Micro Expedition

traversing Greenland, 1930 (image: public domain)

I am truly honored that Russell Baldon, acting Chair of CCA’s Wood/Furniture Program, invited me to be the ‘Wornick Visiting Distinguished Professor of Wood Arts’ for Fall 2010. I’ll be teaching a studio-based ‘Atelier’ course for the semester that will give me an opportunity to share my studio and field research with students; the process will be cumulatively documented on these pages. It has been over seven years since I’ve taught at CCA and I’m excited to work collaboratively with students to prototype new ideas in woodcraft related to planning and executing a micro-expedition. Here is a brief course description:

MICRO EXPEDITION

Expedition into the unknown has played a perennial role in human history. Whether in the service of survival, expansion, inquiry or piracy, people continue to explore the world through the vehicle of expedition.

MICRO EXPEDITION will be a meditation upon the nature of exploration, with specific focus upon framing a contemporary sense of the unknown and developing the vessels related to a particular expedition, with emphasis on woodcraft. During the semester, students will plan a waterborne expedition, build a small fleet of craft appropriate to the waterway and intended goals, as well as any peripheral gear suitable to wood construction. The class will work as a collaborative atelier, learning the basics of wooden boat building through the construction of minimalist craft, to be launched for a 2-3 day voyage, with destinations determined collaboratively. Guest lecturers will include a Bay Area naturalist, a maritime historian and a naval architect.