sutton046

Creating things with our hands is good for the body, mind and soul. It's good for the brain too. In a former life, I was a Youth & Community Worker. So I love working with people, and have done a lot of work with those who are disadvantaged in some way. Amid the many people I work with today, teaching traditional woodworking hand skills and techniques, there are a number of people who have Acquired Brain Injuries - mostly as a result of road trauma. Car and motorcycle crashes. So we use woodworking as a therapeutic tool to help them rebuild their lives. Dean Kennedy of Francisco Films here in Perth, Western Australia, recently crafted this beautiful little 4 minute video about this aspect of my work. I invite you to view "Woodworking for Life" . Nathan was pretty happy with this lovely table he made!

Senni Makes a Spear Experiencing the Joy of Woodworking at the Heritage Woodcraft Centre,   October 2017 The Heritage Woodcraft Centre in Canning Vale is the home of The Joy of Wood, where I, a skilled Cabinetmaker/Joiner, offer workshops and tuition for people of all ages in traditional woodworking hand skills and techniques. This includes many programs and workshops for children.  I have been conducting woodworking activities in schools, festivals, public workshops and private workshops for nine years. The private tuition is also used to provide occupational therapy for people with cognitive and physical disabilities. The value of hand tool woodworking for kids. When kids learn to use traditional hand tools, there are many benefits beyond the production of the project which they are justifiably proud of. Creating with the hands is a tactile, sensual process involving both macro and micro muscle movements.   The activity helps build body awareness, hand-to-eye coordina...

We seem to be motoring rapidly into 2016 already, so I don't want to miss this opportunity to reflect on the 2015 year. As I write this, I am away on holidays, 200 miles from home. So amid the canoeing and other summer activities with grand kids and other family members, I have grabbed a few rare quiet moments to write this post. The dilemmas of Social Media and the time it consumes. There have been many less posts this past year on this blog than previous years. I lay the blame squarely at my own feet for putting time and energy into posting on both  Instagram and the Joy of Wood's Facebook page. With limited computer time, getting involved with both of these platforms has reduced the time available for the blog. However I have found that the FB page has become a useful local communication tool and Instagram has become a great source of inspiration - seeing what others around the world are creating with wood. The other great source of...