Don Williams writes:
With both anticipation and some apprehension I rolled out of bed at the barbarous hour of 4AM to catch my flight to Mitchieapolis for the long awaited three-day shellacapalooza. Anticipation because this was the culmination of more than thirty years of curiosity for me, and to my knowledge the first true multi-day seminar on the subject EVER on this continent. Apprehension because my last few airline experiences had been straight out of Dante’s Inferno, being the result of both airline indifference to service and my recently discovered ruptured L5 disc, which made sitting on the tiny airline seats an excruciating event.
Also, as is my own peculiar psychopathology, I always approach a teaching experience with the nagging suspicion that the students will find out I don’t really know much about what I talking about, and I will run out of things to say by lunch of the first day. Somehow it doesn’t register in my brain that I have laid out for myself a fairly detailed syllabus for the course. It must be a residual insecurity from playing basketball as a kid, and always being the shortest one on the court.
The good news started almost immediately. Even at 5AM the traffic in DC can be suicide inducing, but on this particular summer Monday morning the typical bureaucratic slackers in DC must have been sleeping a little late, so the drive to the airport was an uneventful hour. Imagine my astonishment when check-in went flawlessly; no lines, no ticket agents with an attitude, no TSA thugs itching for a cavity search. Then came the airplane; it was one of those new Brazilian Imbraer mini-jets with seats that are amazingly comfortable! It’s almost like Northworst Airlines suddenly realized that full-sized adult males flew on their airplanes. And, the flight was actually early and I arrived without losing the surface sensation in my leg (usually replaced by a blowtorch sensation as the nerve pinches off).
And there at the curb was the smiling face of my brother Mitch as he loaded my case into the back of the truck and we were off to his brand spankin’ new classroom at DCTC. We had a quick lunch with the Daves (Smith and Gunderson) and an afternoon of setting up and we were all set for the shellacaholic arrivals in the morning.
One of the things that Mitch and I keep in mind continually is that people who come to classes pay a high price; registration, travel, lodging and food, lost income. With that in mind we always try to make the teaching and learning experiences worthwhile for everyone involved. This time we tried something new; in order to cut down Mitch’s time and expenses, rather than having him assembled the famed “Tomes of Don” course handout notebooks, usually 4 inches thick and weighing in at somewhere between 8 and ten pounds (Tredway had even started bringing a folding suitcase for the notebook’s trip home) I burned a CD for each of the attendees with about 8,000 pages from my shellac archive. Copyright considerations preclude a wider distribution of this treasure trove.
At introductions the next morning it was clear that we had a delightful mix of attendees ranging from those who had barely heard the word “Shellac” to those well versed in its use. As I said in my opening remarks, I don’t have the capacity to induce expertise on the subject, there’s just too much about it that I do not know. However, what I could do would be to share my experiences and discoveries over the past 35 years, demonstrate techniques, engage in serious and whimsical conversations, and allow everyone to leave after three days with a greater sense of confidence such that could each pursue expertise in their own way. You’ll have to ask them if I succeeded.
As we parted at the end of the third day we discussed the desire for a follow up, even more in-depth Shellacapalooza II. Maybe some day, but I need to learn a lot more first.
Here are a few of my pictures of the week, which will hopefully be a pleasant reminder if you were there, and a teaser for those of you who were not.
A lot of the folks had never seen such a wide range of shellacs as I brought to show. One of the things I had in mind for the attendees was to have us as a group prepare sample boards of each different grade of shellac. Mitch had 12 x 12 sheets of unfinished birch plywood so that’s what we used.
Here are some of the boards in progress
The group activity of doing the sorta mundane work of preparing the sample boards was a terrific opportunity for ice breaking in the work space. Needless to say connections were made almost immediately and the raucous din of cheerful people engaged in joyous activity was the hallmark of the workshop.
Yup, everybody was able to go home with a complete sample set of two dozen small coupons of different shellac samples. Surely it is a unique resource for them to use as a reference for years to come.
One of the fundamentals for me teaching shellac is the art of brushing out a flawless finish. Everyone got one of Mitch’s famous sample boards to practice on. From left we have Ed, Julie, Dave, and Dirk discovering the magic that can be made with a freshly prepared batch of ~1.5 pound shellac and a primo 1 inch brush. Both Julie and Dave were newcomers to finishing with shellac and achieved great results in a very short while.
The final step in finishing with shellac is the rubbing out, and everyone got to try the technique I use to produce a seductive finish that is a feast for the senses. Here Bill B puts some oomph into it.
Julie puts the final touches on rubbing out her brushed board. Though she had never even touched shellac before, the results were stupendous. As she said, “I had no idea that a sheet of plywood could look so great!” Yet another convert in the fold.
Groopster Tim P and retiring doctor Terry compare the results of different rub out techniques.
In between brushing on multiple coats of shellac, Mitch demonstrated to the class the fine art of French polishing. Some of the folks were old hands at it, some were brand new. Of course Mitch took whatever time was necessary to give everyone the one-on-one attention the needed to walk out the door feeling comfortable with the technique. Here Mitch is giving encouragement to Groopster Bill F.
I should note that not only is Mitch a finisher of great repute, he is perhaps the finest and most caring teacher I have ever encountered. Any teaching skills I possess are due entirely to his faithful guidance, and I cannot thank him enough. He’s not only my brother but also my mentor.
Bill B frenchin’
Travis frenchin’
Doc Terry frenchin’
and Tredway’s co-worker Jeff taking to French polishing like a fish to water.
This picture of a busy beehive was the norm. Equally prevalent was the small clusters of conversation and consultation that formed spontaneously. It was a true joy to watch and participate in.
Earl and Charlie are deep in thought. I knew that because I could smell the smoke.
Newcomer Kevin and DCTC grad Matt chatting about something shellacophilic.
Of course no class about shellac would be complete without a session on making Mel’s Wax. Here Terry, Dirk, Bill F, Matt, and Michele are whipping up a batch.
One of the new elements for most folks was the notion of waterborne shellac. I demonstrated making borated aqueous shellac, and here Tredway, Charlie, and Michele give one of Tredway’s fabulous touchup brushes using aqueous shellac and watercolors. I find it a remarkably valuable technique.
That’s how I spent my summer vacation, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to Mitch and all the attendees for letting me spend it this way.
DonLibro
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