CAMBIUM – Sturt School for Wood Graduate Exhibition 2022

CAMBIUM CAMBIUM

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land upon which the school resides; the Gundungurra People. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

William Armstrong Guy Conor Coleman Millicent Dorn Bethany Fowler Gregoire Gamand Michael Harris

Lars Hennicke Clare O’Reilly Finnan Solomon-Walker Celeste Stein Georgia Szymanski Ross Wortham

Welcome to Cambium, the end of year exhibition for the 2022 class at Sturt School for Wood.

The practice of designing and making fine furniture from timber is not easy. A mix of art, craft and design skills, as well as an understanding of materials and structure are all needed, combined with an enthusiasm to learn and try different techniques, tempered by a resilience to remain optimistic when things don’t work or take longer than expected. But when everything falls into place and your piece turns out as (or better than) expected, it is such a joy.

This year’s group of 12 students started the course with varying levels of experience and skill in making and designing in timber, but their passion and willingness to learn from their tutors and share their ideas, expertise and time with each other, has meant that for them, the year became an amazing journey of growth and development for all.

Here at this exhibition you will see the culmination of that journey. Pieces that celebrate the beauty of wood and pieces steeped in traditional techniques. Objects that hint at the development of a personal style, as well as objects that explore the design process and the possibilities and limitations of materials.

This was the first year I have been involved in the program at the school and I was a little nervous about being the tutor for their important “exhibition piece” project, given Sturt’s reputation for excellence. However I need not have worried. The making skills that the students had honed under their previous tutors, combined with their enthusiasm for thoughtful and considered design, made my job relatively easy. It was a joy working with the class, sharing in both their successes and setbacks, and I am very proud of their achievements.

I look forward to seeing what each of the students does in the future. This year has been a journey of discovery and growth, but for all designers and makers that journey is ongoing in terms of learning new skills and techniques and then passing that knowledge on to others.

On behalf of all the tutors I offer them my sincere congratulations and wish them every success in their future careers.

- Linda Fredheim

From the class of 2022

This year has been an incredible journey for our class. We gathered in this historical and beautiful place from twelve very different backgrounds and skill levels, but we quickly found our rhythm, becoming a tight-knit family, keen to learn and grow together.

We began with Peter Young. Peter’s calm and methodical teaching style guided our nervous, excited energy through the key skills and woodworking fundamentals, and leading us through making the famous Sturt bread board, mallet, Krenov stands, boxes and tool cabinet. Thank you, Peter, for setting us up with the confidence and skills needed to take the rest of the year on by storm.

David Upfill-Brown led us through our first complex piece of furniture, the ‘Drawer Project’. David’s ever-present humour, energetic personality, and endlessly deep knowledge of craft moved us along at lightning speed. We were inspired to take risks in both the design and execution of our first pieces of furniture and the results speak for themselves. Thank you DUB for guiding us through this challenging and rewarding term.

We then had the guidance of the wonderful Linda Fredheim who helped us tackle our most complex and personally significant projects with the ‘Exhibition Piece’. It was invaluable learning from Linda’s artistic and refined approach to furniture design and making. She was an exceptionally generous teacher who helped hone our personal styles and combine our skills.

We finished the year with Neil and Pam Erasmus. Their passionate and skilful teaching approach, along with their combined expertise made the chair project a joy to design and create. We so appreciate you both for bringing us to our journey’s end with complete attentiveness and support.

Thank you also to our short-term tutors; Darren Oates for sharing your mastery of all things wood-bending and jig making. We had such fun and learned so much in a short period of time. And Paul Nicholson for seeing us through the batch and dovetail saw projects. We were so lucky to learn from your machinist-like expertise around the workshop.

Thank you to the tutor’s assistants, volunteers, guest lecturers and teachers that made this year complete. We appreciate all the time and wisdom you dedicated to us. Thank you David Muston, Glenn Murcutt, Stuart Faulkner, Darren Naftal, Mary Joy Floris, David Haig, Tim Webb, Mark Gudgin, Matt O’Brien, Michael Venter, Valerie Odewahn, Rolf Barfoed, Stuart Houghton, Adam Stewart, William Bayliss, John Comacchio, Myles Gostelow and Doug Keith for your support and generosity.

Thank you also to Kristie Phelan, Slavica Zivkovic, Peter Bull and Ian Bromley for your incredible dedication and hard work throughout the year.

Cambium in plants is the cellular tissue from which growth of xylem and phloem occurs. This is responsible for the secondary growth of stems and roots.

