I don't hesitate to share the woes and frustrations I encounter while teaching furniture design. There is a reason I love the job though, and this week was a perfect example. Summer school students were assigned to design and build a plant stand to be completed in three class days. If the students wanted my opinion on their designs I'd share it, but this project was more about me seeing what they could come up with on their own.
The class meets all afternoon Tuesday through Thursday. Thursday at the end of class the projects needed to be assembled. They can apply finishes on them over the weekend for photos I'll take when we meet next Tuesday. Around 3:30 the first assembled projects started to appear. Parts came together. Stability was checked. Quick corrections/adjustments were being made. Complimentary murmurs could be heard with each reveal. I'd helped a student do VCarve inlays on the shelves of her stand, and the results only appeared after glue was dry and waste was trimmed and boards were sanded down. The leaf patterns that had only existed in computer renderings now revealed themselves as walnut inlaid into hickory. Oohs and aahs rose up from the other students when a glimpse was caught of the results.
That day was about victories. About the joy of seeing your sketch come alive. Smiles were contagious, and some dancing might have spontaneously erupted. I'll post a photo of the group with their plant stands after we meet next Tuesday.
4D
The class meets all afternoon Tuesday through Thursday. Thursday at the end of class the projects needed to be assembled. They can apply finishes on them over the weekend for photos I'll take when we meet next Tuesday. Around 3:30 the first assembled projects started to appear. Parts came together. Stability was checked. Quick corrections/adjustments were being made. Complimentary murmurs could be heard with each reveal. I'd helped a student do VCarve inlays on the shelves of her stand, and the results only appeared after glue was dry and waste was trimmed and boards were sanded down. The leaf patterns that had only existed in computer renderings now revealed themselves as walnut inlaid into hickory. Oohs and aahs rose up from the other students when a glimpse was caught of the results.
That day was about victories. About the joy of seeing your sketch come alive. Smiles were contagious, and some dancing might have spontaneously erupted. I'll post a photo of the group with their plant stands after we meet next Tuesday.
4D