Wood you look at that!
Five hometown handy men and women meet once a week to make artwork, furniture, and toys for the community — all made from wood collected almost exclusively from Marine Park.
The creative class gives the group a chance to turn a piece of timber into something timeless, according to one of the community craftsmen.
“What you start out with and what you end up with are two different things,” said Bob Kaplan, who holds the woodworking sessions in his garage and displays some of his pieces at a gallery in Brooklyn Heights.
The woodworking classes began at the Salt Marsh Nature Center 10 years ago — but Kaplan found it too time-consuming to set up his equipment at the center each week, so he decided to go out on a limb and hold the classes at his home, opening his garage-cum-woodshop to his students.
Kaplan makes a point of locally sourcing his raw materials, trolling Marine Park for fallen branches — and occasionally scoring larger logs when he gets a tip from pals in the Parks Department.
“Sometimes they’ll tell me when they cut a tree down,” he said.
The hands-on class, comprised mostly of retired locals, is the type of work that gives the grown-ups an excuse to play, according to one of the students.
“I enjoy the revelry — letting go and reliving childhood,” said Barbara Becker, who has been in the group for about seven years. “When I retired, I finally had the opportunity to live the dream.”
The woodworkers’ appreciation for fun is evident in their work — last Christmas, they made 25 toy wagons, which were distributed to local toy drives. The members have also made bulletin boards and benches for the Salt Marsh Nature Center, according to Kaplan, as well as step-stools, cabinets, and decorative bowls, most of which is donated to needy community members.
Seeing the pieces after they’re completed makes the whole process worthwhile, said one woodworker.
“Starting with a piece of wood and seeing a finished product gives you such a major sense of accomplishment,” said Marge Britton, who has been woodworking with the group for about seven years.
Kaplan said woodworking and woodturning is becoming more popular than ever.
“They’ve never sold so many lathes before,” Kaplan said of the machines used to spin pieces of wood so they can be shaped with a blade.
Kaplan said the woodworking class is full — since he can’t fit any more people into his garage — but he also teaches a woodturning class at the Carmine Carro Community Center, where he stores one of his lathes, which is open to local seniors.
He said woodturning is just as good as woodworking for satisfying an artist’s soul.
“To me, it is very creative, artistic,” he said. “You give me a lathe and a log and I’m happy.”
Woodturning for Adults at the Carmine Carro Community Center in Marine Park (3502 Avenue S between E. 35th and 26th Streets). Every Thursday at 1 pm. Free for members of the center.