Why Make? Podcast

As mentioned in the podcast here is a link to excellent book of images and essays from theImagine Peace Now exhibition https://imaginepeacenow.org/supportus/product/i-m-a-g-i-n-e-peace-now-publication/

On Episode 57 of Why Make? we talk with Brad Reed Nelson, a Glenwood Springs, Colorado woodworker, furniture maker and product designer creating magical pieces made from metal and wood. Brad, aka BRN, and his better half Ann, run Board By Design, a functional design company making such brightly colored amazingness as Knuckles, The Good Pot, Elefunction, Blokkey, Bling Pong tables and the steadfast Winsorrondack chair. We talk with Brad about his years in school and learning about life and making with the likes of Wendell Castle, Garry Knox Bennett, Paul Sasso, Sam Maloof and Gail Fredell. Brad also reminds us about the importance and necessity of community, collaboration, listening and communication, fostering relationships and being vulnerable. And how these all pile up to the create the mountain from which every single person is made. So join us as we lean in and get all twisted up in Brad Reed Nelson’s humble sense of humor and wicked sense of design?!

Episode 56 of Why Make? is a conversation 50 years in the making! Erik sits down sit with his childhood friend, the amazing metalsmith, jeweler, sculptor and teacher Boris Bally. Erik last saw Boris sometime in 1974 when they were 12 years old. Originally, like Erik, from Pittsburgh, Boris now resides and works in Providence RI. A maker from the early days of his youth, Boris fell in love with the magic of working metal and never looked back. Growing up in a Swiss family he took advantage of an opportunity to do a 1 year apprenticeship in Basil Switzerland in metal smithing after high school. Upon returning to the U.S he enrolled in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and finished his degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Always the practical artist Boris has fashioned his career by teaching, doing commission work and designing and producing a number of very successful production items, along with his own more personal work. Join us as we catch on the last 50 years and find out what just what Boris Bally has been making. We had the privilege of having this conversation with Boris while he was teaching a workshop at the Pocosin Center for the Arts in Columbia, NC in June with Bob Ebendorf our guest on Episode 54. Many thanks to the good folks at Pocosin for allowing us to spend some time on campus.

In Episode 55 of the Why Make? podcast we talk with Mia Hall, a maker, former educator and current executive director of the Penland School of Craft, one of the oldest and most prestigious craft schools in America. After growing up in Sweden Mia moved to northern California at the age of 18 and explored for the next 10 years. When a close friend became a buyer for Pottery Barn that possibility as a career excited Mia and she  found a path forward through art school. Eventually enrolling at San Diego State University in the interior design department Mia found her true passion upon discovering the furniture design program where she earned both her undergrad and graduate degrees. Always knowing that she wanted to teach Mia became the first Furniture instructor at the new crafts program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. During her time teaching there she also became the director of the program. In 2017 Mia became the executive director of Penland and took on the job she always really wanted to do. Morphing from a worker in wood to a worker in paper, spreadsheets in particular. From Sweden to the mountains of North Carolina join us as we talk with Mia Hall about her path in the arts and the future of craft education.

Retired educator, jeweler and metalsmith extraordinaire Bob Ebendorf joins us on episode 54 of the Why Make podcast. Originally from Topeka Kansas, Bob was a star football player and wrestler in high school who had the choice of a big time college athletic scholarship or attending art school. Lucky for us he made the right choice! After spending his undergraduate and graduate years in the art department at the University of Kansas Bob then went on to spend a fair amount of time in Norway honing his technical skills in metal smithing before returning to the U.S to teach.  Bob is a self proclaimed radical in the jewelry and metals field, often choosing to work in found objects, thrift store finds and junk instead of precious metals and stones. After a long career in the arts Bob’s work is in the permanent collection of many museums and at 83 he still enjoys teaching, creating and just being curious. We had the privilege of having this conversation with Bob while he was teaching a workshop at the Pocosin Center for the Arts in Columbia NC in June. Many thanks to the good folks at Pocosin for allowing us to spend some time on campus.

Welcome to Episode 53 of Why Make? On this episode we talk with Robert Lyon, a woodturner, artist and educator who lives and works in the Columbia, SC area. Literally climbing the walls with handmade ladders as a small child, the sky was the limit, as Robert explored model rockets and building theatre sets, before landing in art school for college. His lifetime in the arts started in ceramics when he discovered he could spend the whole day at the wheel and not notice the passage of time. No matter what he did Robert always wanted everyday to feel like that flow state. We talk with Robert about being an assistant professor at Louisiana State University where he helped to set up one of the most vibrant ceramics programs in the U.S at the time before discovering the lathe. After 5 years in administration Robert returned to teaching in the art department at the University of South Carolina until retiring in 2017. Robert has continued with enthusiasm to teach, and explore the lathe, making his outlandish turned forms during his full-time art practice. Join us as Robert Lyon takes us back and forth across the Rio Grande, flowing through his minds eye, into those places where he finds inspiration.

