Why Make?

the PODCAST asking makers... what inspires them? and why they make?

Why Make? Episode 41: Christopher Schwarz

May 15, 2022  /  Erik Wolken

On Episode 41 of Why Make? we talk with Christopher Schwarz, a furniture maker, educator, writer and publisher who lives and works from a storefront in Covington, KY.

Schwarz is one of the founders and the editor of Lost Art Press, which publishes numerous, high quality books, including the Anarchists Tool Chest, on hand tool woodworking. In 2019, Schwarz triumphantly closed his commission book, and now builds pieces on spec only and sells them via his prolific woodworking blog at Lost Art Press. 

We talk with Chris about selling bark jewelry and counter fitting $100 bills as a child, his years as a writer and editor at Popular Woodworking Magazine, his love of vernacular furniture and how woodworking acts a connective fiber in our society. 

So sharpen up both your noggin’ and your hand tools and enjoy this mind expanding conversation with Christopher Schwarz!

Find out more about Chris and his woodworking at his website

Peruse the books he publishes at Lost Art Press

Read his informative, entertaining and consistent writing at his blog

And “tool up” in a fashion at Crucible Tools

Thanks for listening!

Why Make? Episode 40: Mark Del Guidice

April 25, 2022  /  Erik Wolken

Building sandcastles on the beaches of Massachusetts is the perfect way to start a life long love with making which Mark Del Guidice continues to this day.

In Episode 40 of Why Make? we talk with Mark about growing up in a working class family which may have been short on experiences in the arts, but, was long on nurturing and probably at the heart of this psychology student turned supermarket managers discovery of his hands as the tools he wanted most to work with!

After discovering the Boston University Program in Artisanry and becoming the last person to enroll in it before it went defunct in 1985 Mark went on to join some of the most well known woodworking co-ops of the Boston area to start his journey. Del Guidice’s aha moment occurred when, as an avid gardener, he built himself a gardening cabinet and adorned it with Morse Code and his own language of made up hieroglyphics. This became an intuitive way for Mark “to say something without having to say something”

So, as we struggle to pronounce Mark Del Guidice’s name… we manage to get him to talk about a vibrant career that embraces the creation of a language of self expression.

See more of Marks work here www.markedwood.com

The Tommy Simpson Documentary Update

April 21, 2022  /  Erik Wolken

It’s been a minute since you have heard from us, but, we promise we are working on more Why Make? episodes! Most importantly though we are working on finishing our short documentary on the artist, Tommy Simpson. Take the time to relax and listen to Episode 38 of Why Make? during which we talk with Tommy about his amazing life as a maker.



Why Make? Episode 39: Karen Ernst

January 27, 2022  /  Erik Wolken

This episode is a special edition of sorts where we actually talk about the process of making instead of getting all existential like we usually do… and although this is definitely not a “tool talk” it is more of a How Make! than a Why Make? this time around!

On Episode 39 of Why Make? we talk with Karen Ernst a maker and educator, who is currently a Professor in the Art Department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she teaches woodworking and furniture design.

Originally from East Aurora, NY, Karen holds a BA in Studio Art from SUNY Geneseo and an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design

We talk with Karen about her process of making one of her colorful and uniquely shaped woodworking objects and follow her down a meandering path of creativity… from the germination of an idea, usually in her sketchbook, all the way to the final evaluation of her finished pieces.

Karen also talks to us about the intoxication of creating things people can use, her addiction to making and how it all began for her with an an eye opening field trip she took to Wendell Castle’s studio in Scottsville, NY.

So join us as we set off on a journey through one makers mind and their process of making.

Find out more about Karen on her website www.karenernstdesign.com

Why Make? Episode 38: Tommy Simpson

December 13, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

Welcome to the 2021 holiday episode of Why Make. For the end of our third season we have something extra special in store for you… a conversation with one of the groundbreaking artists of the modern studio furniture movement, Tommy Simpson. Tommy’s work has a whimsical bent, but that belies a serious approach to making for someone who has created a universe of unique objects in every media you can think of. Tommy along with Wendell Castle cracked the furniture atom with their 1966 exhibition in New York Fantasy Furniture boldly declaring that furniture was no longer solely about form and function. 

This interview also marks a special moment for the Why Make crew. We’ve been asked by the Furniture Society to do a short documentary about Tommy’s life and career. It’ll be our first film, and for that reason we have brought on board documentary filmmaker Nic Beery of Beery Media, an old friend of the podcast, to help us with this project. 

And now enjoy our conversation with Tommy Simpson, a warm and open soul, who has created more than 4,000 pieces in an over a more than 60 year career.   

Find out more about Tommy Simpson on his website

Why Make? Episode 37: Bonus Make! with Ellie Richards

November 28, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In this episode of Bonus Make! we continue our conversation with Ellie Richards, a furniture designer, sculptor and teacher who is currently a resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts.

