Looking out at 2026

In August of '24, I had the good fortune of joining several highly respected craftspeople at a lunch hosted by Peter Lamb in Kittery, ME.  The guest of honor was Jögge Sundqvist, who was touring the U.S., teaching classes and visiting friends.  Jögge, a renowned craftsperson and woodworker from northern Sweden, creates pieces that are colorful, playful, and poetic.   

(photo from Joel Paul)

The lunch was a humbling experience, to say the least, and personally inspiring.  Jögge kindly listened to me prattle on about my challenges with market, how I make stuff, sell stuff, and then struggle to make enough for the next event.  All good problems to have, don't get me wrong, but the process has left me wanting, wanting to make more meaningful pieces that push form and meaning in new directions, and wanting not to feel like I need to turn more tops.  Jögge, nodding in understanding, turned and said: "It is all sculpture."

I was reminded of this exchange while teaching at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this summer.  Haystack is a highly respected craft school, drawing the very best artists and craftspeople as instructors from around the world, so it was a true honor to be there.  But the experience left me feeling out of my depth.  Or, more accurately, I felt out of my field.  Listening to other instructors talk about the meaning of their work, what exhibitions, museums, and television shows had featured their work, and what books they had published, I found myself navigating a space that felt very unfamiliar.  While various classes asked students to give "form to the self through non-representational sculptural narratives" or "explore storytelling through fiber art," my class sought to teach students to turn a bowl on a pole lathe. That's it.

I want to be clear: I am not at all looking down on—or casting aspersions toward—the other wonderful instructors at Haystack, nor on the School’s more artistically oriented approach. That said, the experience left me with a sense of yearning: a desire to say more through my work.

While teaching craft skills is important and vital work—and work I genuinely love—I want to dedicate part of the coming year to producing a body of work that is more intentionally focused on a theme, a form, and/or a technique.

All of the instructors were asked to give a ten-minute presentation on their work, and I chose to speak about craft pedagogy, slöjd, and embodied thinking.  

(Photo: Eric McIntire)

This is a deeply important part of my practice right now, and I feel passionately about it. At the same time, the experience made me realize that I don’t even have a portfolio of my own work.  I make.  I sell.  I repeat.  In the new year, I want to change that.  I will still do a few markets, but my studio time will be focused less on production and more on creation.  I have a few leads on galleries that want to show my work next winter.  Now all I need to do is make a body of work!

That said, I have even more teaching gigs next year, and a few at schools new to me, so I will be busy!  In April, I will be teaching a five-day introduction to spoon carving and pole lathe turning at Peter Galbert's Workshop.  Instructors at Pete's read like a whose-who of the green woodworking world, and I am really honored to be part of the lineup.  In May, I will be teaching a five-day introduction to wood turning at Snowfarm, another truly impressive craft program.  Finally, I will be teaching classes at the Nantucket Historical Association for about two weeks in July.  I will run short-form adult classes in carving and turning, as well as kids' classes in carving.  Alyssa will come along for a little vacation, and as luck would have it, my friend Michael Frassinelli has an artist's residency on the island at the same time.  It should be a wonderful trip.

Lastly, I am working on two articles for woodworking magazines.  I don't want to say too much right now, but stay tuned. One should publish within the next few months.

That is all (phew)~!?!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve, everyone.  Stay safe and hug your loved ones.