In Episode 52 of Why Make? we talk with Katie Thompson, an artist, writer, creative consultant and instructor based in the Low Country outside of Charleston, SC. Katie wears many hats including being a disabled mother of two, and wife and partner to fine furniture maker Joseph Thompson. Katie has a passion for people and sharing their stories, and pursues her inclinations as a storyteller through her monthly online woodworking journal Pen and Chisel and her ongoing project the  Women of Woodworking in which she has helped to create a community gathering place for women and non-binary woodworkers. We delve into many things with Katie including her work with the Furniture Society, the Wood Art Alliance and how she uses her chronic health conditions to make a positive impact by advocating and sharing her experiences with others. Hold on tight and join us as we get inspired by bionic woman Katie Thompson!

The long awaited conversation on Why Make? Podcast with artist and maker Aspen Golaan.

On this episode of Why Make? we talk with Kim Winkle, an arts administrator full time teacher and artist. Kim is a Professor of Art and the Director of the School of Art, Craft & Design at Tennessee Technological University’s Appalachian Center for Craft. A native of Oklahoma Kim holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Ceramics from the University of Oklahoma. She then started her MFA in ceramics at San Diego State University but during her first year was persuaded to take a class in the Applied Design, Furniture and Woodworking program then headed by Wendy Maruyama. Where she then earned her MFA in furniture design. Winkle’s work is well known for the elaborate surface markings she uses on her colorful turned and carved forms that she somehow finds time to make while being director of the Appalachian Center for Craft and maintaining a busy teaching schedule. Please join us as we find out what inspires maker Kim Winkle!