We talk with Ellie about her project “The Highboy’s Understory: Deconstructing the Icon” in which she examines the Winterthur, Delaware Museum, Garden and Library’s collection of high chests and other related forms.

Richards plans to incorporate this research in a new line of work that responds to and reflects on the many stories, about race, class and society as embodied and embedded in these iconic furniture forms.

Join us as we crack open and unpack the grand and flamboyant 17th century high boy with maker Ellie Richards.

Discover more about Ellie and her work at www.ellie-richards.com

Find out more about her highboy project and more about Winterthur here www.winterthur.org

Why Make? Episode 36: Ellie Richards

November 16, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In Episode 36 Why Make? we talk with furniture designer, sculptor and teacher Ellie Richards who is currently a resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts in the mountains of Western North Carolina. After growing up in Pittsburgh, PA she attended the University of Dayton in Studio Art & Art Education program as an undergrad and Arizona State University in their Sculpture & Wood MFA program. More recently as a Windgate fellow Ellie spent time at San Diego State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in their wood & furniture design programs.

Looking to the tradition of both woodworking and the readymade Ellie creates eclectic assemblage, installation, and objects exploring intersections of labor, leisure, community, and culture. Richards has also traveled extensively to investigate the role play and improvisation have on the artistic process.

We discuss 2019’s Continuous Limit Line in which Ellie creates a fabricated chain made out of found police traffic barriers. Ellie talks about her Totems and a constant habit of deconstructing and reassembling Brooms and brushes of all shapes and sizes.

Navigating this world with honesty, creativity and optimism Ellie believes craft can be a powerful vehicle for sharing culture. So lets take a break from work… its time to play!

Discover more about Ellie and her work at www.ellie-richards.com

Why Make? Episode35: Bonus Make with Katie Hudnall

October 01, 2021  /  Erik Wolken


In this episode of Bonus Make we talk with Katie Hudnall, about that most important of any artists tools, the sketchbook. As a tool for organizing your thoughts, a visual expression of your daily experiences or just a place to write down a shopping list next to a cool idea for a Rube Goldberg Machine, the sketchbook is a Swiss Army Knife for most artists. Katie guides us through her sketch book ,which she also views as her portable studio, as we take a virtual studio.

Look on the Podcast page of the website for an illustrated mixed media version of this episode to go along with the audio only version, and now “Katie’s Sketchbook”

Why Make? Episode 34: Katie Hudnall

September 23, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In Episode 34 of Why Make we talk with artist, woodworker and educator Katie Hudnall, currently living in Madison Wisconsin she is an assistant professor of art at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Katie began in the arts as someone who loved to draw and was able to morph her drawing language into a unique woodworking style, despite her admitted lack of finer woodworking skills. Hudnall relies mostly on recycled, used and found materials, slotted screws and various other fasteners to create fantastic and other worldly work. Many of her pieces remind one of “Rube Goldberg” machine-like kinetic sculptures visiting from another era.After taking a class with woodworking luminary, Jere Osgood, Katie soon became fond of quoting his answer to her inquiry on whether an idea would work or not… Jere simply replied to her 

“it might be a disaster, we should try it!”

Our conversation with Katie may be a disaster, but an intriguing and bizarrely shaped one for sure. So here we go… 

Find out more about Katie and her work at www.katiehudnall.com

Why Make? Episode 33: Andy Buck

August 22, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In Episode 33 of Why Make? we talk with furniture maker, sculptor, and educator, Andy Buck. Andy is currently a full professor in the School for American Crafts in the College of Art and Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has also taught at the Oregon College of Art & Craft, and given workshops at Anderson Ranch, Haystack, Penland and Peters Valley.

Andy’s work has always seemed to embody fun and whimsical forms but we step behind the whimsy to talk about the serious ideas he is exploring in his work and the unique design vocabulary he has developed.

Robb has been an admirer of Andy’s work for a long time and his fun play on tools and toilet bowl plungers inspired his early work, including an ongoing flyswatter series! So grab a brush and a can of milk paint and join us as we see what makes Andy Buck tick.

Check out more of Andy’s work on his website www.andybuck.com and read his artist feature on the Arbortech site.

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A quick program note… this conversation was recorded in late November 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing. As you listen now and possibly in the very near future it continues to be a focal point of all of our lives and a prominent part of many of our conversations.

Why Make? Episode 32: Bonus Make! with Adam Manley

July 31, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

Episode 32 of Why Make? is a Bonus Make! as we continue our conversation with Adam Manley and talk about his 2018 solo exhibition, Ordinary Rendition. Initially exhibited in Indianapolis, Indiana, Ordinary Rendition looks at a present and future in which exposure to violence, and complacency bring violent torture into the home.

