Spring Woodworking Workshops with Palo Coleman

Article by Rebecca Cook

This spring The Umbrella is offering a slate of six woodworking workshops that emphasize creativity and provide an opportunity to develop skills for participants of all levels of experience. Class sizes are small – between three to six students maximum – allowing plenty of time for individual instruction and observation.

Palo Coleman is the instructor for all the workshops. He’s been teaching woodworking at The Umbrella for three years. Describing his approach to teaching, he said, “When I’m helping people be creative, that’s the most enjoyable for me”.

Each workshop focuses on one specific project. Participants will learn and practice all the steps required to create their own wooden cutting board, coasters, pen, lamp, or Japanese Kumiko piece. And at the end of the class, they’ll leave with their own creation.

Coleman says he often has returning students, since the workshops are designed so everyone can improve their skills, whether the student is a beginner or already has considerable experience.

The six workshops employ different techniques and equipment, and the Kumiko workshop uses entirely hand tools. New this spring is a Lamp Turning Workshop, in which students will use a lathe to create a wooden lamp.

Woodworking at The Umbrella has a broad appeal. Coleman says some of his students are drawn to woodworking because “it’s the opposite of their work life.” He explains that many of his students work in IT and Tech. The workshops are also popular with retirees. Coleman says at least half of the students are women. Teenagers may take the workshops as long as a parent is taking it with them, and if they are not under the age of thirteen.

This year The Umbrella has a new classroom for woodworking, located on the first floor. The workshop is designed to be a better, more flexible version of a hobbyist's shop.  It is outfitted with a wide array of hand tools and power tools suited for most small- to mid-size woodworking projects. As new classes and instructors develop interesting projects to offer at The Umbrella it will add to the resources available and build the capacity of educational opportunities in woodworking.

If you’d like to explore woodworking or expand your existing skillset, The Umbrella’s spring workshops present an opportunity to learn a time-honored craft and make something beautiful.

You can read about the workshops in detail by clicking Workshops on the Classes & Workshops page of The Umbrella’s website.