Hear directly from 2026 Fellow, Annalise Rubida, on how a CFC Fellowship gave them the space to explore a new material.
How did you get your start in woodworking?
AR: I started my explorations with wood at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. At the time I was studying geology and working seasonal jobs as an exploration geologist in Alaska. I was planning to apply to grad school and I had a couple months free and before applications opened, so I used that time to take an intro class and pick up some skills I had always wanted. I fell in love with woodworking immediately. It felt like the perfect combination of all the artsy, hands-on things I’d wanted to do my whole life.
You recently completed a Fellowship at CFC. What was that experience like? How long did you spend on campus, and what did you explore during your time?
AR: My fellowship at CFC was exactly what I needed. I spent a month on campus and got to fully immerse myself in my own work in a way I hadn’t been able to for a long time. Most of my day-to-day life is spent working for other artists, so having uninterrupted time, space, and access to the facilities felt incredibly valuable. I entered a very focused, mildly feral woodworking mode while I was there. Another Fellow and I held down the “night crew” energy, and the facilities team was endlessly supportive whenever I wanted to try something unusual or had strange material and tooling questions.
My main goal during the fellowship was to explore ideas that had been floating around my head but weren’t fully formed yet. A lot of that exploration centered around cork and metalworking. I made the brass footrests for the chairs, but most of my time was spent experimenting with power-carved cork, testing different shaping techniques and trying to better understand the material’s limits and possibilities. What felt most valuable was having the freedom to experiment without the pressure of deadlines or production. In my normal shop life, experimentation often happens in rushed moments between projects. At CFC, I had the space to fully follow ideas wherever they led, which reminded me why I love woodworking in the first place.
Cork! Why cork? Was it your first time combining wood with another material?
AR: The cork had actually been sitting in my basement for almost a year waiting for this project. I carve a lot of chair seats out of solid wood and I was craving something thicker and more sculptural without glue lines. Once I realized cork came in giant blocks, I immediately wanted to turn it into seating.
I had worked with cork in smaller ways before, but this was definitely my biggest exploration of it as a primary material. It’s such an interesting combination with wood because it’s soft but resilient, lightweight but still dense enough to shape beautifully. Carving it was also just incredibly fun.
Have you taken any courses at CFC prior to your Fellowship? Are there any ways in which CFC, the woodworking community, or specific instructors have supported your journey that you’d like to elaborate on?
AR: Assisting Chelsea Witt and Aspen Golann’s Windsor Chair: Design & Build workshop in 2025 was my first time at CFC, which was an absolute delight. I left feeling excited about the facilities and hoped for a chance to deep dive into my own work in the space.
The woodworking community in general has been a huge part of my journey. I’ve been very lucky to work alongside generous woodworkers and craftspeople who have trusted me, taught me, and encouraged me along the way. I’m especially grateful to the people I work for who let me essentially disappear for a month to pursue the fellowship, and to the people in my life who supported me fully immersing myself in the experience. Everyone involved with the Fellowship at CFC was incredibly kind and supportive. The office staff were endlessly patient and the facilities team deserves endless credit for helping me navigate increasingly strange material and tooling questions throughout the month.
How has your practice grown recently? What woodworking approaches inspire you right now?
AR: Recently, the biggest area of growth in my practice has been combining metal with woodworking. I’m really interested in how the two materials can support and contrast each other both structurally and visually. Bringing metal into my work has completely shifted the way I think about form, joinery, and function. I’m still deeply in love with woodworking, but adding brass/bronze/silver into the process has opened up a lot of new directions that feel very exciting to me right now.
Any goals for the rest of 2026?
AR: My biggest goal for the rest of 2026 is to keep carving out time to explore new ideas. It can feel really easy to get pulled toward the things you already know work, the efficient processes and safe ideas- especially when you’re trying to make a living through craft. Lately, I’ve been falling back in love with woodworking by giving myself permission to experiment more, try strange things, and occasionally make complete failures. I want to keep following that energy this year while also building a version of my practice that feels sustainable long term, without losing room for curiosity, intensity, and play.
