I realize I’ve written about all sorts of topics and activities, but I haven’t laid out the through line that connects them all. I have a vision that is already partially in place and I hope to complete it in the next year. My house project is wrapping up, and now I am embarking to convert the barn into a workshop to have my own place to gather with exceptional craftspeople and those who want to learn from them. I love making things and still harbor ambitions for my own work, but being around the folks making things is a pleasure I hope to enjoy long past my own most productive years. I don’t want to retire, but I am aware of what time will bring and I am setting up my place so I can be near the people that share my love of the craft.
I don’t know if you’ve seen my soapbox tirade on Instagram about the low pay at many craft schools. I traveled to teach for years, and the effort it took to put on a class would eat nearly a month of my time. Often the teachers take home less than 15-20% of the tuition collected. I’m not assigning malice or greed to the institutions, just stating the reality. Some do prey on young makers with the “you’re new, so you get less pay” nonsense, even though the students pay full price and the class is full. So part of my “evil plan” is to pay teachers properly. I take 10% of the class tuition to cover my insurance and other costs and the rest belongs to the instructors. They pay all expenses like travel and materials etc from the rest, which puts them in charge. I think it’s important to ascribe a proper value to the skill and effort the instructors offer. Low pay serves to denigrate the value of the very skill being offered in the course. There, I’ll step off my soapbox…for now.
I have an amazing roster of folks coming to teach. Not only did it take a long time to establish a workshop that could host classes, but it took years to convince these folks to make time to come out. Follansbee, Fisher, Manney, Glenn, Golann and especially Chandley required a long courtship before I could get them to teach. Some are otherwise occupied, some are shy, or in Follansbee’s case, some are just plain ornery ;) Luckily, after coming, they all wanted to come back. I started reflecting on this because I have 3 new classes with Tim Manney to announce for the fall. He has weekend spoon carving and sharpening classes, check the schedule for details.
Spoon Carving Oct 5-6
Sharpening Curved Woodworking Tools Oct 26-27
Spoon Carving Dec 14-15
You can enroll now by emailing info@petergalbert.com
If you aren’t familiar with Tim’s work, let me tell you a little bit. Tim is a close friend and one of my most valued personal assets in the shop. He and I are very different in our approaches and we collaborate and problems solve in a very complimentary way. I am an agent of chaos in the shop, making messes and plowing a crude path, generally refining at the last minute. Tim on the other hand makes beautiful stuff the whole way through. His shop made tools, such as strops and jigs are beautiful. I don’t think he overly labors them in an obsessive way, it’s just a reflection of his sensibility and temperament. Check out his elegant shavehorse design. You can see more of his work here.
Years ago, I was dissatisfied with the quality of scraper style reamers being offered, so I decided to make a better one. I also had an idea to make it easier to set the blade to a desired depth. I started down the road to making the tool and brought Tim in on the project.
He and I did a bunch of problem solving, then Tim took all the tools to his shop and soon came back with a gorgeously rendered tool that works perfectly. To this day, I have no idea how he gets the results he does with the tools we were using. He started producing the tools and I’ve been happily using them in my shop and classes ever since.
I’ve been spoon carving for years, and know tons of other carvers, but Tim’s spoons are different. They have a simplicity and delicacy that calls into question everything else in the room. Yes, I’m gushing, but meet one of these in the wild and you’ll see what I mean.
Tim and I are also equally focused on teaching methodology. He has been an invaluable resource to me in finding ways to communicate and transmit skill. He is on my speed dial when I have a problem or idea to tackle. Check out his work and sign up for a class if you can, then you too will fall prey to my evil plan.
Well, every Evil Planner should have a peek at the Evil Overlord List: http://www.eviloverlord.com/ . It should be required reading for anyone in charge of an organization.
In my case, it was guilt, not orneriness. But I've seen the light, you've ruined me. And I appreciate it. Looking forward to next time. And yes, Tim is out of this world...I'm a big fan.