Franz Feige
Woodworking
 

My entry into the magnificent world of woodworking began during my first stay in NH between 1983 and 1987. I recall the exact moment I made the decision to enter this woodworking world: I was deeply admiring a beautifully crafted wood bowl at a local exhibit and found myself equally as deeply lamenting that I could not afford to purchase it. I was at that time in my life an unemployed doctoral student at Drew University, cautious with every penny I had. In that moment, simultaneously admiring and coveting that bowl, I determined that I would craft a wooden bowl for myself. Quickly, I acquired a used lathe from a local woodworker and a sampling of woodturning tools. Primarily self-taught, in time, I became a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen.

 

Most of my turned objects were exhibited and sold in the New Hampshire League shops and other galleries in Boston and Cape Cod. I had my first solo exhibit in Milford, NH, and also exhibited pieces at juried art shows at the then Sharon Arts Center in Sharon, NH. Woodworking provided a perfect and needed balance to my more “heady” pursuits in academia.

 

During my thirty plus years in Long Island, NY, after leaving my academic life and beginning a career in psychotherapy, I taught woodworking and stone sculpting at the Garden City Waldorf School for more than 10 years. I grew to embrace other dimensions of woodworking such as carving and furniture making. My last exhibit was three summers ago at the Old Nelson Town Library. Two years ago, my wife Diana and I left our life in Long Island and moved to Peterborough, NH, primarily so that I could dedicate myself more fully to this craft that offers so much meaning and joy to my life. I still am a part-time therapist but the core of my time is now thankfully dedicated to woodworking.

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