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.

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!

Find out more about Chris and his woodworking at his website

Peruse the books he publishes at Lost Art Press

Read his informative, entertaining and consistent writing at his blog

And “tool up” in a fashion at Crucible Tools

Thanks for listening!

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.

See more of Marks work here www.markedwood.com

It’s been a minute since you have heard from us, but, we promise we are working on more Why Make? episodes! Most importantly though we are working on finishing our short documentary on the artist, Tommy Simpson. Take the time to relax and listen to Episode 38 of Why Make? during which we talk with Tommy about his amazing life as a maker.

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.

Find out more about Karen on her website www.karenernstdesign.com

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.   

Find out more about Tommy Simpson on his website

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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.

Discover more about Ellie and her work at www.ellie-richards.com

Find out more about her highboy project and more about Winterthur here www.winterthur.org

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 University of Dayton in Studio Art & Art Education program as an undergrad and Arizona State University in their Sculpture & Wood MFA program. More recently as a Windgate fellow Ellie spent time at San Diego State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in their wood & furniture design programs.

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!

Discover more about Ellie and her work at www.ellie-richards.com

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”