Victorian Woodworkers Association

28 February 7.30pm

Where:
At the workshop of Will Goodsir
5 Parer St, Reservoir

Map: http://g.co/maps/3atqh

Details:

Goodsir and Otto P/L is a joinery and furniture company established in Nov. 2010. Wil Goodsir and Andrew Otto have worked together as independent sole practioners on various projects over the past 19 years. Wil is a registered architect and Andrew is a qualified pattern maker.

G & O is creating a unique business by combining traditional woodcraft skills with contemporary manufacturing and computer aided design. This relationship requires the differences between the individual and the mass produced to be resolved.

Building networks with industry and outsourcing manufacturing offers G&O the resources to deliver projects far greater in complexity than our workshop alone could achieve. We are building the human resources required to piece together the jigsaw of parts made by today’s machines.

At the same time we search for opportunities to keep our furniture making skills and love of wood alive.

13 December 7.30pm: Christmas Drinks
Meat Market Conference Room
5 Blackwood St
North Melbourne

Map...

Location:
Meat Market Conference Room
5 Blackwood St
North Melbourne

23 August: Andrew Potocnik. Wood Turner.

7:30pm, Conference Room. Meat Market Arts Centre
5 Blackwood Street North Melbourne 3051

A presentation by Andrew Potocnik. Wood turner

Over the past 15 years, Andrew Potocnik has built up a considerable reputation as one of Australia’s foremost wood turners. During this period, he has exhibited widely in Australia and the U.S.A., while his work is held in public and private collections worldwide. Andrew’s work has been featured in numerous publications, and is a regular writer for the Australian Wood Review, as well as other journals. Last but not least, Andrew is a woodcraft teacher at a Melbourne secondary college, and a longstanding member of the VWA. 

An evening not to be missed!

Artist’s statement:
Ever since childhood, whenever I wanted, or needed, to make something, I found wood to be the first material I turned to. It wasn’t always the best choice, but it was a material I felt comfortable with, and one that I could convert into whatever I needed.

At high school, I met a teacher who encouraged creative use of wood, setting convention aside in order to encourage aspects that were radical at that time. He encouraged me to salvage and recycle wood, and even worse, he taught me to appreciate wood for its colour, smell, feel, grain and any other intrinsic quality it may have.

With an introduction like this, where else could I go, but continue to explore all those wonderful qualities every piece of wood conceals, just needing a sympathetic cut to expose it to those who see it as nothing more than a renewable resource, ready to be exploited, rather than appreciated!
Now, I gain enormous enjoyment from seeing how people from other cultures explore their wood, how they expose and celebrate its beauty, and how it’s integrated into their culture and general existence.
As an artist, I continually find inspiration to explore new directions in creating objects from wood.
As a teacher, I try to pass information on to my students, hoping that they too will be inspired to explore wood. Celebrating it as a living material that grows around us, as a material that can give voice to ideas conjured in our minds, as a material that says something about our culture and world.

Contact Will Matthysen 0438 984415 for any questions.

28 June 2011: Stephen Farquhar – Woodworking in the Internet Age

A presentation on a variety of topics under the heading of Woodworking in the Internet age, with a focus on recent technologies, including:

• Information sources – blogs, vlogs
• Sources of Video information and how to save those videos for later viewing
• Woodworking information on handheld devices – iPhone, Android, and applications
• Demystifying – RSS and newsfeeds
• Facebook – Do you “LIKE” it?
• and answering any questions

If you have any specific questions for Stephen or a general area of interest you would like explored, send Stephen an email: secretary@vwa.org.au

Address:

19 Apr 2011: Adam Stewart's workshop.

Adam has a long history with woodworking and the VWA, having previously been a tenant of the Wood Design Centre, and currently a tutor at the VWA School of Woodcraft.

Address:

Click here for a link to a map: http://goo.gl/tuNAR

22 Feb 2011: Mark Tuckey Furniture

Note that the address is at Mark's workshop - NOT the showroom.

Address:

Click here for a link to a map: http://goo.gl/TqxQZ