A New Class Begins - 9 Days of Pure Woodworking

This weekend a workshop begins to introduce students to the foundations of working wood with hand tools. One or two of the people coming may have been here before, but most will not. I love to teach this workshop because it so demystifies woodworking and the work I do every day and engages others in understanding the craft. Students often come from different continents, but sometimes it’s very local too. When they come this weekend, this is what they will see.
The castle gates to the grounds will open wide at 6am and they will drive, walk, run or cycle through them to start the one mile trip through the woods to Penrhyn Castle. The woods will be wildly alive right now with everything from Jackdaws and crows to blackbirds and English robins. If they walk the will walk past the giant sequoias, monkey puzzle trees and they will be beneath a canopy of green most of the way. They should hear the river down below and the waterfowl that live there.

The Castle rises atop a dome of rock by many metres; standing sentinel to the open seas below and beyond. Rhododendron and azaleas are spectacularly stunning now and will be for several weeks.
The cafe is always open for lunch and we’ll eat here most days. Outside in the courtyard of the stable block people mill around throughout the day. We’ll keep the door ajar for them to see what all the banging and sawing is about.
Working away from normal work is always a unique experience for most people. Our workshop looks a bit like a studio because we use high up photography lights to simulate more natural daylight inside the three-foot thick walls of Penrhyn Castle through which no daylight penetrates. Two tall windows and a 16’ tall door don’t quite cut it.

Because of the video work and online broadcasting, YouTube and so on, my creative workspace has become something almost surreal for a few moments when everyone arrives. Seeing it the way it is, my workspace never really changes these days. What you see in the films is the way it is every day. It’s where I live in my work.

Here are a couple of pictures of what I saw in the last couple of days.

See you all at the weekend!