One assistantship position, includes a $300 stipend, travel stipend, tuition, housing, meals, and materials. Applications to this opportunity are now closed.
Work as an assistant in Reid Gamble’s upcoming class teaching students to construct a red oak ladderback chair frame, circa 1860. We'll focus on post-and-rung construction and wet and dry joinery with mortise and tenon. All parts will be shaped on the shaving horse with a drawknife, spokeshave, hollow auger, and dowel pointer and assembly will include brace, bit, and mortise chisels. Explore the history of the trade and discuss green woodworking techniques.
Assistants will play a vital role in the day-to-day operations of the class, gaining insight into both the administrative and technical elements required to create a smooth teaching and learning experience for all students. Duties include tool maintenance, overseeing studio safety, and offering instructional support. In addition to the designated class times, studio assistants will often be required to work outside of class hours to ensure that the workspace and materials are prepared for all students, participating in the behind-the-scenes work that goes into preparing for and resetting after a workshop.
Assistants will be encouraged to make their own chair or project alongside the other students in the class and will receive studio access and materials for the duration of the class.
A CMT Assistantship has the additional lens of supporting our mission of engaging historically-excluded makers. This class includes 2 scholarship for students who identify as outsiders in the field of woodworking. We acknowledge that there are many ways to be an outsider in this field, including, but not limited to, identifying as BIPOC, female, queer, trans, non-binary, or working class. It is important to us that our educators reflect the identities of the students we are working with and that they are equipped to respond to the specific joys and challenges that may arise as a result of this added context. It is our goal to create a positive, encouraging, and safe studio environment. Learning is an emotionally vulnerable experience and we expect all of our assistants to understand this dynamic and be committed to supporting students while they develop new skills.
Who should apply: All applicants must be prepared to take on the responsibilities of the assistantship and identify as historically excluded or under-represented in the field of woodworking. We are also looking for students who have a personal, professional, craft-based or biographical connection to Appalachia.