Why Make Podcast, Wendy Maruyama Episode Part II TranscriptTime Code00:00 Robb HelmkampHello and welcome to Why Make, where we talk to makers from different disciplines about what inspires them to make.With your hosts Robb Helmkamp and. Erik Wolken Erik Wolken. If you would like to learn more about the makers we interview on Why Make please go our website why-make.comRobb HelmkampAnd please help support the Why Make podcast and Why Make productions by making a tax refundable donation to us on Fractured Atlas.Erik WolkenFractured Atlas is our new non profit fiscal sponsor which allows us to access a wide range of funding possibilities including funding available only for non-profits Robb HelmkampVisit  https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/the-why-make-project or go to the donate to Why Make page on Why-Make.com 01:03 Robb HelmkampWelcome to our first podcast of the 2023 season of Why Make. This episode is part two of our in depth conversation with the artist Wendy Maruyama.Erik Wolken Wendy Maruyama is a furniture maker, sculptor and retired educator who resides in San Diego California. Wendy’s work has tackled a wide scope topics from traditional furniture forms to exploring her Japanese heritage and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WW2 to the issue of endangered speciesRobb HelmkampAs we discuss later in the podcast Wendy was born with significant hearing loss and cerebral palsy and at her request, to aid our listeners, we have included a full transcript of our conversation on our web page for this episode which can be found on the podcast page of why-make.com It can also be found in the episode notes on Apple podcastsErik WolkenPlease join us and take a listen to our wide ranging discussion with one of the more amazing artists in the woodworking field, Wendy Maruyama.02:06 Erik Wolken Moving along Wendy, let's talk about the next phase of your work. Because the next phase of your work use do start to tackle some of your identities in your bodies of work in Turning Japanese, Simple Pleasures and Indulgences & Men in Kimonos you do start to sort of not only address your heritage, but really start to use narrative in your work. What was what was behind all of that? I mean, what do you think was the inspiration behind that? The whole thing that started with Turning Japanese and Men in Kimonos exploring your cultural identity.02:42 Wendy MaruyamaI think the Turning Japanese series the Men in Kimono riff came from my first trip to Japan could be in '92 maybe I can't remember but I'd never been to Japan until the early 90's and like anybody else I was just amazed by what I was seeing over there especially the craft scene. There is such a strong craft heritage in Japan not only with woodworking, ceramics of different styles at the same time some of the fields like textiles really evolved into the modern times to use the unusual fibers and metal in weaving. And then of course, going to downtown Tokyo in the Shibuya District dominated with all this neon stuff, it was very much like Blade Runner if you've seen the movie Blade Runner? It was clearly based on Tokyo. And so there are these two very different aspects of Japan, the old and the very, very, very new high tech side of it. There is a little bit of conflict to you know, I'd be riding on the subway and you can see these Japanese business men reading these pornographic cartoons it was called Manga.  I think it was it all these lady with big boobs, it's all cartoons. It was such a flurry of images and so I think some of that was mostly my personal response to what I saw in Japan and I realized that I didn't fit even though I was Japanese American. Japanese descent. I did not fit into that whole culture, I mean, even if I tried. I mean, I'm kind of proud of it from a distance but I realized I don't think like that. So, maybe that was kind of a mixture of sadness and relief in a way. It is a very patriarchal society so there was that and it was kinda just a response to my experiences going to Japan.05:44 Erik WolkenAnd the other interesting thing about that body of work is you begin to introduce using video and still images into it too. And you're really starting to truly experiment with your craft and and I thought that was absolutely wonderful. You know, you reached outside the box, which I think is what we all aim to do as artists. When you first started using video and still images? And where did that come from?06:11 Wendy MaruyamaI'm trying to think. Trying to remember if the Tasmanian Tiger piece was first, I think it was. But anyway, in the Turning Japanese series I started using photo's because I went to a flea market in Kyoto. It's one best thing about Japan! It's amazing what you can find at the flea market. Some love it. If you ever go to Japan, make sure that you go into a big flea market either in Kyoto or Tokyo. The stuff that you find is amazing, but anyway, I came across a box of old black and white photographs of Kabuki actors. And I found out later that in Kabuki theater, women were not allowed to perform. I don't know if that is the case now? But women were not allowed to perform in Kabuki and so the female characters in a Kabuki play were always played by  men who were expert at mimicking the feminine movement of women in the story. So all these men I mean all these women in kimono were actually men and they were quite beautiful and alluring and I was just kind of fascinated by that, how these beautiful, these men were. And they were prettier than I was and I thought it be kinda fun to use some of these images. At the same time, I'm a big Japanese sci-fi fan I think that was because that was the first time I saw Japanese people in a movie. It was in a Godzilla movie where you see all these Japanese people running from Godzilla. In one of the Godzilla movies there's these twin fairies (the Shobijin).  I don't know if you remember they were sidekicks to Mothra, who was another monster. So I wanted to create this sort of these twin geisha women in the image of this. Oh I don't know, it's amazing about Photoshop, I was taking Photoshop class, and it's amazing how you can make fantastical images using Photoshop. So that was an opportunity to experiment with different media. I tend to jump around from, you know, from subject to subject cause that's the way my life goes.  I'm not one to stay with one idea for 40 years, I think I would be bored to death. So it's important for me to just kind of reflect my life through my work. And so hopefully you get an idea what I've been going through by seeing my work in a linear pattern.09:41 Erik Wolken Yes, you definitely see a progression of your work, because then the next body of work you move on to is Executive Order 9066. And the Tag Project. And of course this is referring to, and I'm going to use the correct terminology. This is referring to the incarceration and or imprisonment of the Japanese people on the West Coast of America during World War Two. Just to give you an idea of the scope of this project, and Wendy you can go on to talk about it more, but there were 120,000 Japanese, people of Japanese heritage, imprisoned during EO 9066. And the Tag Project, you printed out a replica of the original tags, these people wore as they were sent to their prison camps. 120,000 tags, that is a mind boggling number.10:38 Wendy MaruyamaThat's a lot of tags. I started this the body of work when I was an artist in residency at SUNY New York, SUNY Purchase that is State University of New York Purchase. I knew that I needed to do this work, but I wasn't really ready until then. I mean it's a really hard topic because my mother's side of the family was deeply impacted by Executive Order 9066 because they were in Los Angeles at the time when Pearl Harbor was bombed and all that happen. But what struck me and kind of made me sort of angry was I was really surprised at how many people didn't even know about this episode in American history, especially on the East Coast and in the south and even now sometimes you run into people who don't even know about it.  I think people know, more people know about it now. But even 15 years ago, when I started this project I was running across a lot of people who didn't know, they kind of knew but they didn't really know. And when you tell them how many people were sent away to these prison camps but it's daunting to think about. And so I also thought a lot about the Holocaust too. It doesn't hold a candle to what happened here, but still the fact that Executive Order 9066 happened in this country, this country of freedom and all that. I just really wanted to bring that to the forefront with my work.  And I also wanted to get to know more of the Japanese American community. And so one of the first things I did was that I reached out to the local San Diego Japanese American historical society to learn more about Executive Order 9066. And I started talking to a lot of other people who were sent to prison in Poston, which was in Arizona. Most people from San Diego were sent to prison camp in Arizona. And that's when I started to make it into a community project and I would host these tag writing parties we would have different chores people would stamp tags, they would write the names, they would tie, tie them together, there were a lot of processes in for each tag and the only way I was going to be able to do 120,000 tags was to make it a community project. But hopefully make it an educational project, but also social advocacy project. So that people can learn about what happened. And I would show a slide show before we would start working on the tags. I was going to temples and churches and high school classrooms, and college classes, and galleries and museums. So it was kind of a broad outreach and it took 4 years but we did manage to finish all the tags in time for the 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066.Erik WolkenThat was a massive undertaking, what led you I m

