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This is a half day interactive workshop to introduce the art of chair caning.
Trip Schedule:
10am – 12pm Darwin Martin House – (Frank Lloyd Wright Design)
12:30pm – 2:00pm Lunch Buffet at the Garret Club
St. John Fisher University
I now design and build fine furniture on commission and speculation in my one-person shop in East Gloucester, Massachusetts. I am a member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, and was formerly part of Fort Point Cabinetmakers in Boston; in May 2011, I was awarded an Artist Fellowship in Crafts by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. I was invited to exhibit in the Smithsonian Craft Show in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and to participate in Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture, a group of events and exhibits organized by several partnering institutions. My furniture has been shown at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH; the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA; The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, MA; The Gallery at Somes Sound in Somesville, ME; the Messler Gallery in Rockport, ME; the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, NH; the Lamont Gallery in Exeter, NH; Pritam and Eames in East Hampton, NY; the Highlight Gallery in Mendocino, CA; the MacKeen Gallery in Boston, MA; and other galleries on the East Coast. It has been featured in the books With Wakened Hands and In the Modern Style, as well as Fine Woodworking, Home Furniture, Woodwork, and American Woodworker magazines. I currently teach at The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, and have taught at Worcester Center for Crafts and the Boston Center for Adult Education in the past.
In Saturday’s workshop, John will give three separate talks and demonstrations, showing some of the influences that inform the design, embellishment and execution of his work.
First, a dive into the world of Classical Chinese Furniture, where and when complex, intriguing joinery was used to build deceptively clean and simple looking furniture, refining centuries old designs that still seem new and fresh.
He will have many examples of joinery from the Ming Dynasty period, some that he has not seen used anywhere else. He will also have a complete hall table that we will assemble and disassemble during the discussion.
Then we will explore engraving, for both furniture hardware and print making. A time consuming process with a long history, engraving (both wood and metal) can produce unique, detailed imagery or patterning. He has used it mostly to embellish furniture hardware (escutcheon plates, hinges, key fobs, etc…), and has also printed images on paper. He will bring examples of different styles and tools used, as well as some prints.
The last segment of the day will show his work and how I have incorporated the above influences and techniques (and many more) into a lifetime of making objects. This will be a more in-depth version of Friday’s talk, featuring some of the people, events and institutions that have helped and guided him along the way.
We‘re beginning our test build of a ukulele kit for our workshop in September. This will cover the first 1/4 of a uke build.