Woodcarving Illustrated Magazine Team Meets Women-Identifying Workshop Making an Impact in Baltimore
September 2019
September 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Media Contact
EMAIL: PR@foxchapelpublishing.com
Lancaster, PA —Workshops created by and for women are popping up all over, and the Woodcarving Illustrated magazine staff met one wood-focused shop in Baltimore, Maryland, to learn more about its mission and this cultural shift in attitude.
Associate editor Kaylee Schofield and editorial assistant Danielle Schagrin recently visited A Workshop of Our Own (WOO for short) to a get a behind-the-scenes look at this professional woodshop and educational space that is designed for women and gender-nonconforming furniture makers.
“WOO is a place where women and gender non-conforming craftspeople can come as they are, share what they know, and learn what they don’t know in a supportive, encouraging environment.”
~ Danielle Schagrin, Editorial Assistant
Schofield and Schagrin interviewed founder Sarah Marriage on WOO’s background and its goals. Marriage discussed how more craftswomen are seeking out spaces like WOO.
“We need more women who are practicing furniture makers. We need to cultivate a diversity of voices in our field. And we need to willfully create dedicated workshops to support and champion these voices,” Marriage says. “We focus on skills, learning machines, and how to understand the materials, but we also talk about industry jargon and how to talk in a lumber yard. It strips away the idea of being a woman woodworker. You’re just a woodworker.”
The Woodcarving Illustrated magazine team also immersed themselves in a class on woodblock printing.
An in-depth feature article describing how WOO is benefiting its community, and information about other women-identifying shops, will appear in the winter issue of Woodcarving Illustrated magazine. Follow the link to subscribe now.
“Learning a new craft enriches—directly or indirectly—a person’s entire pool of creative skills. So in addition to strengthening our woodcarving knowledge, the WOO class was an excellent place to exchange tips, ideas, and inspiration for all kinds of future projects. We left the workshop enriched, inspired, and hopeful, which is a testament to the atmosphere Sarah and her colleagues have created.” ~ Kaylee Schofield, Associate Editor
Recent Comments