at Greenwood Fest and at Spoonfest in England. Her blog post from the other day says the Plymouth class this season is the only one she’s teaching this year. https://janeswoodenspoons.blogspot.fr/2018/05/teaching-how-to-make-folding-spoons.html

Here’s Jane helping one of the students driving the hinge pin into a spoon blank.

And one of her folding spoons, complete with colored wax inlay.

Signing up for Jane’s class brings you into the pre-Fest activities – hers is one of 7 classes running at once, so you’ll be swept up in lots of interesting action between sessions, at mealtimes and evenings. I think of it as 3/4 of another Greenwood Fest. The price of $500 includes 2 full days of instruction; all materials; 2 nights lodging & 7 meals.

There’s also 2 spots I think in Tim Manney’s sharpening class. I’ve posted about this experience before; https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/sharpening-w-tim-manney-at-plymouth-craft/

I remember one student yelling “what else can we sharpen?” during one of Tim’s classes…

 

https://www.greenwoodfest.org/course-details

The rest of the Greenwood Fest lineup for 2018

I’m back from New York and off to Williamsburg. I’ll be at their Woodworking conference through Sunday, then back home here Monday or Tuesday. Then Pret & Paula get back from their jaunt just in time for tickets to Greenwood Fest to go on sale February 2nd, 10 AM eastern time.  https://www.greenwoodfest.org/

You can read what we have so far on that site. Earlier I mentioned we’re having 2 new instructors this time – Curtis Buchanan https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2017/12/27/greenwood-fest-instructor-curtis-buchanan/ and Robin Wood https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/greenwood-fest-2018-instructor-robin-wood/ The rest of the lineup are regulars, or now-regulars for Greenwood Fest.

The Spoon Carving Triumvirate.

JoJo Wood – I’d hate to think of this program without JoJo. https://www.instagram.com/jojowoodcraft/

 

Barn the Spoon – a great addition last year and we’re thrilled to have him back again. https://www.instagram.com/barnthespoon/

And last but not least – Jane Mickelborough. https://www.instagram.com/janespoons/ Her folding spoons (and fan birds) were a huge hit. She’ll be doing some of both this time.

Then, Dave Fisher. There is no link to Dave Fisher. I’m not saying anything else.

Dave Fisher on a bowl horse

Darrick Sanderson is a huge hit. https://www.instagram.com/dcsandersoninc/ Hewn or turned bowls, spoons like crazy, non-stop carving/cutting/slicing.

 

The whirwind-around-the-world slöjd man Jögge Sundqvist.  https://www.instagram.com/surolle/ Where is he? Japan, Australia, Sweden, Minnesota – well, in June he’ll be in Pinewoods with us. Here he is doing his Jimi Hendrix thing. 

 

Not only do we have the now-old man of Windsor chairs, Curtis, but once again we have Pete Galbert coming back this year. Great chairs, great book, great teacher. https://www.instagram.com/petergalbert/

We just spent a weekend with Tim Manney making all edges sharp. Chair making, tool making, sharpening – Tim covers a lot of ground. https://www.instagram.com/tim.manney/

I’ll do a separate post about Pen Austin next week – she does amazing work with finishes, surfaces, etc. Often working with lime plaster, at the Fest she’s going to show us about using milk paint like you’ve never seen before. Even this crowd that is milk-paint savvy. Pen was there the day we launched Plymouth CRAFT but it’s taken until now for us to get her into our orbit – she’s very much in demand for restoration work. Here is a photo of some of her faux painting on columns for a Shakespeare Company’s stage.

 

I’ll probably do an oak carving session during the Fest, and hopefully Paula will do another cooking w/fire class…we’ll figure those details out during February.

teaching schedule for 2018

I’ve been meaning to get my teaching schedule posted here; but have been too busy getting stuff together…Next week I’ll be part of Colonial Williamsburg’s Working Wood Conference. I haven’t been there since 2007, here’s a shot from then, with Jennie Alexander pontificating while I get set to turn something.

JA & PF at Colonial Williamsburg 2007

It’s sold out, so if you got a ticket, I’ll see you there. https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/learn/conferences/working-wood

Next month, I’ll be back at Bob Van Dyke’s Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking for a 2-day class in carving oak; February 17 & 18.  https://www.schoolofwoodworking.com/woodworking-classes.html#Speciality_Weekend_Classes The exercises we’ll carve are all based on ones I learned from studying period furniture; chests, boxes, cupboards, church furniture in England and more. Here’s a snippet of what to expect.

In April I’ll be down to Roy Underhill’s Woodwright’s School for 3 days of spoon carving. It’s full, but I think you can get on a waiting list. More fun than a barrel of monkeys. http://www.woodwrightschool.com/classes/spoon-carving-plus-with-peter-follansbee

I’m not touching those spoons

Later in April (20-22nd) ’ll be part of Fine Woodworking Live in Southbridge Massachusetts; including a one-day intro to spoon carving. With Dave Fisher as assistant!! I’m just going to step back & watch Dave… http://www.finewoodworkinglive.com/about-fww-live/

I think I’m doing furniture-related stuff too, maybe a talk as well. I’d look into it, but I still have next week’s thing to prep!

