Serious Play: Exploring Mechanical Movements through Wooden Toys

Session 5 | August 10–22

 

Pushmi Pullyu, a Telescope Drawer by Katie Hudsnall, 2024. Woodworking, salvaged wood and plywood, fasteners, brass, and various polychrome, approximately 60” x 26” x 26”. Photo by Jim Escalante.

Using push-and-pull toys as a prompt, participants will begin to explore simple, handmade, wood mechanisms such as hinges, levers, cams, and cranks. Small and playful, these objects will allow us to explore how moving parts come with their own set of opportunities and challenges. All levels welcome.


Katie Hudnall (she/her) is a woodworker, artist, and educator living in Madison, WI, where she runs the Woodworking and Furniture program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She received a BFA in Sculpture from the Corcoran College of Art and an MFA in Woodworking and Furniture Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. Hudnall is curious about the aliveness of things and about how to make furniture as strange and dynamic as drawings. She is happiest in a woodshop, thinking with her hands.

katiehudnall.com     @katiehudnall