Cambium

Bark

Growth rings Heartwood

As a class we chose our exhibition name, Cambium, as we felt it represented our individual and collective journeys of growth. Cambium is the layer of fibrous tissue found just below the bark of a tree, which is responsible for growth and where new cell types form. After a year of incredible learning, we are each ready and eager, like cambium fibers, to branch outward and upward on our own paths as fine furniture designer makers.

Sapwood

M: +61 438 749 064

E: barms42@gmail.com :williamernest__

WILLIAM ARMSTRONG GUY

“Craft is good work proceeding from the whole man, heart, head, and hand in proper balance” – Sōetsu Yanagi

I have long loved making and designing. I find immense joy in working with my hands and the focused intention and reflection that goes behind creating a quality piece. My year at Sturt has given me opportunity to delve deep into the complexity and beauty of fine furniture design under the generous tutorage of world class makers, who’s wisdom and kind encouragement will forever leave a mark on my making. This year has taught me to better navigate the balance between the romanticism of hand crafting and using contemporary skills and techniques. To better tread the delicate poise between function and form. With these forever evolving skills, I look forward to creating work where I can express myself through thoughtful design.

I am honoured to be part of this inspiring and inclusive community and am excited for what the future holds. This is only the beginning.

E: conor.coleman17@gmail. com :conorcoleman4

CONOR COLEMAN

I’m a cabinetmaker by trade, born and raised in Brisbane. For as long as I remember I’ve had an appreciation for practical design and intuitive construction. For me, the Sturt School for Wood offered an unrivaled opportunity to think outside the metaphorical “melamine box”. Sturt has been a place to expand and refine my craft, introspectively, under the guidance of world-class tutors and alongside the next generation of wood workers.

I see furniture making as an opportunity to augment spaces, rather than overpower or detract from them. This is reflected in the pieces I’ve made this year as I hope they invite conversation and interaction without domineering a room.

After my year here at Sturt, I am eager to continue working in the furniture making industry as I look to establish a personal brand and style of furniture intrinsic to the Australian home.

E: Millie@dorn.com.au : dorn.a.m

MILLICENT DORN

My name is Millie and I like making things.

My time at Sturt has offered me new, transferable skills, that I can apply to multiple crafts and trades.

Thanks to the work of my teachers, I am confident in my ability to create high quality pieces, which is wonderfully gratifying. My wealth of new found knowledge offers opportunities and is something I will take with me anywhere I go.

_bethanyfowler

BETHANY FOWLER

I joined Sturt School of Wood at the beginning of the year with an eagerness to explore and learn about timber. Prior to this, I have enjoyed painting, sculpting and constructing because I have a passion for colour and natural materials. I knew that I wanted to work in a field that allowed for individuality and creativity. This is what led me to undertake this course.

Throughout the year I have gained extensive knowledge about wood, tools, machinery and design. In particular, I have enjoyed the design aspect of the course and have been inspired by the mid-century modern era for my pieces. The whole learning environment at Sturt was exceptional with each tutor sharing their own knowledge and history with the class.

A big thanks to all the teachers, volunteers and students for a great year.

M: +61 431 570 969

E: gamandgregoire@yahoo. fr

GREGOIRE GAMAND

After working for 20 years in the hospitality industry around the world, I decided to make a career change. I quickly oriented myself towards woodworking, especially furniture making, For many different reasons, such as working with wood, finding my creative self and challenging myself. Sturt was the perfect place to start my new journey. I was lucky enough to be part of an amazingly talented group of people with different backgrounds who have become my woodie family. We have been taught by absolute legends who were genuinely happy to share their skills and knowledge with us. I did push myself way above my skills numerous times, but that is what I was looking for when I started the year.

Thanks to the School, Kristie, Ian, Peter Bull, all my teachers and the people around them. A special thanks to my fellow students for their support and great energy throughout the year.

M: +6141 566 9013

E: mw.harris100@gmail.com

MICHAEL HARRIS

Since discovering Sturt and fine woodworking a dozen years ago, I have yearned to spend a year immersed in both. So, after a career of adding up and Ad agencies here I am and all I can say is it’s been … eyeopening, dustmaking, mindbending, motivating, planetalking, friendmaking, gluesticking, goodfeeling, lifechanging, evergiving, coolcrafting … Sturt

E: larsos95@gmail.com

LARS HENNICKE

I’ve long had a fascination for wood, surely one of our most precious materials. During my formative years I was fortunate to find a great woodworking mentor in my grandfather, who taught me much about tools and would set me off on my own small projects. He himself came to furniture making by way of a long and colourful career, starting out as a joiner and carpenter, then working as a beekeeper before getting into loom-making and turning. He ended up making pieces for most of the extended family, and it was he who first brought Sturt to my attention many years ago.