Why Make Podcast, Wendy Maruyama Episode Part 1 Transcript  Time Code00:00 Robb HelmkampHello and welcome to Why Make, where we talk to makers from different disciplines about what inspires them to make.With your hosts Robb Helmkamp and,  Erik Wolken Erik Wolken. If you would like to learn more about the makers we interview on Why Make please go our website why-make.comRobb HelmkampAnd please help support the Why Make podcast and Why Make productions by making a tax refundable donation to us on Fractured Atlas.Erik WolkenFractured Atlas is our new non profit fiscal sponsor which allows us to access a wide range of funding possibilities including funding available only for non-profits Robb HelmkampVisit  https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/the-why-make-project or go to the donate to Why Make page on Why-Make.com 01:01 Robb HelmkampWelcome to our first podcast of the 2023 season of Why Make. This episode is part one of our in depth conversation with the artist Wendy Maruyama.Erik Wolken Wendy Maruyama is a furniture maker, sculptor and retired educator who resides in San Diego California. Wendy’s work has tackled a wide scope topics from traditional furniture forms to exploring her Japanese heritage and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WW2 to the issue of endangered species.Robb HelmkampAs we discuss later in the podcast Wendy was born with significant hearing loss and cerebral palsy and at her request, to aid our listeners, we have included a full transcript of our conversation on our web page for this episode which can be found on the podcast page of why-make.com It can also be found in the episode notes on Apple podcastsErik WolkenPlease join us and take a listen to our wide ranging discussion with one of the more amazing artists in the woodworking field, Wendy Maruyama.02:03  Erik Wolken Okay, are we ready to have a very serious conversation about nothing?Wendy MaruyamaOh, yeah that will be fine by my book.Erik Wolken We'd like to welcome Wendy Maruyama to the Why Make? Podcast.Robb Helmkamp Welcome Wendy. Welcome to Why Make!Wendy MaruyamaThank you! Thank you for having me, you guys.Erik Wolken The question we always start the podcast with is: What is your first memory of making something?02:00 Wendy MaruyamaWell, you know, I can remember when I was maybe four or five years old, my mom used to bring home these little art kits, craft kits, maybe not coloring books. But things that you had to like put together. And I remember very distinctly a paper cutout book where we had to fold them and they were sort of kinetic. I remember I was more interested in the whole fabrication process verses drawing and painting. Although I did draw and paint when I was little, but I preferred punching holes in paper and you know that sort of thing.  So I would say that would be my earliest recollection of making stuff.Erik Wolken Right. So you are an active maker. You liked to be involved in the making. You weren't a passive maker.03:47 Wendy Maruyama Right. Got to be more than just a piece of paper and crayons. I want to ...Even if it meant crumpling paper up or stabbing a piece of paper with a dowel rod, or...Robb Helmkamp Not just making marks but making holes in things too, changing the shape of it.Wendy MaruyamaRipping things apart. I remember needle craft stuff too. Like working with yarn and string.  And of course you know back in the 50s the kinds of toys one would get would be very much based on gender and I never got the little hammers and the screwdriver kits for kids, you know. I got the sewing kit and the dolls and that kind of thing. So hopefully that changed a little bit now, but I do remember that pretty clearly because I would go to my cousin's house. I had male cousins and they all had the really cool cars (coins?). That wasn't made available to me because I guess mom felt like I needed more of a  Homemaking Type Kit.Erik Wolken What was your first introduction and attraction to furniture and woodworking when did that come?05:12 Wendy MaruyamaWell, you… if you want the earliest: I remember in 6th grade camp, we got sent away to some mountain retreat. When we were all in 6th grade and I really kind of hated it because I hate camping and I hate hiking. I am just not into the outdoor scene. But the most fun things I remember… we had to find a piece of wood in the woods and bring it back to craft room and sand it. Make it all pretty and put oil on it. And I remember the transformation of the wood once I sanded it and made it all pretty and put oil on it, kind of magical. I think my mom still has this piece of wood somewhere. I think I saw it on her dresser a couple of years ago. But anyway, so that would be my earliest memory. But then my first piece of furniture happened when I was 19. I was taking a craft class at a junior college that was in San Diego called Southwestern College and they had an excellent craft program. And this would be the 70s and craft was really enjoying a