Nine-Month Comprehensive Faculty

Ed Churchill is retired Chief Curator at the Maine State Museum in Augusta. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maine in 1979. His major areas of specialization include American and Maine decorative arts (especially furniture and metals), Maine craftsmen, and early American history, especially northeastern North America and Maine. Ed teaches the furniture history component of the Comprehensive.

Alley, etching by Linden Frederick, (10"x12")

Linden Frederick, who teaches still-life and perspective drawing for the Comprehensive, has been drawing and painting for more than 30 years. He studied at Ontario College of Art in Toronto and in Florence, Italy. Linden is also a third generation woodworker who has designed and built many pieces of furniture and cabinetry. His studio is in Belfast, Maine and his paintings are represented by Forum Gallery in New York City and Los Angeles and have been featured and reviewed in American Artist, Art in America and ARTnews, among other publications. Linden�s work may be seen at: www.lindenfrederick.com.

Early Bay by Stephen Gleasner

Stephen Gleasner is an Appleton, Maine turner with extensive experience in faceplate and spindle work, gained over a 20+-year woodworking career that has included architectural millwork and bowl-making. Currently, he specializes in turned and dyed vessels that explore the patterning possibilities of Baltic birch plywood. Stephen�s work is represented by the del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles and the Dane Gallery on Nantucket, among others. Prior teaching includes demonstrations for the American Association of Woodturners� national symposium and the 2003 New England Woodturning Symposium, as well as courses at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship.

Holm Oak Rocking Chair by Tom Kealy, 2006

Tom Kealy designs and makes one-off furniture for private, corporate, and ecclesiastical clients in Buckland St. Mary, Somerset, England. He originally trained at Parnham College, graduating in 1979. In addition to making his own designs, Tom often works with other designers and for more than a decade made furniture for John Makepeace, running the Makepeace workshop for much of that time. Tom currently teaches short courses at West Dean College and formerly taught at Parnham College. Tom teaches the self-directed project of the Comprehensive. His web site is: www.tomkealy.com.

Veneered and inlaid demilune table by Darryl Keil, East Indian rosewood, lacewood, and maple, 1987

Darryl Keil is a leading expert on veneer work. He has made two excellent videotapes on the subject, Working With Veneer and Working in a Vacuum, and he writes for Fine Woodworking. Darryl began making furniture in 1976 and was a pioneer in the application of vacuum pressing technology to woodworking. His company, Vacuum Pressing Systems, operates out of Brunswick, Maine.

Aldous Desk by Aled Lewis, ripple ash, ash, and walnut (64"x32"x29"), 1998

Aled Lewisis a self-employed furniture designer/maker in Oxford, England with over 25 years experience in the trade. Initially trained at Rycotewood College in Oxfordshire, Aled worked in shops in New Orleans and South Africa before returning to the UK to become General Manager/Director of a high-end furniture workshop from 1985–2001. There he was involved in all aspects of designing and making one-off and limited production furniture for individuals and institutional clients, including Oxford University colleges and London-based financial companies. Aled teaches the machine joinery project.

Marquetry detail, Turandot Cabinet by Jim Macdonald, 1999

Jim Macdonaldcreates custom furniture, featuring marquetry and inlay, in Burnham, Maine. In addition to his own projects, Jim collaborates with other high-end furniture makers as a marquetry specialist. His work has been commissioned by Gibson Guitar’s Custom Shop and his Turandot Cabinet appeared in the Current Work section of Fine Woodworking (June, 2001). Jim teaches marquetry for the Comprehensive.

Dutch West Indian Sideboard by Austin Matheson, mahogany and ash, (24"x60"x40" high), 2003

Austin Mathesonis a self-employed furniture maker in Camden, Maine. He studied boatbuilding at the Rockport Apprentice-shop and is a graduate of the two-year furniture training program at the North Bennet St. School, in Boston. Austin works primarily on commission, with a focus on historic styles of the Caribbean.

He teaches the solid-wood case piece project. For more information about Austin, visit www.finehandmadefurniture.com.

Torii Tansu by Michael Puryear, wenge and tamo (36"x18"x32"), 2005

Michael Puryear has been a self-employed furniture maker for more than twenty years. He works mainly on commission in his Shokan, New York studio and enjoys the problem-solving aspects of design. Michael exhibits widely in museum, gallery, and craft shows. Two pieces were recently purchased by the Newark Museum for its permanent collection and another is in the traveling exhibition Inspired by China. Michael has taught at Parsons School of Design, Penland School of Crafts, and the State University of New York, Purchase, and teaches the bending project for the Comprehensive.

V-52 Side Chair by Tim Rousseau, walnut and leather (18"x20"x32"), 2006

Tim Rousseau divides his time between building furniture on commission in Appleton, Maine and teaching at the Center. Following his initial training in our Twelve-week Intensive, from which he graduated in 1998, Tim spent two years working in a multifaceted group shop in Hoboken, New Jersey before returning to Maine to set up his own business. In 2002 and 2003 he served as the Center’s Resident Instructor, running our Workshop Program and teaching alongside of visiting faculty. Since then, he has been a lead instructor for the Twelve-week Intensive and he teaches the chair project for the Comprehensive. His furniture is shown in galleries and exhibitions throughout the Northeast. For more information visit www.timothyrousseau.com.

View From the Ancestral Hearth, folding screen by Pete Schlebecker, ash and copper (84"x12"x80"h), 2005

Pete Schlebecker, the Center’s Staff Instructor and Facilities Manager, has been a studio furniture maker since 1984 and earned an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Pete was co-founder of the Alexandria Center for Woodworking Arts in Alexandria, Virginia. He has recently written for Fine Woodworking and was juried into the Furniture Society’s 2006 exhibition “Show us Your Drawers.” He teaches the Multiples Project and Finishing for the Comprehensive.

Basswood corbel carved by Valdemar Skov (15" high), 2000

Valdemar Skov is a woodcarver, furniture maker and engraver, specializing in ornamental carving of fine furniture, accessories, and architectural details, as well as engraving on precious and non-precious metals. A woodworker since 1986, and self-employed since 1990, Valdemar has been formally recognized for his work by the Maine State Legislature and has been featured in numerous articles, including a profile in This Old House magazine. Valdemar works out of his studio in Waldoboro, Maine and teaches carving for the Comprehensive.

Closed Hutch by Peter Turner, cherry and birds-eye maple (39"x20"x76"), 2007

Peter Turner is a South Portland, Maine furniture maker with 20 years’ professional experience. He writes for Fine Woodworking (issues 126, 128, 129, and 139) and his work may be seen in four books from Taunton Press: The Custom Furniture Source Book (2001); Bookcases (1999); Dining Tables (2002); and In the Shaker Style (2001). In recent years Peter has exhibited his furniture internationally, from the Philadelphia Furniture Show to the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, England.

Amatory Chair by David Upfill-Brown, laminated cherry with leather upholstery (8"x19"x30"h), 2006

David Upfill-Brown, our Lead Instructor, graduated from Parnham College in 1981 and moved to Canberra, Australia, where he established a reputation as a designer and maker of fine furniture, working on commission for domestic and architectural clients. Public commissions include work for the parliaments of Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands. David has an equally strong background in teaching and served as Academic Director and Principal of the Australian School of Fine Furniture in Tasmania before joining our staff in 2004. In addition to teaching, David is an exhibiting member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association.