Right on the blooming Franklin Street in Tampa, the Florida School of Woodwork nurtures the creative spirit of woodworking — and has since 2004. World-class instructors, visiting masters, and bright new stars in the woodworking world grace the sawdust-covered workshop to bring students a one-of-a-kind learning experience.
Kate Swan — executive director of the school — believes there's something about working with your hands that brings an unmatchable satisfaction to life.
"I want people to know that woodworking isn't just for 50-something men," Swan said as she pointed out her international and returning students. "I want people to come to the school and see other people that look like them doing beautiful soul craft." Soul craft, as Kate puts it, is a beautiful mesh of hands, head, and spirit coming together to make artistic ideas tangible. "Anyone can work with this medium, that's what makes it so wonderful."
And she's right. The school offers introductory, advanced and other craft programs. Students make tables, bookshelves, boxes, bowls and more while learning crucial skills and techniques from some of the world's most renowned woodworkers.
For Swan and her fellow instructors, woodworking is more than a passion. I spoke with visiting instructor, Kelly Parker, about her woodworking path. A former biochemist, Parker always had a fascination with crafting furniture and building with wood. After many years in biochemistry, Parker was ready to start anew and follow her passion for making furniture and working with wood.
During my visit, Parker performed an ebonizing demo — ebonizing is a chemical process that stains wood a rich black — and her scientific background really came through. It was like being in chem lab all over again, but with the sweet smell of wood and sawdust in my nose.
Every student present hung on her instruction and took notes and pictures for future reference. Michael Fortune, another superstar in the woodworking world, chimed in every now and then with tips and tricks he'd learned over his 40-year career.
The Florida School of Woodwork provides an opportunity to try something new — as well as the chance to master any preexisting woodworking skills — for people of all walks of life.
"I've been doing this for a long time," Michael Fortune told me after an impromptu demo about drill bits, "and my favorite thing about this craft is that there's always something new to learn. It is impossible to know everything about woodworking because it is such a diverse and expansive medium."
