Aspen Golann is an American furniture maker and woodworker. She is known for her innovative techniques[1] and for creating The Chairmakers Toolbox, a project that promotes tools fashioned by historically underrepresented toolmakers.[2]
Early life and education
Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, Golann attended the Cambridge School of Weston, graduating in 2005.[3] After trying out various other crafts, including bookbinding and weaving, and teaching art and literature at private high schools,[4] Gollan began practicing woodworking a few months before her 30th birthday.[5][6] In 2018, Gollan attended the North Bennet Street School to study 17th- and 18th-century-style American furniture making.[2][7] While studying at Penland School of Craft, she invented a unique enameling technique for the glass doors of a bookcase and clock, which Fine Woodworking magazine described as "revolutionary."[1]
Woodworking career
In May 2019, she became the Wood Studio Coordinator at the Penland School of Craft near Asheville, North Carolina.[4][8] She has also taught classes on sculptural brush making at institutions including the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the Florida School of Woodwork, and the Donkey Mill Art Center in Hawaii.[9][10][11] The American Craft Council described Golann as being "known for invigorating classic furniture forms with ornate contemporary designs."[2] Two of her cabinets and a clock were featured in the 2020 exhibition "Branching Out" at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, where curator Willard Wilson said her work explores "themes of gender and power through the manipulation of classic American furniture forms."[12][4] In 2021, she received first place in the Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition at the Wharton Esherick Museum.[13] Actor and woodworker Nick Offerman included Gollan on a list of "master woodworkers."[14]
In 2020, Golann received the John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship from the Society of Arts + Crafts, a $25,000 award to support an early-career furniture artist.[15] In announcing its decision for the award, the Society of Arts + Crafts cited Gollan's "generosity of spirit" and desire to "‘pay it forward’ and enhance the careers of many additional early-career makers." In September 2021, Golann launched The Chairmaker's Toolbox, a project that promotes tools fashioned by underrepresented toolmakers and offers free or sliding-scale chair-making classes.[16] The Chairmaker's Toolbox also includes The Living Tools project, which offers retiring woodworkers the opportunity to donate tools to early-in-their-career furniture makers.[2] In 2021, Golann was the artist in residence at the San Diego State University School of Art and Design.[17]
Personal life
Golann's paternal great-grandfather is physicist and inventor Emanuel Goldberg.[4] She remembers spending time as a child in the workshop of her grandfather, who was also an inventor, and says making functional objects runs in her family.[4]
References
- ^ a b "Aspen Golann: Building without Boundaries". FineWoodworking. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ a b c d "Maker: Aspen Golann". American Craft Council. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "CSW Art Alum Series: Aspen Golann '05". The Cambridge School of Weston. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ a b c d e "Meet the Comet: Interview with Aspen Golann". Lost Art Press. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Woodworking in America: Aspen Golann". Popular Woodworking. 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Episode 033: Aspen Golann". Cut the Craft. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "In the Making: Aspen Golann". North Bennet Street School. 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "She who works with wood". Designers Today. 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Hawai'i Craftsmen - AHA Aspen Golan 2022". www.hawaiicraftsmen.org. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Hard & Soft: Sculptural Brushmaking". Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Brush Making with Aspen Golann". Florida School of Woodwork. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Branching Out Artist Interview: Aspen Golann". Blowing Rock Art & History Museum. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ ""Wood And…" 27th Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition". Wharton Esherick Museum. 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Nick Offerman's 5-Step Plan to Get Into Woodworking". Fatherly. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Aspen Golann Awarded John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship". The Society of Arts and Crafts. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ MWA384 - Aspen Golann Interview - Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast - Conversations Among Woodworkers, retrieved 2022-05-19
- ^ "SDSU School of Art and Design Names Spring 2022 Artist in Residence". psfa.sdsu.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-19.