At the request of readers, we have created a way for you to donate to help fund the two scholarship classes we are holding at Lost Art Press this fall.
In September, we are holding our second Chairmakers Toolbox class with six students. All students are from populations that are underrepresented in woodworking, including women, people of color and those who are gay, bi, trans or otherwise outsiders.
In November, Jerome Bias will lead a class of six African-American woodworkers as they build a blanket chest using hand tools.
I am picking up the tab for the wood and all the lunches during the classes. If you would like to donate to help with the wood or meals, simply click on this link, where you can make a donation with a credit card or with your PayPal account.
You will be able to designate which class the money goes to support, if that’s important to you.
I know that some of you have also mentioned donating tools for Jerome’s class. I’ll talk to Jerome about it and see if we can come up with a mechanism.
Thank you for your understanding and your generosity.
Jerome Bias, who will be leading the scholarship class.
We are thrilled to announce that we will offer a scholarship class this fall for six African-American woodworkers that will be taught by our long-time friend and hand-tool woodworker Jerome Bias.
The class will run from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 2023, at our storefront in Covington, Ky. The scholarships include tuition, materials and lunch every day. All African Americans are encouraged to apply: men, women, straight, gay, beginners, intermediates, whatever. No previous woodworking experience is necessary. Just a passion for learning the craft.
During the five-day class, Jerome will show students how to build a six-board chest using hand tools, white pine and traditional tapered nails. The chests can be personalized with different mouldings and details on the feet. These chests are fantastic as blanket chests at the foot of a bed or for storing hand tools in a workshop.
A six-board chest in pine.
But just as important as the chest, students will learn to wield handplanes, chisels, hammers and handsaws – the core tools of a trade shared by many of our ancestors.
Jerome is a talented woodworker, chef and interpreter living in North Carolina. In addition to building furniture, Jerome has worked as an interpreter at Old Salem Museum and Gardens and has studied the life and work of 19th-century African American woodworker Thomas Day. He has also presented his work at Colonial Williamsburg and regularly travels to former plantations to cook traditional meals as a way to enable African American visitors to connect with how their ancestors expressed hope and love while still enslaved.
Applying for the scholarship is easy. Simply send an email to: scholarship@lostartpress.com by Sept. 15, 2023. In the email, please let us know:
Your name and where you live.
A few sentences about any woodworking experience you’ve had so far.
A few sentences about why you want to attend this class.
We have room for six students in this class. Jerome will select the students from the pool of applicants. As mentioned above, the class includes tuition, materials and lunches during the class. Students will be responsible for travel to Covington and lodging – we are happy to help suggest places that fit your budget.
And don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of tools. We will be able to loan students the essential tools for the class.
Finally, please share this post with any African-American woodworker (or wanna-be woodworker) you know. We want to cast as wide a net as possible.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. Whenever we offer scholarships for woodworkers who have been traditionally excluded from the craft, we often hear the cry: Why not offer scholarships based on need? Our answer: We already do that. All of my teaching outside of my shop (Florida School of Woodwork; Marc Adams School of Woodworking) goes to fund need-based scholarships at those schools. I teach for free; all the money goes to scholarship funds. During my career, I have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the Roger Cliffe Memorial Foundation, which supplies woodworking scholarships for veterans and people who face financial hardship. So please, before you take a swing at us, please know that we seek to help anyone get into the craft. These scholarships are just one of the ways we do it.
Roy Underhill playing around in Christopher Schwarz’s tool chest before a taping of “The Woodwright’s Shop” a decade or so ago.
The two paragraphs below are excerpted from Anna-Rhesa Versola’s article in Chatham Magazine on the closing of The Woodwright’s School and what’s next for Roy Underhill. Click here to read the article in its entirety.
“Roy’s sense of wonder is part of his charm, delighting anyone who will listen with stories about the connected past, present and future of man and nature. ‘My whole interest in [working with hand tools] stems from this point – quality of life and responsibility,’ Roy says. “Working with muscle power is a good thing. It’s like riding a bicycle instead of driving a truck. The environmental impact of this. And that’s why I think this is the way of the future.
“He is a master craftsman, entrepreneur, author, historian and teacher. He is also a husband of 50- plus years and father to two adult daughters. After more than 15 years teaching woodworking classes, Roy has no immediate plans to retire but he feels compelled to close the school in Pittsboro. He will empty the storefront windows, clear out the piles of wood and hand tools and sweep out the sawdust by the end of summer.”
Cutting patterns and symbols in wood, and enhancing them with vibrant color, are folk traditions kept alive in the slöjd craft. Through decorations imbued with meaning, chip carving has given soul to slöjd woodcraft throughout history. Even today, chip carving offers a natural complement to an artfully crafted spoon, cutting board or shrink box – and it provides the opportunity to develop your own creativity and meaningful patterns. This book teaches you techniques for cutting triangle chips, fingernail cuts, lines and letters — plus you’ll learn what kind of wood, knives and tools you need to get started, and techniques for painting your finished work. You’ll find 15 projects, from simple decorations on knife handles and signs to more demanding objects such as boxes and combs.
