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.

Mantis sideboard by Neil Erasmus. West Australian blackbutt, ebony, cedar of Lebanon, jamwood, and pig skin suede (71"x21"x33.5"), 1999

Neil Erasmus is a third generation furniture designer/ maker in Perth, Australia who has worked for the past 22 years of his 33-year-long career in partnership with his wife, Pam. Their work includes one-off commissions, limited-edition production runs, and exhibition pieces. In addition 
to making, Neil directed the Australian School of 
Fine Furniture in Tasmania, and teaches at various woodworking schools around his country. When time permits, Neil and Pam also teach one-on-one masterclasses at their own studio. Neil is a contributing editor for Australian Wood Review. For more on Neil visit www.erasmusdesigns.com.

Apollo Table by Adrian Ferrazzutti, walnut, ebony, and glass (42" dia.x14"), 2005

Adrian Ferrazzutti is a self-employed furniture maker in Guelph, Ontario with 10 years’ professional experience. 
He is a 1998 graduate of the Fine Woodworking Program at the College of the Redwoods, where he studied with James Krenov. Adrian writes for Fine Woodworking, which featured one of his chairs on the back cover of the December, 2007 issue, and his work has been widely published in books and magazines. The Canada Council for the Arts has awarded him several grants, and he exhibits his work across Canada and in the U.S.

Blue Ridge Sunrise by Stephen Gleasner, birch plywood (8-3/4" dia.x14”), 2003

Stephen Gleasner is an Appleton, Maine artist/turner with extensive experience in faceplate and spindle work, gained over a 20-plus-year woodworking career. Currently, he specializes in carved and dyed wall pieces that explore the patterning possibilities of Baltic Birch plywood. Stephen’s work has been featured in Wood Art Today by Dona Meilach (Schiffer Publishing, 2003) and 500 Wood Bowls (Lark Books, 2004), as well 
as in numerous periodicals, including Woodwork and American Woodturner. He demonstrates 
turning nationally and will be 
a featured presenter at the 24th annual symposium of the American Association of Woodturners in 2010.

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

Aled Lewis, our Lead Instructor since 2009, came to the Center from Oxford, England. He originally trained at Rycotewood College in Oxfordshire and has been a professional furniture maker for close to 30 years. Aled’s professional experience covers a broad span, from self-employment as a one-of-a-kind furniture maker to managing a busy high-end workshop. He has been involved in all aspects of designing and making one-off and limited-production furniture for individuals and for institutional clients such as Oxford University and London-based financial companies. Prior to taking over as Lead Instructor, Aled taught the machine skills project of the Comprehensive for many years.

Blessing by Jim Macdonald, maple, holly, flame birch, ash burl, ash, macassar ebony, cherry, walnut, mahogany, western red cedar, curly maple, English brown oak, and dyed pearwood (28 3/4"x31"), 2009

Jim Macdonald creates 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.


Teri Masaschi worked as a professional finisher/refinisher in New Hampshire for 30 years, specializing in antique restoration and reproduction, before moving to New Mexico, in 1995, to become Finishing Specialist/Product Manager for Woodworker’s Supply. Currently, she runs her own finishing and restoration business in Tijeras, New Mexico. Teri writes extensively for Fine Woodworking and is a walking encyclopedia of finishing products and techniques, from the traditional to the cutting edge. Her book, Foolproof Wood Finishing: For Those Who Love to Build and Hate to Finish (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2006) is a must-have for furniture makers.

Sylvan Shimmer by Mason McBrien, curly maple and black walnut (35"x18"x37"), 2008

Mason McBrien has been the Center’s Assistant Facilities Manager since January, 2009. After years of self-employment building custom furniture, museum installations, and historic garden architecture in New Hampshire, Mason enrolled in the Center’s 2007-2008 Nine-month Comprehensive and subsequently was awarded a Studio Fellowship. His work has been published in Fine Woodworking and in Lark Books’ 500 Tables (2009).

View From the Ancestral Hearth, folding screen by Pete Schlebecker, ash and copper (84"x12"x80"), 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 Virginia. In recent years he has written articles and made how-to videos for Fine Woodworking. His conceptual case piece, “Breathing Drawers,” was featured in the Readers Gallery of the December 2007 issue, while a video showing how 
it works may be seen on the magazine’s web site. His article, “5 Essential Jigs for the Router Table,” appeared in the October 2008 issue. Pete teaches the Veneering and Multiples projects.

Visit his web site.

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.

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

David Upfill-Brown 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. After serving as Academic Director and Principal of the Australian School of Fine Furniture he took the helm as Lead Instructor of our Nine-month Comprehensive from 2004-2009. Currently, as well as establishing a new studio in Australia, David teaches the Chair & Table project of the Comprehensive.

Three Nozzles by John Whalley, graphite on paper (16"x16"), 2008

John Whalley, our drawing instructor, is a 1976 graduate 
of the Rhode Island School of Design with a studio in Nobleboro, Maine. He is represented by Greenhut Galleries of Portland, Maine, Vose Galleries of Boston, Massa-chusetts, and John Surovek Galleries of Palm Beach, Florida. John’s paintings and drawings have been featured in American Art Collector and Maine Home and Design magazines. A 30-year retrospective monograph of his work, In New Light, was published in 2006. Recently, John’s work has been included in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art (Portland, ME), The Colby College Museum of Art (Waterville, ME), and the Kemper Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO).