WOODWORKING FOR GIRLS

From forest to furniture with women woodworkers, in collaboration with Perfect Ten After School.

Mondays 3pm-5pm  |  Ages 10 - 13 |  April - June 2014

As a group of women and girls, we’ll explore what it takes to build with wood. Beginning in the forest, we’ll learn how trees are selected and harvested. We’ll visit a woodmill to watch trees become lumber and select pieces to work with. We’ll visit our local hardware store to pick out tools and materials. Then, we’ll return to our homebase woodshop at Kite’s Nest to develop our skills in using hand tools, power tools and finishing techniques to create our own wooden objects and furniture. We will be joined by craftswomen Cara Turett, Elise McMahon, and Kaya Weidman, and visited by a number of local female woodworkers, foresters, and designers. We believe that the ability to use tools is a basic life skill - one that empowers us to become more self-reliant, self-confident and to better understand and interact with the world around us.

Participants will learn to measure, mark, cut, drill, drive, nail, sand, turn, fasten, join, bend, plane and bevel as they work to safely gain confidence and skill, one tool at a time, under the guidance of professional and skilled woodworkers. Throughout the course we will focus on becoming familiar with the many properties of wood - its grain, density, texture, and strength.

Projects will include designing and building wooden games, toolboxes, mallets, chairs, folding stools, raised garden boxes and planters.

This class is limited to young women and female teachers only, to allow for the opportunity to gain skills in a safe and supportive environment.

A workshop by Cara Turett and Kaya Weidman, in collaboration with Perfect Ten After School.