This one's for all you fly-fishing enthusiasts!  What a great way to spend a couple weeks of vacation in western Montana's Bitterroot Valley!  In the two weeks you're here, you will be  building a custom fly tying bench decked out with all the cubbies, holders drawers and containers you'll possibly need to further your fly-fishing passion.  We are currently designing the bench inspired by the art nouveau whiplash shape of the fly-fisherman's overhead cast.  Stay tuned for designs and pictures.  At the end of class (and if time allows) we'll add some personal touches and embellishments to make this workbench a one-of-a kind work of art.

Portland Community College is offering a special opportunity, at the end of the 2013 school year, for Portland Area woodshop teachers.  Andy Chidwick, Owner of Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking and educator with The Woodworking Shows, will be offering a intensive 6-day professional development course full of advanced level skills, sculptural woodworking techniques and elements of creative studio furniture design.
High school teachers need to update their credentials frequently with professional development classes, but shop teachers generally have a difficult time finding any classes to take within their own subject area. Bringing a national educator to the region offers an innovative solution to this challenge, and will encourage and inspire shop teachers who often feel isolated and alone in their field.
This 6-day class will focus on chairmaking and the subjective skills of sculptural woodworking, an art form that combines precision joinery with creative and expressive sculptural work.
While taking this class, shop teachers will become the students and will learn many of Andy's techniques for sculptural woodworking such as: faceting, freeform routing, power grinding, convex shaping, concave shaping, profiling, throwing a line, sand-shaping, cold lamination, organic mortise and tenon joinery, etc.
The “teachers-turned-students” will be shown new techniques for the proper use of many tools used in sculptural woodworking including both power tools and hand tools.
A portion of the class will be devoted to the consideration of the artistry of wood, including wood selection, grain flow and symmetry as well as artistic layout and design such as cutting wood for book match, end grain match and pattern matching. It will also include an overview of pattern and template making and will introduce the proper jigs and fixtures necessary to accomplish this type of work.
Upon completing this course a student can expect to return home with an assembled and shaped chair ready for final sanding and finish.  Moreover, teachers will return to the classroom encouraged and inspired to take their passion and new skills back to their students.

Your dining room is sure to be the favorite room in your home after you build a set of these beautiful chairs. Designed specifically for those students who will have access to a shop after returning home, you will build the first of these chairs while at CSFW in this 6-day class. Then you can return home with the plans, knowledge and experience to complete your set. The blending of the clean lines and the sculptural form in this fine dining chair is an artful expression of the harmony of both form and function and will soon become the favorite place for gatherings of friends and loved ones.

This 11-day class is the ultimate experience in sculptural woodworking. Imagine the feeling of accomplishment you will experience when you return home with your very own custom heirloom rocking chair. You will soar with pride as your family enjoys your handiwork for generations to come.While taking this class, you will learn many of Andy's techniques for sculptural woodworking such as: freeform routing, power grinding, convex shaping, concave shaping, profiling, throwing a line, sandshaping, cold lamination, precision joinery, etc.

This 11-day class is the ultimate experience in sculptural woodworking. Imagine the feeling of accomplishment you will experience when you return home with your very own custom heirloom rocking chair. You will soar with pride as your family enjoys your handiwork for generations to come.While taking this class, you will learn many of Andy's techniques for sculptural woodworking such as: freeform routing, power grinding, convex shaping, concave shaping, profiling, throwing a line, sandshaping, cold lamination, precision joinery, etc.