May – getting ready for June.

June 5-10; Greenwood Fest 2018. Plymouth CRAFT’s 3rd time around with Greenwood Fest. Held at Pinewoods Dance Camp in Plymouth Massachusetts. 2-day workshops beforehand and a 3-day festival. Demonstrations, hands-on sessions, big pile of spoon wood (or bowls if you’re inclined); lodging & meals all part of the scene. Tickets go on sale February 2nd, 10am eastern time. https://www.greenwoodfest.org/ How fast will it sell out? I predict less than a day…so don’t hesitate.

here’s last year’s group shot:

July – Can’t forget Lie-Nielsen. Spoon carving, July 21 & 22. https://www.lie-nielsen.com/workshop/USA/191

That’s all I have for certain right now. We’re planning a long session for making a joint stool at Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. Like the chest project we did there twice, this would be one-weekend-per month for a few months. Maybe 4. So 8 days of classes. Unlike the chest, this project would require little or no homework. Split the log, make the boards, cut joinery, do turning! And make the stool. Haven’t figure the time frame yet. I might have a trip overseas in November, so I’m waiting to get that sorted first.

I also offer one-on-one classes here at my shop in Kingston Massachusetts.

Spoon carving, the oak furniture carvings I do, or various projects – like a carved box. Rate is $500 a day. I have all the tools necessary, wood and reference materials. We have lunch together, lodging and other meals on your own; but Plymouth is 10 minutes away with all its options for both. Expensive, yes. But one-on-one instruction can cover a lot of ground. I have time available in March, then again starting in September. July and August are too hot to share a small space!

“Advanced” spoon carving, one-day class w Plymouth CRAFT

I’m working out my teaching schedule for 2018, and will post it soon. But the first class is coming right up. We’re trying something new with Plymouth CRAFT – on Monday January 15, 2018 we’re offering a one-day “advanced” spoon carving class. All that advanced means in this case is you’ve carved spoons before, know some of the grips and the ways around the tools. We’ll look at crooks in particular; working with them to concentrate on the shape of the spoon.

It’s going to be a small class, but there’s room still. We’ll have chopping blocks, a pile of crooks, a box of tools and a fire in the stove. This is a chance to delve into some of the details that often elude us in the usual class that features a lot of beginners. I’ll have a pile of spoons by carvers far & wide as reference materials, and the usual array of books, articles, photos – lots of inspiration.

The class is tacked onto a full weekend of offerings – Tim Manney’s now-sold-out sharpening class, Chinese dumplings, https://www.plymouthcraft.org/chinese-dumplings and Embroidery with Elizabeth Creeden https://www.plymouthcraft.org/introduction-to-surface-embroidery   Lunch by Paula Marcoux is included. Come and join us –

Greenwood Fest instructor Curtis Buchanan

The other day I wrote about Robin Wood coming to teach at Plymouth CRAFT’s Greenwood Fest  – the other “new” instructor is Curtis Buchanan. It’s yet another great pleasure for me to have Curtis come and join us. I met Curtis in 1987 when I was a student in his first class in making Windsor chairs, at Country Workshops.

If you aren’t up-to-speed on who’s who in American Windsor chairmaking, the best Windsors in modern-day America begin with Dave Sawyer of Vermont. It was Dave who taught Curtis back in the early 1980s; and Curtis took what Dave taught him and ran with it. He’s been making chairs now for 35 years or so…and making just the most beautiful chairs you can imagine. He’s taught all over creation; but rarely if ever goes out on the road anymore to work…so it’s an extra treat to get him up to New England.

Part of what Curtis will be doing at the Fest is demonstrating all the steps in making a basic version of one of his fanback chairs. He calls it a “democratic” chair – in that the tool kit is small, and the operations are simple to learn. But don’t think crude – his chairs are graceful and comfortable beyond expectations. I think he said riving tools, drawknife, brace & bit, and a scorp for the seat. Must be a saw in there somewhere…but not much else. I can’t wait to see it happen. He’ll also teach a short session on his 2nd-favorite tool – using the froe. (the drawknife is his first, but we have Pete Galbert repeating some of what he did this year…)

As he’s working, I betcha Curtis will tell some stories too…

Curtis’ website has some video well worth watching http://www.curtisbuchananchairmaker.com/

And this from Jon Binzen of Fine Woodworking – “Anyone who has met Curtis will know that it’s as much fun to listen to him as it is to watch him work.” See the audio slideshow they put together during one of the sessions FWW did with Curtis. I had posted this before and described him as the happiest woodworker I know. And I still feel that he’s wrong in this audio, where he’s says “I’m not the best…” – Nonsense, he’s the best.  – http://www.finewoodworking.com/2014/10/08/curtis-buchanan-windsor-master 

Greenwood Fest will be held in Plymouth Massachusetts – pre-fest courses June 5-7 and the Fest from June 7-10. https://www.greenwoodfest.org/ It will be announced, here and elsewhere – sign up for Plymouth CRAFT’s newsletter to keep up-to-date on Greenwood Fest and our other programming – https://www.plymouthcraft.org/contact