Looking Back as we Move Forward

I’ve been with SAWS a long time – a charter member in fact. Rubbing shoulders with other SAWS members since 1983 has certainly taught me lots. I would say SAWS has made me capable of earning my keep as a woodworker, something I’ve been doing full time since 1996, and part time before that.

Before SAWS, I was an amateur woodworker and I figured I did half decent work. Before SAWS, I was working in a vacuum – I had no real landmark to judge how I was doing as a woodworker. Yes, I was teaching woodwork in an Industrial Arts classroom. However, working with junior high students can give you a false sense of the quality of your work.

SAWS changed all that for me. Suddenly I had a number of professional woodworkers’ work to view and I got to understand what woodwork could really be, and how my work compared to that of others. It put me in my place, but also got me growing as a woodworker.

SAWS has always put a strong emphasis on quality work and quality design, something I’ve grown to appreciate more and more as the years go by. This shows up especially in the biennial exhibitions that we have been putting on from year one. Having a Standards Committee that must okay each piece before it is accepted has encouraged me to build things without cutting corners in either materials or craftmanship.

I’ve applied this to the pieces I built for the many exhibitions I’ve entered and I apply it to the commissioned work I do now. As a result, many (but not all) of my exhibition entries have been accepted over the years, and I have many pleased clients who often return with more work for me to do.

I credit SAWS and its emphasis on high quality workmanship for this and am pleased that even with all the new ways SAWS is trying to reach out to Calgary’s woodworking community, this seems to still be a given. A few exhibitions ago, due to logistical problems, the outside (second) jurying was eliminated from the exhibition acceptance procedure. This year’s Exhibition Committee has seen this as a loss and is actively looking at ways to bring this back in some form.

Digging through my files, I found this clipping from the Calgary Herald from one of our first exhibitions. The clock pictured is my entry. While it was accepted, the jury’s comments on its design taught me that one should be careful combining organic shapes with geometric shapes.

As you read the article, note the big emphasis on high quality. I trust that 35 years later we will keep that emphasis.