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Michael Puryear is coming July 13-17

Michael Puryear Project Photo

Michael Puryear will join us from his upstate New York workshop towards the end of our summer offerings 2020 to teach a week-long course on wooden tools.  Primarily a bench class (as opposed to a class that uses machines heavily), Michael will lead the class towards building a jack plane and mallet.  Info on the class can be found here

Michael’s community maker talk will be July 13th at 6pm.  Open to everyone, we hope you can make it even if you cannot take the class.

Furniture maker Brian Boggs recently shared that Michael is one of his favorite makers.  His work is striking and shows a great focus on design and detail.  I first became aware of Michael’s work and talents after viewing his work in the David Savage book Furniture with Soul: Master Woodworkers and Their Craft.  Along with his work being internationally renowned, he is an experienced instructor, spending time teaching around the country at leading craft schools.  We’re grateful that Michael’s open to coming and sharing with us next summer.

Michael’s work can be found on his site: michaelpuryear.com

Michae’s Bio:

Michael Puryear is an internationally recognized designer/furniture maker. He is self-taught learning his craft through reading and experimentation and has been practicing his craft for more than 30 years. His work has been exhibited in Museums and galleries around the US such as the Museum of Art & Design in NYC; Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC and the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, MA. His work has been published widely most recently in Makers: A History of American Studio Craft published by the University of North Carolina Press and Furniture With Soul: Master Wood workers and their Craft published by Kodansha. His work is found in the collections of: the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Rockefeller University and the Newark Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

He has taught extensively at many of the craft schools in the US a well as Parson School of Design and was an adjunct associate professor at the State University of New York at Purchase for 13 years. He is a member of Furniture New York, The Hudson Valley Furniture Makers and a former trustee and member of the Furniture Society. He maintains his studio in the Catskill Mountains of NY.

We hope you can set aside some time in July to join Michael during his time at Berea.