What at first appear to be trendy Danish modern inspired furniture and accessories are anything but what they seem. So grit your teeth as we tighten the thumbscrews and talk with Adam about the origins of this subtle, yet brutally blunt project.

From Adams’s website…

“Ordinary Rendition began from a thought: torture devices are furniture too. As a maker, I understand taking pride in creating physical objects meant to serve a very specific purpose, and the water board is just that. It supports the body, it provides a setting for the body to interact with its surroundings. Like all furniture, it is made by someone, more or less skilled at making, for a specific purpose. But, unlike most furniture throughout history, that sole purpose is turned on its head. What differentiates one from the other? Would not the same maker tasked with building the town’s desks, chairs, and cabinetry, be tasked with creating a strong, durable pillory for the town square? These forms are as interconnected as any other in the world of objects, because objects require context of both place and time, and their uses are fluid.

Violence seems a constant for us. Cruelty is nothing new, but the variety of media we have access to now magnifies it. To what degree can we adapt and move on as we see graphic violence being inflicted on those less fortunate, by those seeking to gain information, exert power, or simply cause pain for fun? The objects in this exhibition conflate graphic violence in our culture, with something so domestic, so familiar, so linked to comfort and belonging, that we are meant to consider our own roll in torture and violence. These are all of our histories, just as the styles and trends of furniture, fashion, and music are.

Ordinary Rendition looks at a present and future in which exposure to violence, and complacency bring violent torture into the home. Not for pleasure, which is another story altogether, but for the regular and systematic punishment of those who do not see eye to eye with us; to gain the information we want; to exert our power and re-establish dominance. Ordinary rendition places this dystopic vision into the domestic realm in the form of a sleek, modern, even hip furniture line. Consider your living room, den, family room, with these objects amongst your other possessions. What are you waiting for? Live in style. Impress your friends. Goes with the sofa. Nothing extraordinary here, just simple living and elegance for the modern home. A line that says as much about you, as you will say about it.”

See more of Adam’s work at www.adamjohnmanley.com

Why Make? Episode 31: Adam Manley

July 19, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

On Episode 31 of Why Make? we talk with Adam Manley a San Diego, California based maker and educator. Trained in furniture making and construction techniques, Adam creates a range of works, from large-scale sculpture and installations, to furniture and functional objects. His work reconsiders reality, questioning and challenging both our perception and grasp of it.

While maintaining a creative and rigorous making practice, in a coop shop, Adam is also an assistant professor of Furniture design and woodworking at San Diego State University and the pres­i­dent of the board of the Furni­ture Society.

We talk with Adam about everything under the hot California sun, including, his zine Craft Desert, a pin striping competition called Paint Or Die!, The Flat Rate Exchange project and his formative years growing up in the Adirondacks of upstate New York.

So kick back in your preferred aquatic observation viewing station and enjoy our conversation with Adam Manley!

See more of Adam’s work at www.adamjohnmanley.com

Why Make? Episode 30: Bonus Make with Michael Puryear

June 23, 2021  /  Robb Helmkamp

Episode 30 of Why Make? is a Bonus Make! We discuss with Michael Puryear the evolution and creation of his Dan chair, now a part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.

From the harvesting of the wood to the markings on the legs every inch of this chair is a narrative embedded with deep historical and cultural meaning. An excellent article about this piece came out in the April 2019 issue of American Craft.

Lets take a deep dive into the Dan chair Micheal’s interpretation of a classic African low chair

Here is Michael’s artist statement about the Dan chair…

The opportunity to work with woods supplied by Historical Woods of America, specifically poplar from Monticello and pecan from Mt. Vernon from trees planted by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, provided me with the opportunity to acknowledge and honor the contributions of African American slaves to this country. Like my own ancestry this heritage began before the founding of the United States. African Americans have fought with honor and loyalty in every war of our nation. They have significantly contributed economically, socially, culturally and politically to American culture.

The Dan Chair is an expression of my pride in being a descendant of slaves. It is an interpretation of a style of chair found among peoples of what was historically known as the Slave Coast of West Africa.  One of those people are the Dan.

The chair symbolizes the nobility of American slaves and the ukibori, a technique of producing raised patterns in wood, on the legs represents the scars of bondage. 

The Dan Chair has been acquired by the Smithsonian's Museum of African-American History & Culture.

MICHAEL PURYEAR 

You can find out more about Michael and his work at michaelpuryear.com

Read the April 2019 article in American Craft by writer and scholar Seph Rodney about the Dan Chair.

Why Make? Episode 29: Michael Puryear

June 10, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

On Episode 29 of Why Make? we talk with Michael Puryear a consummate New York based furniture maker with an elegant understated aesthetic.

We have found through the course of our previous Why Make? conversations that making is a journey, both physical and mental, and Michael is no different as he has traveled extensively, studied Tai Chi, worked in a library and spent time as a professional photographer.

