The Fellowship program provides emerging and established furniture makers, carvers, and turners with a stimulating environment for the exploration of new work. Studio Fellowships offer free studio space and other benefits to individuals who are ready to commit anywhere from a month to a year to expanding their creative abilities. The Staff Fellowship is a one-year position with a work/study component.

See websites of previous Fellows.

Facility

Up to six Fellows share the 5,400-square-foot Thomas Miller Jackson Building, which contains two bench rooms, a machine room with full dust collection, and a drafting room. The bench rooms are outfitted with European-style workbenches and the machine room is equipped with 10″ tablesaws, a 12″ sliding table saw, 8″ and 12″ jointers, 15″ thickness planers, 14″ and 20″ bandsaws, Oneway 1640 lathes, a shaper, a CNC milling machine, a router table, stationary sanders, an oscillating spindle sander, a chopsaw, a scrollsaw, drill presses, grinders, and a horizontal slot mortiser.

Fellowship Benchroom
Fellowship Benchroom
Fellows Dave Messmer and Mary Ellen Hitt
Fellows Dave Messmer and Mary Ellen Hitt

Benefits

  • Free studio space in a well-equipped, dedicated facility
  • Round-the-clock shop access, including weekends
  • Open attendance at demonstrations and lectures by more than 40 outstanding professionals who teach at the school annually
  • Bi-weekly critiques by faculty and visiting instructors
  • Access to the Center’s library and gallery
  • Opportunity to participate in biennial Messler Gallery alumni exhibition
  • Interaction with hundreds of professional and amateur furniture makers who participate in the Center’s instructional programs

To see exhibitions of work by former Studio Fellows, follow this link:

Qualifications

Applicants must:

  • be experienced furniture makers, capable and ready to explore new work on their own initiative
  • possess good interpersonal skills
  • know how to use machinery and hand tools competently and safely
  • have a record of creative achievement
  • All Fellows are responsible for their own housing, materials, and transportation.
Fellows Mark Moskovitz and Yuri Kobayashi with Visiting Artist Beth Ireland (at left), 2015
Fellows Mark Moskovitz and Yuri Kobayashi with Visiting Artist Beth Ireland (at left), 2015

Studio Fellowships

Responsibilities

Studio Fellows are expected to contribute six hours per week to the school, helping out with tasks such as:

  • facilities and grounds maintenance
  • gallery staffing and cleaning
  • special events, such as gallery openings
Aled Lewis and Fellow Jack Mauch, 2015
Aled Lewis and Fellow Jack Mauch, 2015
2018 Comprehensive graduate Helen Helfand

Application

Studio Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis for periods ranging from one month to one year. Applications are accepted anytime, and positions are awarded as vacancies arise.

To apply, please send the following:

      1. A resume
      2. Digital images of your work
      3. A letter stating your reasons for applying and your goals as a woodworker
      4. The names and telephone numbers of three references
      5. An indication of the dates for which you are available

Applications should be e-mailed to: fellowship@woodschool.org

Staff Fellowship

The Staff Fellowship is designed as a one-year commitment, to assist emerging makers in launching their careers. It offers 16 hours/week of part-time, compensated employment as the school’s Social Media Coordinator to support otherwise full-time Fellowship participation. The Staff Fellowship is discontinued for 2021.

The next time the Staff Fellowship is available, more information, including responsibilities, hours, compensation, and application instructions, will be posted in Employment Opportunities.