Book Description

The purpose of my research is to understand how a woodworking class taught for and by women affects student’s comfort level and confidence in approaching the traditionally ‘male’ spaces and practices of woodshops and woodworking. I was able to research this by teaching a series of 101 woodworking classes with my collaborator Lesley Jackson at the ReBuilding Exchange in Chicago. My interest in creating a space for women to learn woodworking skills has stemmed from my own experience and observations as a woman working in industrial shop spaces. My research questions include: how does gender affect one’s desire to participate in a shop class? What are students’ motivations for taking our class? What do students gain through this experience, in addition to shop skills? We called our class Mindful Making. Each session met once a week for three hours over the course of five weeks. Each class had 3 to 7 adult students who identified as female. Students completed two projects, creating a shelf and a bench or stool. The curriculum covered how to use common stationary power tools, hand tools, best safety practices, and the properties of wood. Jackson and I discussed our observations and personal experiences with each other, journaled, took photographs, and distributed a survey at the end of the five-week session in order to collect data about students’ experience and learning outcomes. To date, Jackson and I have taught 3 sessions of Mindful Making together. Our goal by the conclusion of each session was for students to feel a sense of belonging in a woodshop. Through learning fundamental woodworking skills in a supportive and nurturing environment, students reported that they gained confidence and pride in their abilities. Along with technical skills, students gained knowledge of the terminology used in the hardware store and within industrial shops. Many students expressed a desire to continue to build on the skills they learned in class. Students often reported that they felt more comfortable asking questions in an environment created for and by women. They were not embarrassed by their initial lack of experience, rather they felt at ease learning along-side one another and formed a sense of community in so doing.