Fast forward a decade, a degree in modern languages and a fair bit of traveling later, I found myself overseas and caught off-balance by the arrival of a pandemic. Fortunate to be able to get home but at a bit of a loose end, I was working my way through granddad’s bookshelf when oneday a Sturt flyer dropped out from between the pages! An omen, I like to think — so here we are. And what a year it’s been. I am so grateful to all our teachers, your knowledge and the generosity with which you share it.

E: clare.oreilly@iinet.net.au

CLARE O’REILLY

From being a long time Sturt follower to a Sturt student has been a phenomenal experience.

Having some of Australia’s most skilled makers and designers come to the school to share their skill, knowledge and expertise with us so generously has been such a wonderful learning opportunity. And sharing this year with a bunch of incredibly talented, kind and skilful group of fellow makers has made the year very special.

Being part of a community of makers who share a love of wood and design and who want to share their knowledge and skills with others will ensure that the craft of woodworking will continue to flourish here in Australia.

A heartfelt thank you to each of our teachers, and to the many woodworkers who called into offer advice, support and encouragement throughout the year.

FINNAN SOLOMON-WALKER

I have been working with my hands since leaving school when I was 17. After completing a carpentry apprenticeship it was clear to me that there was little opportunity for creativity in building, as most things are designed by someone else, a disconnect that I have never understood. After rediscovering a chest of hand tools that was passed down to me from my grandfather a strong urge to make with them came over me. I realised that making timber furniture was the best avenue for me to explore design but still make with my hands. Learning how to design something beautiful but understanding how it can be made then bringing that design to fruition has been immensely rewarding. I have had an incredible time at Sturt and I look forward to continue making equipped with the knowledge that has been passed down to us from some of the best furniture designers and makers in the country.

E: celestehstein@gmail.com : @celeste_stein

CELESTE STEIN

I’m incredibly grateful for everything I’ve learnt this year at Sturt - in woodwork and beyond. It’s been a true gift studying with masterful teachers and fellow students.

With my background in fine art, architecture and a short stint in carpentry, Sturt was the perfect place for me to land this January. I’ve enjoyed applying my own eclectic style to the humbling and delicate process of furniture making. I hope my pieces act with art, architecture and construction in mind; with playfulness and subtlety. I still have so much to learn and am excited to continue working with wood in Sydney next year.

:plumm_workshop

GEORGIA SZYMANSKI

I believe that well made and designed furniture should be accessible to all, evokes emotion and enhances a person’s experience of life.

With a background in interior design, I am interested in the way people perceive and occupy space. The intimate, sensorial interaction we have with furniture impacts our understanding and experience of place. Throughout my studies I realized that I aspired not only to learn how to design thoughtful spaces but how to create them with my hands.

Sturt has afforded me the opportunity to commit a year of my life to my creative practice without many of the ordinary external life factors. I have immensely enjoyed the privilege of coming to Sturt everyday to work with my hands, experiment and learn from Australia’s inspiring and talented makers. This year has given me the foundations to a lifelong inquest into the craft of furniture making.

M: +61 450 085 562 E: rosswortham@gmail.com : @ross_wortham_wood working LinkedIn: rosswortham

ROSS WORTHAM

Sturt has been a life-changing experience. Twelve months ago, my wife, six-month-old daughter and I decided to up sticks from Perth WA and move to Mittagong and what a journey it's been!

My background has been in community services, so I've not been able to exercise my creative muscles or making skills for the past 20 years. Sturt certainly put them all to the test and I'm now proud to say that I am a confident maker and beginning to find my design eye too. We’re moving back to Perth at the end of the course, and I look forward to establishing a workshop and continuing my journey as a designer maker in Western Australia.

Furniture documentation courtesy of Ashley Mackevicius

Thank you to our raffle sponsors:

Lie-Nielsen HNT Gordon Doyles Restaurant Japanese Tools Australia Caffe Rosso Mojo Candles Timberbits

Bowral Pure Chocolates Tetsu Tools Centenial Vineyards Station Coffee House Eden Brewery Bowral Bowling Club

Thanks to the much loved Sturt dogs; Ellie, Miley, Lina, Scout + Albert