Furniture making is in many ways like bridge building, connections holding posts apart with spans to support a deck. Many architects have tried their hand at furniture design, the most memorable being Wright, Mies Van Der Rohe, Aalto, Saarinen, Le Corbusier, and Gerhy.

We will review the history of furniture making in America with a visit to the Decorative Arts Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and have Cambridge artist/craftsman Mitch Ryerson show us his work and talk about design process. Students will learn traditional woodworking techniques beginning with the use of hand tools, power tools and finally woodworking machines.

Preregistered architecture students will get first priority but first meeting attendance is mandatory. Twelve student maximum, no exceptions.