As a part of our partnership with Greystone in the Mechanical Arts Program, to kick off the program, we are launching the first class at our shop in Maine next month: October 16-20. This will be somewhat of a beta launch as it is somewhat of a new format for us. We have all the tools you’ll need, so you can bring nothing but an open mind and heart. Greystone’s founder Mark Garcia along with staff Jessica Doerfel and Tess Meyer will also be here to take the five-day class as well, so if you listened through the podcast episodes that we did last year (listed at the bottom of this page) and wanted to experience this kind of thing for yourself, this is your opportunity. It will be an enriching and edifying time together.
Here’s the class description:
Understanding wood and how to shape it into cultural artifacts such as houses, furniture, and basic household utensils has a venerable heritage. Man has always been a tool-using creature, and from the prelapsarian commission to “work and keep” the earth into the present day, wood has been one of the most foundational materials he has learned to work. In this weeklong class, Mortise & Tenon Magazine editors Joshua Klein and Michael Updegraff will lead an immersion into the premodern world of hand-tool woodworking. Using the same time-tested tools that built our material heritage (such as handsaws, handplanes, and chisels), students will learn to prepare and smooth boards, cut joinery (such as mortise-and-tenons and dovetails), and build their own bookstands. This class is designed to accommodate all skill levels from beginners to woodworking veterans. If our present technophilic age has taught us anything, it has taught us that we have a lot to learn from the past. The ancient wisdom of craftsmanship will not only aid our own personal formation, but it also teaches us how we can better love our neighbors and how we might more deeply engage the world that reflects the glory of our Triune God.
If you or someone you know is into both hand-tool woodworking and Christian theology, this will be right up your alley. Come join us. With our busy production schedule, Mike and I rarely do weeklong classes – this program is a rare exception.
We hope to see you there!
-Joshua