Father
and son woodworkers, George and Ben Manns, invite you to visit their
Irish Hill workshop. You can find them working side by side, offering
each other encouragement and even opinions, but they don’t
usually work together on the same project. The library ladder, an
entry in the Wharton Esherick Museum themed woodworking contest
for 2009, is the exception to the rule. The piece was a true collaboration,
each involved in the design and crafting of the ladder.
George
is a technically accomplished woodworker, but it took a visit
to the Wharton Esherick Museum for him to adopt a more playful
attitude toward his work. This new creativity is apparent in the
tables, lamps and sculptures he constructs with natural form bases.
However, even when the project is a more conventional cabinet,
he incorporates some unique element entirely his own. Come and
check out the locking mechanism on the gun cabinet.
Ben
was fond of saying his best ideas came while walking the dog.
Now that the dog is unable to go on long rambles and Ben spends
more time away than at home, his inspiration is found where class
assignments intersect with his current obsession. As an example,
the Engine Table isn’t such a mystery when you know the Veneer
and Bent Lamination class followed a summer of rebuilding the
engine of a 1966 Chevy Pickup Truck. Currently, Ben is designing
and building wooden pinhole cameras. It is a project he’s
been working on ever since that first photography class taken
on a whim. Examples of the cameras, as well as pinhole photography,
will be on display.
From
Lawton, follow Rt. 267 North. Turn left on Irish Hill Road and
follow it for about 4 miles. (Follow the sign, the road bears
to the right at the top of the hill.) Just past Kellerman Road
to the left, look for the shop on the right. Artists’ Open
House signs will mark the drive. If you get to Corby Road, turn
around, you’ve gone too far!
Father
and son woodworkers, George and Ben Manns, invite you to visit their
Irish Hill workshop. You can find them working side by side, offering
each other encouragement and even opinions, but they don’t
usually work together on the same project. The library ladder, an
entry in the Wharton Esherick Museum themed woodworking contest
for 2009, is the exception to the rule. The piece was a true collaboration,
each involved in the design and crafting of the ladder.
George
is a technically accomplished woodworker, but it took a visit
to the Wharton Esherick Museum for him to adopt a more playful
attitude toward his work. This new creativity is apparent in the
tables, lamps and sculptures he constructs with natural form bases.
However, even when the project is a more conventional cabinet,
he incorporates some unique element entirely his own. Come and
check out the locking mechanism on the gun cabinet.
Ben
was fond of saying his best ideas came while walking the dog.
Now that the dog is unable to go on long rambles and Ben spends
more time away than at home, his inspiration is found where class
assignments intersect with his current obsession. As an example,
the Engine Table isn’t such a mystery when you know the Veneer
and Bent Lamination class followed a summer of rebuilding the
engine of a 1966 Chevy Pickup Truck. Currently, Ben is designing
and building wooden pinhole cameras. It is a project he’s
been working on ever since that first photography class taken
on a whim. Examples of the cameras, as well as pinhole photography,
will be on display.
From
Lawton, follow Rt. 267 North. Turn left on Irish Hill Road and
follow it for about 4 miles. (Follow the sign, the road bears
to the right at the top of the hill.) Just past Kellerman Road
to the left, look for the shop on the right. Artists’ Open
House signs will mark the drive. If you get to Corby Road, turn
around, you’ve gone too far! 