Turn back the clock to 2002 and you will find me working as an secretary for a major mining engineering company in Toronto, Canada. In those days, like many of you now, I had time to pursue crafts just for fun. Thus, I had enrolled in a weekly woodworking class and we all made a Muskoka Chair (or Adirondack if you're not Canadian).
"The Ice Cream Chair" was my version and you are right in thinking that it is much narrower than the norm. This was not intentional but rather the result of many mistakes and the horizontal slats had to be evenly cut shorter. However, I can assure you that the chair is still very comfortable. By 2003, things were not going well at the company I was working at and staff was laid off. I found it depressing working in a department that had the life sucked out of it. I really wanted to leave and go back to school.
Fortunately, I had a very supportive partner and so it was decided that I would apply to study Craft & Design and major in woodworking/furniture design. After all, I had my spectacular chair for my portfolio along with other smaller projects.
I was accepted into the wonderful crafts program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. There are 4 working studios in the school being Ceramics, Glass, Woodworking and Fabrics and the wise leaders insist that you choose 2 of the 4 to study for the first semester (of a 3 year course). I chose woodworking and fabrics.
After the first semester, we had to major in just one of the 4 crafts. I was encouraged to continue in the Textiles Studio because apparently, an 1/8 inch does actually matter in woodworking and everything I made was always a little wobbly and imperfect. Desireable perhaps in hand-made fabrics but not so much for furniture. Besides, I was always a little intimidated by the table saw and had visions of Batman being tied to it. So there you have it.
I am back to work today and have new fabric screens to try out and colours to test. I am hoping to find time on the weekends to finish some furniture makeovers at home including painting the Ice Cream Chair white. I find that my taste really changes as time goes on. Does yours? Is it a sign of maturity?
