Looking Forward to 2025

Friends of Pine Croft,

Can you believe we are three weeks into the new year already? It feels like time is flying here in snowy Berea, KY.

I want to share with you this photo I took from my backyard one day last week when a whole flock of Robbins were perched in the trees outside. Seeing them sitting there in the cold really inspired me. I had been feeling really worn out trying to get back to a place of productivity in the shop, feeling like a sleepy bear trying to pull itself out of hibernation. But seeing this flock of Robbins reminded me that winter isn’t a time of complete stillness and even though the cold weather makes me want to snuggle up on my couch all day, now is the time to shake off the snow and be part what is happening around us!

As we all work our way out of hibernation and get back to working in the woodshop I wanted to share with you all some of the projects happening in the shop here that have given me the energy to get back to the grind!

I am taking advantage of the lack of classes at Pine Croft right now to work on some custom benches for the Renwick Galleries. They will be exhibited as seating in the galleries for a whole year starting this summer.

For this project I’m designing and making a total of five Brush Benches (benches that look like brushes not to be confused with a bench brush of course, lol) that vary in wood type and broom corn color to compliment the various displays they will be a part of.

The images to the left are of a scale model of the bench that I made as a part of the proposal for the Renwick. Although there is an underlying wooden base for the bench to be functional, the broomcorn skirt gives the wooden bench the look of a brush. The bent lamination handles will feature some plaiting, another detail borrowed from broom making.