huge revival at that time and so I was taking jewelry and ceramics. The craft class, we didn't really have a woodworking program, but we had a craft class, which introduced us to all sorts of things, like batik and textiles. And so that we did a little bit of ceramics and weaving and then woodworking was the final project and I was really intrigued by the fact that, you know, I was able to use the machines. And the other good thing was that the woman that was teaching class also made furniture. So kind of like wow, you know, Joanne can work in wood! You know, I'm going to learn how to work in wood. So anyway... I made a three legged chair that was really kind of organic, kind of poorly made, but I didn't know what I was doing. We didn't have any machines for doing mortise and tenon and she (Joanne) didn't use joinery in her work. It was kind of a California thing. We used a lot of dowels you know, and I think that was inspired by Sam Maloof who used a lot of dowels to fabricate his furniture and the dowels were decorative of course too. You know were you use contrasting woods with dowels. And back in those days, we were using a lot of leather so I had leather seat and it was uh pretty hippy influenced work. And its funny because I have the chair in my studio now and I want to replace the seat and maybe clean it up a little bit, you know. But anyway, that was my first piece of furniture. That would be 1971 maybe seven? Yeah '71.Robb Helmkamp That's great that you still have it.Erik WolkenYou'll have to send us a picture of that piece.  And if it was truly hippie Wendy, you would have macramé the seatWendy MaruyamaOh, maybe.09:26 Erik Wolken Did you know who Sam Maloof was when you were 1909:30 Wendy MaruyamaUm.  No I didn't actually. But you know looking back, I remember thinking, "Why did I use dowels?"   Oh and it was screwed together. Screws and the dowels were really there too hide the screw head. Anyway, I didn't know Sam's work until I went to San Diego State. I transferred from Southwestern to San Diego State. Now Larry Hunter was my teacher there and he was the one who kind of exposed me to a lot of makers at the time. Wendell (Castle) well, of course, was a biggie and he had a huge Influence on California woodworkers and we had some really amazing woodworkers in California too. Larry Hunter being one of them and Jack Rogers Hopkins who I think is greatly under appreciated for his work. He did some massive stack lamination pieces.  Personally I think that he I think he was really the first person to really incorporate stack lamination into furniture. And I think that Wendell started using the same techniques, around the same time, but my feeling is that Jack was really the early pioneer for that method of working.One day I remember seeing a movie not a video, but it was a movie, you know we he had a movie of him building a music stand from start to finish. It was a much different method of construction and stack lamination. That movie was probably made in the late 60’s, 67 maybe. B ut my main influence at that time was Tommy Simpson. I was really just wowed by Tommy's work at that time, you know? So sculptural. And it wasn't merely about woodworking, it was more about fantasy forms that one could make. I think all of his work was made with wood. But, I think could have been interpreted into Paper Mache,  plaster, with the kind of forms he was creating with wood. And of course it was all painted. So my first piece of furniture that I did for Larry Hunter was a desk that was very inspired by Tommy Simpson. But it's all made out of chicken wire, plywood and Paper Mache.Erik WolkenAnd this was in a woodworking class you did that? 12:40 Wendy MaruyamaYeah this was a woodworking class. And so I think maybe it was like an introduction and maybe I showed this piece and Larry might have said well it would be faster if you made it out of chicken wire and plywood. You know, you might be able to achieve the form more quickly. So maybe he was trying to you know encourage me to create that form with the little knowledge that I had in woodworking. It was beginning class so it's interesting how he let me do that. If I was teaching a beginning class, I probably would not have said, "Oh make it out of Paper Mache." But uh in hindsight, I wish maybe I could have encouraged that. But, I think I was to deprogramed by the time I started teaching out. I had too many educators that, you know, dictated what woodworking should be and how it should be taught.Erik WolkenSo what were those first what pieces you actually created for him like?14:02 Wendy MaruyamaWell let me tell you, the assignments that I got were so totally different from what most of us are familiar with. And you have to remember this is the early 70's! One assignment was to go out into the woods and be with nature, look around and find something beautiful that was natural. And thinking about it now sounds so crazy. But anyway, so I found a seedpod out in the woods an

