Why Make? Podcast

On Episode 41 of Why Make? we talk with Christopher Schwarz, a furniture maker, educator, writer and publisher who lives and works from a storefront in Covington, KY. Schwarz is one of the founders and the editor of Lost Art Press, which publishes numerous, high quality books, including the Anarchists Tool Chest, on hand tool woodworking. In 2019, Schwarz triumphantly closed his commission book, and now builds pieces on spec only and sells them via his prolific woodworking blog at Lost Art Press.  We talk with Chris about selling bark jewelry and counter fitting $100 bills as a child, his years as a writer and editor at Popular Woodworking Magazine, his love of vernacular furniture and how woodworking acts a connective fiber in our society.  So sharpen up both your noggin’ and your hand tools and enjoy this mind expanding conversation with Christopher Schwarz!

Building sandcastles on the beaches of Massachusetts is the perfect way to start a life long love with making which Mark Del Guidice continues to this day. In Episode 40 of Why Make? we talk with Mark about growing up in a working class family which may have been short on experiences in the arts, but, was long on nurturing and probably at the heart of this psychology student turned supermarket managers discovery of his hands as the tools he wanted most to work with! After discovering the Boston University Program in Artisanry and becoming the last person to enroll in it before it went defunct in 1985 Mark went on to join some of the most well known woodworking co-ops of the Boston area to start his journey. Del Guidice’s aha moment occurred when, as an avid gardener, he built himself a gardening cabinet and adorned it with Morse Code and his own language of made up hieroglyphics. This became an intuitive way for Mark “to say something without having to say something” So, as we struggle to pronounce Mark Del Guidice’s name… we manage to get him to talk about a vibrant career that embraces the creation of a language of self expression.

A brief update on our progress on the Tommy project

This episode is a special edition of sorts where we actually talk about the process of making instead of getting all existential like we usually do… and although this is definitely not a “tool talk” it is more of a How Make! than a Why Make? this time around! On Episode 39 of Why Make? we talk with Karen Ernst a maker and educator, who is currently a Professor in the Art Department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she teaches woodworking and furniture design. Originally from East Aurora, NY, Karen holds a BA in Studio Art from SUNY Geneseo and an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design We talk with Karen about her process of making one of her colorful and uniquely shaped woodworking objects and follow her down a meandering path of creativity… from the germination of an idea, usually in her sketchbook, all the way to the final evaluation of her finished pieces. Karen also talks to us about the intoxication of creating things people can use, her addiction to making and how it all began for her with an an eye opening field trip she took to Wendell Castle’s studio in Scottsville, NY. So join us as we set off on a journey through one makers mind and their process of making.

Welcome to the 2021 holiday episode of Why Make. For the end of our third season we have something extra special in store for you… a conversation with one of the groundbreaking artists of the modern studio furniture movement, Tommy Simpson. Tommy’s work has a whimsical bent, but that belies a serious approach to making for someone who has created a universe of unique objects in every media you can think of. Tommy along with Wendell Castle cracked the furniture atom with their 1966 exhibition in New York Fantasy Furniture boldly declaring that furniture was no longer solely about form and function.  This interview also marks a special moment for the Why Make crew. We’ve been asked by the Furniture Society to do a short documentary about Tommy’s life and career. It’ll be our first film, and for that reason we have brought on board documentary filmmaker Nic Beery of Beery Media, an old friend of the podcast, to help us with this project.  And now enjoy our conversation with Tommy Simpson, a warm and open soul, who has created more than 4,000 pieces in an over a more than 60 year career.   

In this episode of Bonus Make! we continue our conversation with Ellie Richards, a furniture designer, sculptor and teacher who is currently a resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts. We talk with Ellie about her project “The Highboy’s Understory: Deconstructing the Icon” in which she examines the Winterthur, Delaware Museum, Garden and Library’s collection of high chests and other related forms. Richards plans to incorporate this research in a new line of work that responds to and reflects on the many stories, about race, class and society as embodied and embedded in these iconic furniture forms. Join us as we crack open and unpack the grand and flamboyant 17th century high boy with maker Ellie Richards.

In Episode 36 Why Make? we talk with furniture designer, sculptor and teacher Ellie Richards who is currently a resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts in the mountains of Western North Carolina. After growing up in Pittsburgh, PA she attended the wood & furniture design programs at San Diego State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Looking to the tradition of both woodworking and the readymade Ellie creates eclectic assemblage, installation, and objects exploring intersections of labor, leisure, community, and culture. Richards has also traveled extensively to investigate the role play and improvisation have on the artistic process. We discuss 2019’s Continuous Limit Line in which Ellie creates a fabricated chain made out of found police traffic barriers. Ellie talks about her Totems and a constant habit of deconstructing and reassembling Brooms and brushes of all shapes and sizes. Navigating this world with honesty, creativity and optimism Ellie believes craft can be a powerful vehicle for sharing culture. So lets take a break from work… its time to play!

In this episode of Bonus Make we talk with Katie Hudnall, about that most important of any artists tools, the sketchbook. As a tool for organizing your thoughts, a visual expression of your daily experiences or just a place to write down a shopping list next to a cool idea for a Rube Goldberg Machine, the sketchbook is a Swiss Army Knife for most artists. Katie guides us through her sketch book ,which she also views as her portable studio, as we take a virtual studio. Look on the Podcast page of the website for an illustrated mixed media version of this episode to go along with the audio only version, and now “Katie’s Sketchbook”

In Episode 34 of Why Make we talk with artist, woodworker and educator Katie Hudnall, currently living in Madison Wisconsin she is an assistant professor of art at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Katie began in the arts as someone who loved to draw and was able to morph her drawing language into a unique woodworking style, despite her admitted lack of finer woodworking skills. Hudnall relies mostly on recycled, used and found materials, slotted screws and various other fasteners to create fantastic and other worldly work. Many of her pieces remind one of “Rube Goldberg” machine-like kinetic sculptures visiting from another era.After taking a class with woodworking luminary, Jere Osgood, Katie soon became fond of quoting his answer to her inquiry on whether an idea would work or not… Jere simply replied to her  “it might be a disaster, we should try it!” Our conversation with Katie may be a disaster, but an intriguing and bizarrely shaped one for sure. So here we go

In Episode 33 of Why Make? we talk with furniture maker, sculptor, and educator, Andy Buck. Andy is currently a full professor in the School for American Crafts in the College of Art and Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has also taught at the Oregon College of Art & Craft, and given workshops at Anderson Ranch, Haystack, Penland and Peters Valley. Andy’s work has always seemed to embody fun and whimsical forms but we step behind the whimsy to talk about the serious ideas he is exploring in his work and the unique design vocabulary he has developed. Robb has been an admirer of Andy’s work for a long time and his fun play on tools and toilet bowl plungers inspired his early work, including an ongoing flyswatter series! So grab a brush and a can of milk paint and join us as we see what makes Andy Buck tick.