http://www.woodreview.com.au 39PROFILEto draw a square and then bulk it
out to a rectangle. I like to introduce
circles and curves, and they like it.
The idea is, we’re going to create
something sexy.’
‘With my own work I try and strip
away what’s unnecessary. I like the
stick figure way of drawing. I start
designing with just single lines
because you can’t get any more
elegant than that, and you can
always add width to it.’
Giving feedback is important but
there’s an art to it. ‘When I was at
uni there were lecturers that were
extremely brutal. Constructive
criticism can bring it back down
to aesthetics and suggest simple
changes, or sometimes I’ll suggest
a designer or maker that has a piece
with a similar aesthetic and tell
students to look them up. It’s case by
case though, there are some students
that I can stir up a little bit and say,
“come on, you can park a truck on
that thing!”.’
Ultimately it’s about knowing your
students, not only how they learn but
also what makes them tick and how
to get the best out of them. ‘It’s nice
to be able to push the ones that have
a competitive edge about them, but
we’re pushing quality, not necessarily
who’s the best’, Ben said.
Maintaining a design practice and
teaching full time is a big load, but in
Ben’s case it’s clear that one pursuit
fuels the other. Does he need to
choose? ‘I wonder that myself. It’s
something that I wouldn’t want to
give up. My own furniture work is a
major influence in my teaching and
for my students. Students ask me:
would I want to work as a full time
furniture maker? And I say yes...
but I’d still be teaching.’
Ben Percy also teaches part time at
Heartwood Creative Woodworking in Sydney.
Contact Ben Percy via
http://www.benpercydesigns.com
Left: Treecycle Corner
Cabinet. ‘As most of the
furniture makers who
worked with African
yellowwood for the
Treecycle 2016 exhibition
found out, this timber
knows how to party!
Due to relentless timber
movement and splitting
as the timber stabilised,
this piece took an two
extra years to complete.’
Photo: Jack Bussell
Below: American
tulipwood acoustic wall
for the Northern Beaches
Secondary College
Performance theatre.
Photo: Jack Bussell