On this episode of Why Make we talk with James McNabb a woodworker and artist who grew up in Montville, NJ overlooking New York City. James grew up in a family that was very supportive of his creative endeavors, his mother being a teacher and father a carpenter. Early experiences taking woodworking classes in middle and high school led him to pursue his undergrad in woodworking, at the School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It was as a graduate student at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, that James discovered the processes and ideas that continue to inform the main body of his work. James currently resides in Philadelphia, PA where he produces one of a kind cityscape-inspired wood sculptures that explore the limitless possibilities of the urban landscape and our human relationship to it. Traditional woodworking techniques are combined with experimental mark making to create his own visions of the urban landscape. Please join us as we take a walk through the endlessly imaginative mind of James McNabb.

On this episode of Why Make? we resume our conversation with Melanie Falick an independent writer, editor, creative consultant and lifelong maker who lives in the Hudson Valley in New York. We continue talking about the creation of her book Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live and also find out more about work on her new book, tentatively titled The Maker’s Way. Melanie enjoys learning by challenging herself with new things and shares with us the struggle she experienced taking a woodworking class with Peter Korn and allowing herself to be present in a clay workshop with Simon Leach. So join us as we dig into the idea of compassionate capitalism, the history of the DIY movement, making for self care and wellness and how making can bring about happiness. Please enjoy the second part of our enriching Why Make? conversation with Melanie Falick.

Why Make Episode 46, Part 1. a podcast conversation with Melanie Falick, an independent writer, editor, creative consultant and lifelong maker .You can find out more about Melanie at melaniefalick.com and on her Instagram or pick up a copy of Making a Life at great retailers like IndieboundPortrait photo by Christine Ashburn. Making photos by Rinne Allen and excerpted from Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live by Melanie Falick (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2019.

In this Bonus Make with Zeke Leonard we get into the nitty gritty of the relationship between making objects and musical instruments and being a musician or just making wonderful noises.

On this episode we talk with Zeke Leonard, a Syracuse, NY based educator, designer, musician and maker. Born in Charleston, SC Zeke started out early, getting involved in community theater while growing up in Winston Salem, NC. His interest in acting and set design & construction led him to a degree in Set Design at the NC School of the Arts. Zeke moved to NYC to follow the dream of a career as a theatrical set designer where he eventually became disillusioned with all the waste created by the making of beautiful things. His realization that a whole pallet of plywood ultimately ended up in the trash bin at the end of each season dramatically shifted Zeke's mindset. Following his love of making things by hand and building functional objects Zeke pursued an MFA in Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a furniture maker in NYC coop studios until the financial crash of 2008. Zeke now finds his life as an educator in the School of Design at Syracuse University and playing music on his homemade instruments brings him the happiness in community and family he has been searching for. We are music lovers here at Why Make? and we started this conversation with Zeke by trading funny stories about late night encounters at the Galax Fiddlers Convention in Galax, VA years ago… …and the tail end of one of those tall tales is a wonderful beginning for our conversation with Zeke Leonard!

Episode 43 of Why Make? is a Bonus make? We talk with Tom Loeser about the time he spent with Tommy Simpson in 1981 during a 10 day chair making workshop at the now defunct Boston University Program in Artisanry. Tom talks about Tommy’s ability to tell a story through a narrative and his exceptional quality and speed as both a maker and woodworker. So loosen up, get ready to reset your brain and enjoy this Bonus make conversation… Tom talking about Tommy.

On Episode 42 of Why Make? we talk with Tom Loeser, an educator, furniture maker, and box maker who recently retired as the head of the Furniture Design and Woodworking program at UW-Madison where he has taught since 1991.Tom designs and builds one-of-a-kind, functional and dysfunctional, objects that are often carved and painted. His work is primarily based on and uses the history of design and object-making as a starting point for developing new form and meaning.We talk with Tom about his exploration and investigation of unconventional furniture forms, including: chests, bandsaw boxes, public seating, and chairs, one example is his Shaker and Memphis inspired Folding Chair. So get out your colorwheel and a copy of Josef Albers Interaction of Color and enjoy our conversation with Tom Loeser. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Find out more about Tom and his woodworking at his website www.tomloeser.com

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.