When designing a pattern, there are several things to keep in mind. It’s important to balance both the overall look and your own personal style. Allow time for the process of sketching and cutting samples.
A slöjd object with a consistent expression and a purpose connected to the context in which it is used tends to last longer in terms of design. When patterns and symbols align with function, the different parts are bound together into a whole by the subtext — a certain unity to which they all contribute. The small relates to the big as the big relates to the whole, goes a proverb coined in Florence, Italy, as early as the 15th century. On some objects, a pattern serves to add something, but sometimes the decoration takes over and demands too much attention at the expense of the whole. If so, it’s a good idea to break it down into its constituent parts and consider the different components. It’s a reflective process, which — as you experiment with new elements of form — allows for a constant development of your artistic expression through forms and patterns. Think of pattern composition as a playful and fun sketching that lends a personal expression to your slöjd.
Begin by considering the desired character of your pattern. The design of lines and patterns contributes to the overall feel of an object. Reflect on whether the lines and patterns have an expression that is distinct, exhilarated, broad and steady, delicately uneven, rough or subtle. Sometimes, mixing expressions creates a nice contrasting effect.
Continue by sketching and working with different forms, borders or ornaments, one at a time, making simple geometric shapes. Repeat or stack them on top of each other, place them close together or spaced apart. You can offset any shape vertically or horizontally, turn it upside down, invert it, bring two together or make them overlap. Geometric patterns involve a lot of mathematics. Here, you can test the golden ratio, which stipulates that the most harmonious relationship between the sides of a rectangular surface is a ratio of 3:5. Multiply the length of the shortest side by 1.618 to get the length of the longest side.
Things to consider when constructing patterns • Choose a main pattern that will catch the eye. • Surround the main motif with a balanced amount of decoration. • Divide the pattern into sections. Frame the decoration with borders and lines. • Create suspense in the geometry using rhythm, movement and variation. • Compress and expand, make it denser and more spacious. Be aware of symmetry and asymmetry. • Consider both positive and negative forms — the pattern in relation to the space in between.
Stripes and borders By dividing a surface into large or small sections using vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines, you can create stripes or borders. These can also be full circles or semicircles, reinforced with surrounding lines. Group and distribute the lines or shapes rhythmically over the surface, creating dense or spacious borders.
Smaller shapes, signs or symbols placed at an even or symmetrical distance from each other create the same effect. A border can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, sometimes inverted around a center point. But avoid mixing styles, which may easily give a cluttered impression. Alternate with uncut, undecorated surfaces; this brings space and balance to the border. Adjust lines and the way borders and patterns are grouped to bring them into balance with each other.
Grids and braids Grids arise when systems of lines intersect to form oblique or right angles. Sometimes, it’s the lines that are central and create the pattern. Other times, the empty space is essential and the lines are secondary. If the lines are brought closer together or moved farther apart, the spaces become either square or rectangular, and when they are repeated vertically or horizontally with a certain rhythm, a decorative surface is created.
When the lines intersect at an angle, they can be intertwined to look like wickerwork or braided birch bark. Alternating between thin and thick lines creates rhythm and variety in the grid or braid. One over, one under is simple math, but if the braid is to fit the intended surface without being demarcated by lines, the composition becomes more difficult. The middle grid pattern in the top row is common in Southern Sámi slöjd culture.
Often, grids are used to frame a stylistic decoration involving animals, human figures or vegetal elements in a square or rectangular shape. The pattern above is copied from a detail on a metalwork decoration on a late 12th-century coffin in Rydaholm Church in Småland.
Common elements of form • The square, circle and triangle are considered the basic forms of a carved surface. Even with simple shapes, the possible combinations quickly become numerous. • Lines and borders, dots and circles, ellipses and ovals, rhombuses, vesicae piscis, waves, grids, braids, letters and numbers. • Roses, suns, stars, moons, leaves, flowers, trees, feathers, tassels, pillars and columns. • Figurative shapes such as animals, faces, and people.
Armchair, “Jacob’s seat.” Larch, crooked birch in the armrests and posts, bird cherry in the backrest and legs. The composition of the pattern was inspired by the client’s interest in hunting in the woods and acting on the stage. Patterns and shallow relief carvings on the backrest include, in addition to the owner’s initials, a bird as a symbol of heaven and an earthly dog. The single-sided triangle chips with three maidens, two crosses and a fire-eye symbolize faith, hope and love. The sun cross with a pierced decoration in the central stanchion stands for vital energy and a backbone in life.
The stickers on the outside of the lump hammer box from our machine shop, Machine Time, made me giggle. File under “oxymoron.”
“Standard” lump hammers are now back in stock (that is, the ones without any engraving). With 2.2 pounds of hardened-steel heft in the head, the Crucible Lump Hammer is the perfect tool for knocking large and/or recalcitrant things together and apart, plus it does a fine job of breaking up chocolate (after first placing said chocolate in a sturdy bag) for all your baking needs.
– Fitz
p.s. We do still have some “Anthe Hammers” available – same great lump hammer, but with a “Fancy Lad/Lass” engraving of our new headquarters on one side (and the extra $ goes right to our building restoration/renovation fund).
