Vermont Woodworking School - 2024 2nd Semester Students

For the fourth year in a row, the Vermont Wood­work­ing School recog­nizes the impor­tance of belong­ing to an orga­ni­za­tion that supports the field and commu­nity in which they have chosen to study.

VWS’s second-semes­ter students expand their furni­ture-making knowl­edge through a series of small projects, focus­ing on veneer work, lami­nated bends, and other types of joinery. In a synony­mous digital skills course, students are intro­duced to 3D model­ing in Fusion 360 to assist with design­ing complex pieces of furni­ture. Their final project for the semes­ter is a wall-hung cabinet with a door and a drawer; for some, this is an exer­cise in design speci­ficity — creat­ing a piece for a specific loca­tion or use. For others, they set aside func­tion­al­ity to create a more deco­ra­tive piece. We are thrilled to feature and high­light these 2nd-semes­ter students this week.

As a fine wood­worker, Alena Alvara designs and makes func­tional state­ment furni­ture. Currently study­ing at the Vermont Wood­work­ing School, she is addi­tion­ally honing her skills in her special inter­est; creat­ing histor­i­cally (and struc­turally) accu­rate wooden swords, blades, and armor. She is dedi­cated to trans­lat­ing tradi­tional blade-making tech­niques into the wooden medium while creat­ing aesthet­i­cally pleas­ing and well-balanced pieces.

Jack Adams began his wood­work­ing journey while study­ing Archi­tec­ture at the Univer­sity of Notre Dame. As a clas­si­cally trained archi­tect, Jack was able to trans­late his back­ground in sketch­ing, hand draft­ing, and water­color paint­ing into a love and knack for wood­work­ing and furni­ture design. From precise layout and hand cut joinery to free form sculpt­ing, Jack has an appre­ci­a­tion for age-old tech­niques as well as an inter­est in how tech­nol­ogy will help shape this craft in the future. Jack received the St. Joseph Award in Furni­ture Design from the Univer­sity of Notre Dame in 2020.

James is a second semes­ter wood­work­ing student at Vermont Woodworking School.