Please join us on one makers journey as we find out what inspires and motivates Michael Puryear.

You can find out more about Michael and his work at michaelpuryear.com

Why Make? Episode 28: Maggie Sasso

May 03, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

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On Episode 28 of the Why Make? podcast we talk with artist Maggie Sasso, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based maker producing maritime influenced installation work.

Maggie’s conceptual bodies of work examines material culture in relation to our collective past using comedy and levity to navigate through the harsh realities of modern life. Although Maggie has a background in contemporary craft, including woodworking and metal smithing, most of her current work is in fiber… resulting from an a-ha moment she had after raising a hand sewn signal flag over her then home in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Journey with us as we talk with Maggie about childhood plays performed for an audience of trees, studying with her father, maker and educator Paul Sasso, and even her husband, Ben Jones, crash testing speedboats into logs.

So pull on your life preserver pants as we meditate on the horizon line and sail through the vast creative ocean of Maggie Sasso!

Find out more about Maggie and her work… www.maggiesasso.com

Why Make? Episode 27: John Nakashima

March 08, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In Episode 27 of Why Make? we talk with filmmaker John Nakashima and discuss his new documentary George Nakashima, Woodworker about his uncle, George Nakashima

John unfolds about the making of his new documentary, his life long relationship with his uncle George and the 20 year journey he has taken in making this stunning film.

So grab a hand plane or a chisel, pop in your earbuds and get to work on that air dried slab of walnut you just acquired… and hold on for a Why Make? history lesson!

Enjoy.

Discover more about John Nakashima and his documentary here https://nakashimadocumentary.com

Learn about the George Nakashima Peace Foundation here https://nakashimafoundation.org

See George’s work here https://nakashimawoodworkers.com

Why Make? Episode 26: 2021 Season Introduction

February 16, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

In Episode 26, our 2021 Season Introduction, we take a look back at the dumpster fire that was 2020 and the multitude of ways we were able stay healthy, talking and connected. We look back at about some of the wonderful conversations we had last year and also give a preview of the upcoming episodes planned for 2021. We also dig into a couple of the Why Make? side projects on the drawing board! Hang on as we take a bumpy ride back through the last year and swerve confidently into the Why Make? future.

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Why Make? Episode 25: Bonus Make! with Daniel Marinelli

January 03, 2021  /  Erik Wolken

Episode 25 of Why Make? is a Bonus Make! as we talk with Greenville, SC artist Daniel Marinelli about creating the new landmark sign at Penland School of Craft.

With butterflies in his stomach about creating his largest commission to date, Marinelli goes into detail about the design and fabrication of this incredible sign and the thrill of a job well done!

Don’t adjust the kerning on this episodes layout, Daniel has already done it for you… so just sit back, listen and enjoy the latest Bonus Make!

Find out more about Daniel and his work at okgoods.co and danielmarinelli.com

And discover Penland School of Crafts too!

Why Make? Episode 24: Daniel Marinelli

December 19, 2020  /  Erik Wolken

On Episode 24 of Why Make? we talk with Daniel Marinelli, a Greenville, SC maker, working in many mediums, including sculptural and architectural metal. Marinelli’s artistic path began in clay and unwilling to give up control of his work to the kiln gods he started building functional, fine art and sculptural objects in both wood and metal.

After earning his MFA in sculpture at East Tennessee State University, Daniel attended a 3 year residency at the Penland School of Crafts. We explore some of his work during that exciting point in his career, the value of finishing bad ideas, and the creation of his more practical side of making with his company, OKGoods.

Much like our conversation with Sylvie Rosenthal, in Episode 21, we delve into the issue of the “work of risk” vs. the “work of certainty.” So, along with our 3 other listeners… we invite you to brace up and hang on, as we take a look into the creative mind of Daniel Marinelli.


Find out more about Daniel and his work at okgoods.co and danielmarinelli.com

Why Make? Episode 23: Bonus Make! with Cory Robinson

November 22, 2020  /  Erik Wolken

Why graduate school? Episode 23 of Why Make? is a Bonus Make! and we talk with artist and educator Cory Robinson about his decision to go to grad school at San Diego State University in their Furniture Design and Woodworking program and how he chose which school and program to attend.

Continuing our conversation from Episode 22 we have an honest discussion about what can reasonably be accomplished in a graduate program and “get schooled” by Cory Robinson. We also talk about many of the amazing alum that have come through the SDSU Furniture program including Mia Hall, Russell Baldon, Barbara Holmes, Christine Lee, Lyn Syzmanski, Kim Winkle, Richard Ford and former program instructor, Wendy Maruyama.

Enjoy this exciting Bonus Make!


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Find out more about Cory and his work at www.coryrobinsonstudio.com

and the Furniture Program at SDSU here www.sdsufurniture.org