Nathan Gilles Adz Class at Cedar Raven Studio

Adzes & Adzing techniques for sculpting and texturing

The Port Townsend School of Woodworking thought you'd should know of a wonderful opportunity to take a Adz class at the Cedar Raven Studio on Whidbey island with Nathan Gilles.

Learn the art of Adze techniques as well as building your own Adze.
In this one day class participants will learn & explore adzing techniques. If you are involved in Northwest coast art it is imperative to become familiar with the adze. If you have never used an adze before this is your opportunity to become familiar with the single most useful tool in the Northwest coast native style art form. If you are already keen to sculpting with an elbow-adze then you may choose to explore the techniques of a texture adzing. A texture adze is a small elbow-adze with a springy haft. The tool produces the final rows of surface texture that is characteristic of many large Northwest coast sculptures, such as totem poles.

Participants will start in the morning by assembling their adzes from a kit provided by the instructor, You will then shape and smooth your rough-cut adze handle and then lash the sharp adz- iron onto the handle, then spend the remainder of the day learning and practicing adzing techniques, as well as learn about ergonomics and safety. We will also discuss tool sharpening. We will divide into two groups of those that are new to using an adze, or those who want to learn the art of texture adzing. We will wrap up the day with a potluck dinner and Nathan will give a slide presentation on various aspects of Northwest coast art. At the end of the day you leave with a new adze and the knowledge of how to proficiently use this specialty tool. If you have an adze and would like to bring it we will discuss its usability.

Nathan Gilles’s Woodworking and Carving classes are dedicated to the art and skill of traditional northwest coast art, wood carving and woodworking techniques. His wood carving classes, workshops and seminars are structured for beginner and intermediate participants and will provide you a strong baseline in the fundamentals of the NW Coast Art form.

A few words from Nathan:
I maintain a small class size so that you are assured continuous attention. My teaching style is highly interactive, I train both your hands to carve and your eyes to see so that you can map your way into a project. My goal and hopeful intention is to get you to step beyond your personal expectation and carve wood with more confidence and most importantly, a sense of what to do next. As a teacher it is a delight as students become pleased and confident with their own results. All I ask is that you bring your enthusiasm and curiosity about northwest coast art and wood carving. As the teacher, it's my problem to figure out how to teach you wood carving... so take a deep breath, relax and enjoy learning. Teaching and northwest coast art are my passion. My background and credentials as an artist/educator include apprenticeship studies with various artists and mentors in the genre of Northwest Coast Art, since 1989. I have undergone formal art training and hold a studio art degree from Western Washington University. Additionally I received an education degree with an extensive focus on Indian art education with a Washington state teaching certification. I hold a Masters degree with a focus in "training" from Pennsylvania State University.

Nathan Gilles Full Bio can be found at the Stonington Gallery Gallery as well as examples of his work.

Class: The Art of Adze

You will get an adze kit that you will assemble and Nathan will teach the proper use. Nathan will also cover how to sharpen and maintain an adze. That evening we will have a pot luck and a slide show by Nathan.

When: August 11th, one day
Where: Cedarraven Studio on beautiful Whidbey Island
Cost: $225 - includes materials to assemble your own tuned and working adze which you will use to practice various techniques with before the end of the class that day.

Registration: Call (206) 226-6729 to reserve a spot (or email at Cedaraven@gmail.com)

Deposit of $100 for the class will be required at sign-up to reserve your space.
What you need to bring to class:
1. Tools that you feel will be necessary to shape your adze handle: crooked knife straight knife, clamp, little spoke shave, little hand plane, rasp, file, sand paper, ect.
2. A lunch for yourself.
3. A dish to share in the dinner potluck.
4. A folding chair.
　

PTSW tool making class with Steve Brown

In May of this year I managed to eke out some time to take the NW Arts tool making class offered at the PTSW with Steve Brown. Not having made any tools before and having limited experience working with metal, I was somewhat apprehensive. I had this image of me standing around an open forge in a leather apron beating a piece of iron into a recognizable and useable shape (think medieval sword maker). Much to my relief that image was replaced by a propane forge, bench grinder, belt sander, and a gallon of mineral oil.

The class was two full days with introductions and a basic outline of what to expect on Friday evening so that everyone was ready on Saturday morning. The Saturday morning classroom discussion was spent understanding the process terminology and how it applies to the tools you will make.

   Some of the topics discussed were:

            CrT- or critical temperature at which steel molecules re-form

            Annealing-the softening of steel by heating to the CrT

               Hardening-heating steel to the CrT and cooling slowly in mineral oil

               Tempering-re-heating hardened steel to add flexibility and toughness

                Sharpening-or the “Art” of polishing an edge

               Steel –what to look for and buy, or find (Free?)

               Equipment and tools – do you really need that $2500.00 forge and $900.00 anvil?

         Keen Edge– a fine steel edge of two flat planes that meet at an angle (22-30 Degrees)

By the time the class ended at 5pm Sunday everyone had created at least two or more Adze blades with handles and two knife blades under the watchful tutelage of Steve. The class was structured at a pace that allowed for everyone to have individualized instruction as well. I had specific sizes in mind for both a knife and an adze before I started the class and this was easily accommodated due to a limited class size (10) and a self pace structure. The time spent discussing and learning how to sharpen your tools or as Steve puts it “Polishing” was well spent. I do believe there is an art to this as well as considerable patience. The sharpening instruction reinforced what I didn’t know that I thought I knew about sharpening tools whether it is an adze, a bent knife or any of your other tools that require an edge sharper than a butter knife. I for one was impressed by what we were able to create in essentially two days as well as the wealth of knowledge and information that I continue to build on.

If you have never taken the tool making class with Steve at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, and even if you have created your own adze or knife before I highly recommend this class, it was a great experience. Look for the class to be scheduled again.

Since finishing the class I have purchased a forge, bench grinder, belt sander, anvil and a gallon of mineral oil. I am now making tools at home to the specifications of the carver in my house; this provided me an excuse for the enlarging of the work shop ( J). I am now finding it difficult to resist spending time rummaging through junk stores and garage sales looking for materials.

Look for links to tools, supplies and other interesting sites on the home page of the NW Arts section and if you have NW Arts related sites that you would like to share please email me.

Chris

"The Edge: it's hard to define or explain because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who've gone over" ….H.S. Thompson