Prologue: No one knows when this dream began, least of all me. There were the junior high shop classes with Mr. Moss and the high school ones with Mr. Neel. From pre-elementary years, there was a fascination with building things of wood. I even dreamed about projects. We built our own house and never seemed to quit adding on. Daddy was a mechanic and a welder of sorts, and though he became a carpenter to build the house, wood held no fascination to him. Not so for me. A book could be written about what Mr. Moss and Mr. Neel taught me, but one particular experience sticks in my mind. About the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when I was scared we were going to blow each other all to Hell, I picked up a small mesquite limb with a two inch burl in the middle. What did it look like inside? A floor mounted disc sander helped me grind away the bark to discover some very tight gorgeous reddish brown wood in the midst of a hard yellow casing. Right in the middle of all that fear, fascination took over for good. Today that piece sits on my desk. It’s nothing, really, albeit a window into an amazing world and a harbinger of why I am about to start a furniture making school. Years ago I saw a man working with hand tools at a trade show in Houston. Intrigued by what he was doing, I watched for a moment, then walked away to look for machines and power tools required to set up my shop. Later in the show I sat in a room of about 50-75 people for a seminar on design. What came out of that day or two at the show amazes me to this day. Today my shop is substantially equipped with machinery, power tools and hand tools I discovered at that show. The people I met were inventors, entrepreneurs, craftsman of the highest order, teachers and giants in the business. That fellow I saw working with hand tools when I walked in? Paul Sellers, a world renowned furniture maker and teacher who now teaches mostly in his native Great Britain. With about a dozen other fellows, I spent six days in his shop at what is now known as the Heritage School of Woodworking at Elm Mott, Texas. It was transformational, though I was not quite ready to run. That design seminar? Led by Graham Blackburn, he helped me understand some basic concepts. I’ve studied his three books from cover to cover these past few weeks. The man who helped me understand hand planes works about five miles from where I will go to school beginning Monday And somehow, somewhere, probably in a Fine Woodworking magazine ad, I became aware of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. Our first visit to Maine was only for a few delightful hours at a beach in the midst of a long day’s run from Stowe, Vermont to Salem, Massachusetts. The next time I took a few days during a business trip to upstate New York to come over to Rockport and see if the school was for real. I met Peter Korn, the founder and director of the school, we talked and I was convinced. When it came time for me to depart, he asked if there were any other questions. “Yes,” what will be the difference in me between the day I arrive to the day I leave?” “You will be absolutely fearless, because you will be able to do anything.” Irretrievably hooked! That’s how hungry I was to learn. Several years later, Linda and I were back up here for a four day stay at Le Vatout, a simple and charming B&B in Waldoboro. Our purpose was to let her see the school, meet some people and develop a feel for what the school and area was like. Midcoast Maine in September is irresistibly alluring. We explored the area within a 20-25 mile radius of the school and came away convinced this could work. Realtors helped assure us nice housing was available and affordable. And as we ran around, we kept crossing paths with the founder of the school as well as another instructor from Australia. We even had a long conversation with a local couple who had once lived in Fort Davis. It made everything all the more inviting. In November of 2011 I had a speaking engagement in Portland, Oregon. My hosts graciously provided contact information for a local fine furniture maker. The hour or so in his shop was simple conversation that touched me deeply. And while we were very different breeds of cat, there was much in common at a philosophical level. I later discovered his clients included Oprah Winfrey, Kenny Loggins, Jane Fonda, etc. I also got to meet Seth Rowland and help him a bit in his Port Townsend, Washington woodshop as he was trying to get several projects ready for the next morning’s work. His work is imaginative and innovative; his approach is somewhat challenging and I was enthralled. The real inspiration came during my two days at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in seminars with Darrell Peart. He had recently been named one of the Top Eight Furniture Designers in the World. Day One was design. Advance preparation required reading a 100 year old book on design, then designing a project based on the principles of the first five chapters and presenting it to the class for critique. I could barely contain my enthusiasm. What an incredibly opportunity! Day Two we discussed accuracy. Between the two days with Darrell I had dinner with the founder and director of that school, Tim Lawson. “What is it you want to do?” he asked. “I want my work to reflect excellent design and craftsmanship, but in the end I do not want to be known as someone who simply copied exceedingly well.” “Then what is in you?” “I like the simplicity and honesty of Shaker furniture, and I really love Arts and Crafts furniture, especially Greene & Greene, though some of it I definitely do not prefer. There are curves in me, however, and I need to figure how to get those out into what I do.” “Good,” he replied, “then you need to work on that. As we prepared to leave the school the next day, Darrell delivered a profound summation. “We’ve talked a lot about design principles and rules, but I want to leave you with two ideas. First rule, there are no rules. The principles and rules we’ve talked about for two days are foundational, but in the end you may violate them as you choose. Do so with careful consideration, only when you must, and at your own risk, but don’t be afraid. Second, find your own voice. Don’t copy what someone else does.” And while I might never achieve his level of excellence and perfection, I will never forget what he said. A number of people have asked me why I’m doing this. Why are YOU going to school? You should be teaching them. Your stuff is already excellent. And while I am delighted by comments like that, I know better. I know how much I struggle. I know my mistakes. I know a lot about what I don’t know. There is so much I do that I shouldn’t do. And I have no real clue as to what I don’t yet know. Frank Strazza at the Heritage school has encouraged me to study with him instead of going to Maine. I’ll learn from Frank later. Tim Lawson invited me to study for three months at his school, but I told him my heart was set on this experience in Maine. Right now, I believe this school can push, pull or point me in the directions I need to go. I am ready. I should have done this several years ago, but life intervened. And while I really wanted to take the nine month course, the time and money were not available. So, if I didn’t do this now, when will I get around to it? Mañana nunca viene. As an aside, Peter swears it was the nine month course which was on his mind when he told me I would be so fearless; he swears he would never have said that about the three month course! I’ve also just wrapped up one short and two very long careers in the non-profit world and I am weary - sucked dry. This is the sabbatical I dreamt about, planned for and never pulled off some 30 years ago. Life intervened. Not this time. It is time to relax and renew our bodies and souls. Oh, we’ll arrive back in San Angelo broke, but so what? I’m ready to shift gears and start a another career. “Life is not tried it is merely survived when you’re standing outside the fire.” Thank you Garth Brooks and Jenny Yates. In the epilogue of a simple, easy book entitled Governor’s Travels by Angus King I’ve just finished, he quotes an old New Hampshire man: “When you get my age, you’re going to regret things about your life; see that you regret the things you did, not the things you didn’t do.” So, Monday I head off to school once again, eyes wide and lunch bag in hand.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 03:18:39 +0000
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