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More to come with the late summer and fall classes in the next few days, as more details come in and the full picture takes place, yet the full schedule is beginning to take shape. We have new guest instructors, and you will see some of your favorite returning instructors to Pine Croft (including Kelly Mehler!)
You can find our full list for 2023 on our “Course Descriptions” page.
Where to start when getting into woodworking?
That’s a tricky question because there is no correct answer. There’s also no wrong answer. That ambiguity is incredibly freeing, because it means you can start exactly where you are right now.
I frequently respond to the “where do I start” question by giving a list of great options. Some may be a viable option for you, others not.
- Clubs and Associations: The Furniture Society is a great place to start, though there turning clubs, local woodworking chapters, virtual groups, and other specific interests to explore.
- Monthly Publications: Fine Woodworking Magazine has been the industry standard for the past 25 years.
- Books: I’m always excited for the new releases by Tauton Press, Blue Hill Press, and Lost Art Press (disclosure: I’m writing a book with Lost Art Press currently about Appalachain Backwoods Chairmaking).
- YouTube: It’s a mixed bag. There’s a mountain of good information available, as well as dangerous practices and unsound techniques. I like knowing the video is produced by a sound source and/or a considerate, experienced maker.
- Classes: This is where we come in. We offer opportunities to expand your skills but we’re not the only ones around. Greg Pennington offers Windsor chair making classes in Hendersonville, TN. The John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, always has an impressive catalog of classes. Arrowmont (Gatlinburg, TN) is an inspiring place to take a class at the base of the Smokey Mountains. Then there’s the Little Miami Handworks in Southwest Ohio.
With regards to classes at Pine Croft, it’s my intention to offer a range of classes (both project and skills based) that both challenge and support our students. I intend to continue scheduling renowned instructors and upcoming younger makers, in hopes of adding variety and interest.
These classes can seem intimidating, especially for beginners. While it may seem scary to sign up to make your first chair or cut your first dovetail, our classes are designed to support your initial efforts. The classes are designed to challenge a seasoned maker as well as a beginner, while providing everyone the space and support needed to acquire new skills.
Please consider any class we offer. If it requires advanced skills, I will note it in the class description. Start with a class that looks interesting to you and expand your skills from there.
I have added a “place to start” class into our offerings for those of you who want a broad woodworking education as your foundation. It’s our “Introduction to Woodworking” class and I plan on running it again this October. It’s a six day class, roughly broken into daily topics: hand tools (day 1), common power tools and machinery (day 2), sharpening (day 3), wood turning (day 4), and we finish the week making a dovetailed keepsake box.
Again, my advice is to start with something that interests you. Maybe I’ll see you in October at Pine Croft if the “Intro” class sounds interesting.
As always, please send me thoughts and questions about our classes. I am excited to talk woodworking. My email: glenna@berea.edu
Warmly, Andy Glenn
I’m excited to welcome Dawson Moore to Berea next spring over April 25-29 for his modern ladder back chair class. I’ve followed his work for the past few years (you can follow his craft on Instagram @michigansloyd). I jumped at the chance to work with him at Pine Croft.
His chairs are a combination of modern lines and traditional handwork. They’re a perfect bend. The chairs show the makers hand (which is something I look for when enjoying handmade chairs). But it’s the detailing that keeps me coming back to it. Each detail is considered. The lower rungs are lifted, which gives the chair a lighter appearance while providing the necessary strength. The upper slats are wide enough to provide support without any unnecessary bulkiness and they catch the sitter is just the right spot. He finishes the chair with the envelope pattern danish paper cord seat. Perfect choice: clean, uniform, and complimentary to the handmade chair.
The way Dawson utilizes the straight grain may not be apparent to a new maker, but is vital for both the durability and appearance. I love how the grain runs across the slats. It’s a minor part of the the chair, but one that gives it a feeling of balance and harmony. Simply put: It is right (actually, that’s how I feel about the entire chair).
I also like that Dawson’s using traditional skills and techniques with an eye towards modern design. This isn’t a purely green woodworking, or a machine-centric build, but a blend of the two approaches. A considered approach that uses the precision and repeatability of the machines when their strengths are appropriate and the uniqueness and personality of hand work when it adds to the character of the design.
All chair makers have their tricks and surprises that sets their work apart. Some are free flowing. Others are engineers, working towards precision. I’m looking forward to seeing Dawson’s approach to chair making. There’s consideration for each detail. It’s a gorgeous chair, that much is apparent. It’ll fit perfectly into a week-long course.
I’m thankful he’s sharing it with us in Berea.
–Andy Glenn
(please reach out with questions about Dawson’s class or any other we offer in early 2022: glenna@berea.edu)
Update: Registration is open!
Registration for 2022 spring and summer classes will open Friday, December 17th, at 10am. You can receive updates here or by signing up for our email list. It’s found at the bottom of each webpage. We send out a couple messages a year, giving updates on classes and any happenings at the school.
We’ll welcome three guest instructors next spring: Michael Puryear (spoon carving), Dawson Moore (chairmaking), and Megan Fitzpatrick (English Tool Chest).
