This is the course that Art signed up for .... it was described as "Making a Small Table Design and make a small table, interpreting functional forms, thought forms, or sketchbook images. Think about how we use a table in our daily lives. Is it functional or does it need to be? If the design were heavier, would it become a bench? We will discuss tableness in the design stage and follow through with a careful review of materials, joinery, and shop techniques used in making tables. "

As with the other pages we've created, we were not able to get all of the names of the creators of these works. If you know who they were, please drop us an email and we will be glad to list them

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The course was lead by Jere Osgood - Furniture maker for 42 years; Fellow of the American Craft Council; work exhibited nationally and internationally; collections: American Craft Museum (NY), Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution (DC).

Jere ( pronounced Jerry ) was a soft-spoken, somewhat humble man whose approach to design is to " keep a sketchbook at hand so that you gather forms from around you that strike you as pleasing and then see how those forms might translate into a piece ". His subtle New Hampshire humor put even beginners like myself at ease .. he had a way of saying "Art - if you design it like that it will look nice ... but it will collapse" without hurting your feelings.

Jere was assisted during the week by Doug Chamberlin of Chapel Hill, NC.

The 10 students in the class ranged from people who made their living doing woodworking to people like myself who work at home for the joy making piles of sawdust to one man who had never made anything. The following pictures are glimpses of how many of the different pieces came to life.

	I began my preparation with the selecting of some wood that was really special to me. It was walnut from a tree that was blown down in the late 50's when hurricane hazel came through North Carolina. I've had this wood for many years and was waiting for the right time to see what I could create from it.
	I spent the better part of the first day simply trying to see what forms I could pull from these boards while maintaining their character
	Jere, in viewing my finished work said "Watching him was a bit nerve-racking - I felt like I was pulling a rope ... and with each tug, a bit of his design came out "

While I completed the basic construction of my table, I did not glue it up because I did not want to hurry the finishing process and I have many more hours of finishing left to do.

The images below are my attempt to capture a few of the great pieces that were created. I apologize in advance for any that I might have missed - Jere keep pushing us to hurry up so that we could get as much of our work done as possible

   The class before us made this wonderful bench  

			This young man had one of the most complex cuts to make his piece .. the first 3 days were simply taken laying out his plans. The finished piece will have a solid top that follows the lines of the feet.
		While there was no jurying of the pieces .. I felt that this guy deserved the number 1 award. He had never worked in wood other than building a deck !! Needless to say, his piece came out great !!

Contact Information:

Jere Osgood
626 Abbot Hill Road
Wilton, NH 03086-9129
(603)654-2960

Doug Chamberlin
3315D Highway 54 West
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919)942-0005

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