Diversity in woodwork - Sylva Wood School Gender Project

Sylva Wood Schools’ Gender Project, as part of their summer school, offers 8 female/non-binary/transgender makers the opportunity to grow their network, knowledge and confidence in the workshop.

It’s probably no surprise that the woodwork/carpentry industries are severely lacking any diversity.
In September, Lu spent one week at the Sylva Foundation as part of their Gender Project, which not only was the most amazing week, but finally felt like a safe, open environment starting to make change in the woodworking landscape.

I don’t think I’m the only one that has been made to feel uncomfortable at the timber yard/suppliers, and a vast majority of people automatically assume Harry does all the woodwork for Bloc & Boon. It can be tricky to tap into networks where diversity is lacking, particularly when marginalised communities of a specific sector are spread so thinly across the country. It was definitely something I felt incredibly frustrated by, I wasn’t seeing or experiencing anyone on the scene I could identify with.

Enter, the Sylva Foundation and their Gender Project led by project coordinator Cat Poppensieker and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project has been set up to change the carpentry/woodwork landscape and promote building a network of female identifying, non-binary and transgender woodworkers. We spent the week embracing a wealth of conversation around all things wood, from forestry walks in managed woodlands discussing native timber species for supply, talks from tutors, makers and leaders and workshop time in a supportive and open environment. The warmth and encouragement from everyone involved was magic.

Woodland walk led by Gabriel Hemery

Jessie, Lu, Molly, Una + Alice

The week is set up around a brief, which would see us present work produced in the workshop over the last 2.5 days of the week to friends, colleagues and invited guests of Sylva Foundation/Sylva Wood School.
Joe, Phil, Cat & Phoebe [aka the dream team] were on hand to help everyone work through ideas. It was an invaluable opportunity to spend time in the workshop and be playful. To experiment and feel our way through ideas/inspiration towards a final outcome.

After being given the brief and group discussions and exchanging of thoughts/ideas, I spent time thinking about how timber can be used to preserve legacy, and how can we nurture regeneration.
It was a good opportunity to try something for the first time so I decided to work around the process of lamination [albeit a speedy version!]. With thickness and size in mind - I was able to allow the timber to dictate the shapes I was able to form. This speaks about the way in which timber has its own characteristics and forms the landscape of British woodlands. With this, I kept the timber as natural as possible with bark intact.

Final outcome in Sycamore

The vessels act as an interjection and interactive element. Hand-worked on the lathe, they sit in tandem with the laminated forms highlighting the interjection we make and the work we put in when managing our British woodlands/trees. These could be used to house keepsakes/meaningful items [items that hold significance in the way that trees can be symbolic for many] or seeds [looking after forest regeneration]. I wanted them to naturally find their place when put onto the laminated forms working in tandem with one another - keeping a simple aesthetic but with an element of light playfulness/interactivity.

It’s a really special thing to have been a part of. Spending time all day together, sharing ideas/experiences, camping, meals and being in a workshop solely made up of female'/non-binary makers of varying skill levels was amazing. I left feeling full and excited, with a firm network and an itch to make more time for workshop experimentation.

As these communities so often are, under represented and, at times, under estimated, platforms like this are inherently promoting change. I know Cat has big plans looking ahead and I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon.

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Sylva Wood School - Sylva Foundation
www.woodschool.sylva.org.uk
@sylvawoodschool
@genderdiverse_makers

Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund
https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/stories/project-working-towards-sustainable-and-inclusive-woodworking-sector

Images courtesy of Sylva Foundation - Phoebe Oldfield/Cat Poppensieker