Wendell Castle Workshop sounds the first bell

The Wendell Castle Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the late artist’s legacy through education, conservation, and programming, is starting a new woodworking school, the Wendell Castle Workshop, at Castle’s longtime studio in Scottsville, N.Y.

The first schedule features about a dozen classes, including “Making a Veneered Miter Fold Box” with Scott Grove; “Introduction to Marquetry” with Silas Kopf, and “Creating a Sculptural Cabinet” with Andrew Glantz.

“We selected our instructors and course content very carefully, and with access to many of Wendell’s pieces, students and instructors will be inspired to do their best work in his space. We look forward to providing an outstanding environment and instruction for our students,” says Ken Page, interim director of the Wendell Castle Project.

Page adds that he and other board members found it important to hire instructors whose teachings align with Castle’s principles.

“I call it keeping the DNA of the place. Wendell would describe himself as a designer and a sculptor, so we wanted to still have that emphasis in some of our courses. We’ve got some instructors with ties to Wendell, and that’s part of keeping that DNA.

“Scott Grove was a former employee of Wendell, Silas Kopf was a former employee, and some of the others are RIT School for American Crafts grads who Wendell influenced directly critiquing their work, because he was at RIT for a bit. Some other instructors never worked for Wendell or were students of Wendell but were greatly influenced by Wendell.”

Registration is open for classes beginning in April. The school welcomes students of all skill levels for weekend, week-long and two-week classes that will typically be limited to 10 to 12 students. Learn more at wendellcastleworkshop.org. 

This article was originally published in the March 2024 issue.