Next Meeting
Program
For our Fine Woodworking show in May we had a lot of talented woodworkers enter impressive creations. We also had two experienced woodworkers and designers, John Lavine and Susan Working, to take on the difficult task of evaluating all of the entries.
At our July meeting, John and Susan will join us to talk about their general process of judging wood shows and to discuss some of the individual show entries. If you're thinking about entering your woodworking in future competitions of any sort, this will be a good opportunity to see what sort of things real judges take into account.
John Lavine has been involved in woodworking for almost 40 years, as a maker, teacher, editor and writer. In 1980 he started Kodama Woodworks, combining his training in traditional Japanese woodworking with contemporary furniture. He has exhibited his work nationally and is a master member of the Baulines Craft Guild. John was the editor-in-chief of Woodwork magazine from 1997-2008, and guest editor for two special bookazine editions after that; he has also authored numerous articles on a wide range of woodworking subjects, including catalog essays for the national traveling retrospective exhibitions of Michael Cooper and Bob Stocksdale. He was a founding board member of the Museum of Craft + Design in San Francisco, and has also served on the national board of the Furniture Society. As an educator, he has taught furniture making at Laney College, at the San Francisco Woodshop, and for the past five years at Westmoor High School in Daly City, where he heads the Industrial Arts Department.
Susan Working has been working with wood for more than 40 years. She started out making chairs at Pacific Atlas Woodworking in San Francisco in 1981, and she recently retired from the Randall Museum, where she was curator of Applied Technology. In between, she ran a custom woodworking business in Oakland, got an MFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design, was director of the Furniture Design and Sculpture Programs at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village Colorado, the Academic Director of the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art in Brittany, France, and taught at California College of the Arts, Laney College, Rhode Island School of Design, the University of California Santa Cruz, and elsewhere. Susan is still making stuff in wood and she is still learning how to do that from other people. Susan has been lucky to know-- and watch-- many incredible makers and she has seen a lot of truly awesome work. It is a privilege and a joy to jury this year’s BAWA exhibition.
Plus: regular member Show and Tell, and in-person chat with fellow woodworkers
Previous Meeting
Program
Our guest speaker for June will be Adam Emelio.
Adam Emelio is a San Francisco–based woodworker specializing in architectural millwork and chair making. His process emphasizes the natural beauty and utility of wood as a building material. His work draws from historical furniture forms and building traditions, with attention to proportion and function.
For June we will have our wooden name tag challenge, so come with your label so we know who you are!
Plus: regular member Show and Tell, and in-person chat with fellow woodworkers