I’ll teach a handful of classes as well, beginning with an introduction to woodworking class for anyone interested in getting started with machine and benchwork. That will be followed up with classes on sharpening, a Shaker-style table and a greenwood chair (along with another class or two).
We hope you can join us. Send me a message at glenna@berea.edu with any questions along the way.
–Andy Glenn
We’re in the middle of our Fall 2021 session and have a few open spots in our upcoming classes:
- Megan Fitzpatrick’s Dutch Tool Chest: 10/15 – 10/17……one spot available (due to recent cancellation)
- Andy Glenn’s Greenwood Stool: 10/18 – 10/20……two openings
- Andy Glenn’s Wooden Carrier Class: 10/23 & 10/24……one spot
Please reach out if you’re interested. Next session happens April 2022. We’d love to see you in Berea.
-Andy Glenn
We’ll get there. Only about 10 weeks until Aspen Golann shares her creative energies and immense talents with Berea during her “Intro to Carving” class, scheduled to begin October 8th. It’s been a long time coming. It’s challenging to be a school when you don’t host classes! But that’s the predicament COVID put us in – waiting and cancelling and pushing the schedule back. Soon, hopefully, we’ll return to a full bench room, the sounds of carving tools and mallets, and the joys of a shared meal.
I’m excited for guests to join us again in the Pine Croft shop (formally The Kelly Mehler School of Woodworking). Kelly closed it, sometime around 2014-’15, to focus on his health. In 2019, Berea College purchased the full property and reopened the shop as “The Woodworking School at Pine Croft.” Kelly and I both taught classes at Pine Croft in the early summer of 2019. We made plans for our first full season in 2020, which were cancelled in early March of last year, along with the plans of so many other craft schools. I loved our line up of guest instructors for our initial, full season of 2020; Megan Fitzpatrick, Brendan Gaffney, Michael Puryear, Cathryn Peters, Kelly Mehler, Pete Galbert, with Nancy Hiller hitting cleanup (baseball reference).
We created a smaller schedule for the spring of 2021, which seemed appropriate given the level of uncertainty with community health. We took a cautious approach (and will continue to take a health conscience approach) to the pandemic and knew we might need to push the classes back. Which happened around February. Aspen and Megan (the Dutch Tool Chest) rescheduled their classes for October. We’re thankful Aspen and Megan can join us in Berea and worked with us through the changes. But we’re tired of changes and are all ready to teach again. Pine Croft is ready to host classes and welcome guests to Berea.
Feels like we’ve taken the long road to get Pine Croft to the starting line. It’s nearing, and we couldn’t be more excited.
–andy glenn
We’re excited to offer our four October classes and hope you’ll join us in Berea. It’s been a long time coming.
But if the timing or content doesn’t work out for this fall, please check out a couple other places offering great woodworking workshops in our area.
- Greg Pennington is hosting chair making courses in his Hendersonville, TN shop. I believe Travis Curtis is planning a ladderback class there for this summer as well. Greg and Travis make beautiful chairs and I hear great things about their classes.
- Lost Art Press is opening the storefront for a couple of classes this fall as well. Megan Fitzpatrick (who is joining us at Pine Croft in October) is teaching a couple of tool box classes. Peter Follansbee visit’s LAP in October for a weeklong class.
Our spring classes, originally set for April and May, are all rescheduled for October. We’re thankful the new dates work for Aspen Golann and Megan Fitzpatrick to join us in Berea. The four autumn classes are open for registration:
- Introduction to Carving: Traditional Techniques and Contemporary Applications. October 8-10 with Aspen Golann
- Dutch Tool Chest. October 15-17 with Megan Fitzpatrick
- Greenwood Stool. October 18-20 with Andy Glenn
- Wooden Carrier. October 23 and 24 with Andy Glenn
As always, please send any questions or thoughts my way: glenna@berea.edu
warmly, andy glenn
I made a set of three carriers around holidays as a gift to my wife. Time got tight as it always does (I was making other shop-made gifts at the same time). So I pushed back the hatching on the handle. It’s a small detail that wasn’t present on the original Shaker wooden carrier (made: late 1800’s) that initially caught my attention. I made a carrier this past fall and added the hatching. I liked the hatching but didn’t view it an a necessity, thought of it as ornamentation that the carrier could do without.
To my surprise, I missed it. The hatching makes all the difference. The carrier felt incomplete without it. Which led to a quick carving session over this past weekend. Carving implies more skill than it takes. It’s a simple layout: all lines are 1/4″ apart. The layout is centered on the handle and the angles are either 90° or 45°. Then it’s skimming a small v-tool (something similar to a 15/3) across the handle’s surface to remove the pencil line. It doesn’t take much muscle. Just a controlled, gentle touch to cleanly remove the pencil line.
That’s it. Laying out the pencil lines took just as long as the carving. Afterwords, I added a little oil to the hatching to give it some color and I may put a little dirt/color onto the handle once the oil cures to add a little more definition to the lines. It took about an hour to carve three handles.
I’m teaching a wooden carrier class this fall, October 23 and 24. The hatching is optional, though I will strongly encourage it. It’s a subtle detail that adds a big impression.
–andy glenn
