Traditional Wood Crafts
Taught by Jonathan Soma
Soma was born in the South, is what someone from the North would say. He co-founded the Brainery, is the sciencey half of Masters of Social Gastronomy, and plans on getting married to Waffle House. In his more droll moments he is a tragic sellout to higher ed as a professor of data journalism at Columbia University's journalism school.
See more @dangerscarf
Our grandfathers are in vogue. And if not the old men themselves, at least the simpler times they stand for, while we run around impersonating them: hefty beards, chicken coops, straight whiskey and straight razors. Let's add a little more to the mix with traditional wood crafts.
Summer heat is going to drive you out onto your stoop and into the parks, but what then? I'll tell you what: whittling. Charm children and impress dates with an uncanny ability to fashion figures out of wood. This is so far beyond the trend of art with 'found materials' I don't even know what to tell you.
What do you think about marquetry? It could be fun.
Familiar with decoys? I once went down 30 minutes of country road in search of a museum that I thought contained dozens of objects that were unbelievably distracting. Turns out they're fake ducks. There's a huge culture around them, let's chat about that!
If whittling just isn't big enough for you, we'll also look at the larger art of woodcarving. Tool sets, types of carving, and an introduction to how it all works.
Be prepared to leave this class with something awesome that you've made!
