WHAT WE DO
Located in the artist's former studio, Wendell Castle Workshop is an educational hub co-founded by his wife, artist Nancy Jurs, and daughter, Alison Castle. We provide classes and resources to help people experience and expand the creative legacy of Wendell Castle.
pioneering work in art furniture
About Wendell Castle
Wendell Castle was a pioneer in the field of art furniture. By creating work at the nexus of art, design, and craft, he blurred boundaries and paved the way for countless furniture makers who came after him. His signature technique, stack laminated carving, allowed him to sculpt one of a kind pieces that were limited only by his imagination.
Student Creations
Our students’ creations are a testament to the craftsmanship and design excellence we cultivate in every class. Each piece reflects not only technical skill but also the dedication and creative vision of its maker. We’re proud to showcase this work as a true measure of our commitment to teaching fine furniture making at the highest standard.
Become a member today and instantly receive $150 towards your first workshop
Upcoming classes
Introduction to Wood Veneering with a Unique Chessboard
Instructor: Scott Grove
Weekend course: November 15 – 16, 2025
Price: $435
Learn veneering secrets with master craftsman, veneer artist, and former Wendell Castle studio director Scott Grove. During this hands-on class, students will learn the fundamentals of working with veneer, including selecting, cutting, seaming, matching, pressing, inlay, and more. Scott will share all the tips and tricks that 45+ years of veneering can reveal. Each student will create a stunning highly-figured chessboard with a mother of pearl inlay with a water fall edge and a creative Wendell twist. No special tools are required and this course is great for beginners and more advanced woodworkers looking to expand their veneering knowledge. Scott is a highly creative, enthusiastic, energetic, and experienced instructor that understands that imparting information in an entertaining way makes learning easier and more fun.
Class fee: $385
Materials fee: $50
Scott Grove is an international award-winning artist, master craftsman, sculptor, teacher, author, and tool designer who demonstrates, lectures, and judges at international and national woodworking and woodturning conferences. He has an unconventional approach to all he does, and constantly pushes boundaries to develop new and unique methods of creating functional and decorative art and art furniture. He understands that imparting information in an entertaining way makes learning easier and more fun; he is a featured instructor at the Marc Adam’s School of Woodworking and leads the veneering program at the Chippendale International School of Furniture in Scotland. He also worked for Wendell Castle as studio director.
Scott has won numerous awards including the Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge Award four times, an unprecedented achievement, and has been featured on the broadcast series Woodworking in Action, HGTV’s The Furniture Show, and PBS’ The American Woodworker with Scott Phillips. An author of four books, Scott also writes for Popular Woodworking, Woodworking Network, and Woodshop News, American Woodturner, among others.
Scott maintains a studio in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York where he produces commission work and speculative art as well as limited edition pieces. He is also the founder of Easy Inlay, a company that provides exotic inlay materials to crafters.
Getting the Most From Your Bandsaw
Instructor: Michael Fortune
Single day course: December 6, 2025
Price: $200
The bandsaw can be one of the most versatile, accurate and safe machines in your workshop—providing it is set up and used properly. A new or even a well used bandsaw with a ½ HP motor can be tuned to cut precision joints or resaw flawlessly without purchasing aftermarket accessories or expensive blades. Installing new tires, selecting and setting blade tension, tracking, cutting curves and resawing will be covered. A variety of useful jigs designed to be used with the bandsaw will be demonstrated. Illustrations will be provided so you can make your own. Michael operates one of the most diversely equipped workshops in North America. It includes three industrial table saws but he can’t remember the last time he ripped a piece of wood on a table saw. Instead, he prefers to use a vintage 15” General Mfg. bandsaw. He bought this bandsaw in 1974, tracked the blade once with only modest tension, installed a factory fence parallel to the miter slot and has not had to adjust it in 50 years. That is one of nine bandsaws in his workshop. Let the bandsaw master show you how to make this simple machine the most versatile in your workshop. This class will be limited to 12 students; while mostly demonstration, the class size will allow for some student hands on.
Canadian designer/maker, teacher and mentor Michael C. Fortune has become acclaimed for his innovative, but resolved, designs for one-of-a-kind objects in wood, commissioned residential furnishings, and items in limited editions. He is acknowledged for both his technical and design expertise, giving lectures and workshops across Canada, United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil. Michael’s work has appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide and he has taught at many schools and craft centers including; Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology NY, Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts, Anderson Arts Center, Colorado, Savannah College of Art and Design, Australian National University School of Art, and the Marc Adams School in Indiana where the fellowship program for advanced students has been named in his honor. Michael is the senior mentor for the Artist in Residence program (2018, 2020) at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in New Zealand.
Fortune’s international career includes consulting for Trinidad and Tobago’s Commonwealth Fund for Technical Assistance, working for sustainable source timber in Mexico aimed at supplying the expanding hotel industry within the country, and volunteering for Woodlinks, a joint Canadian/U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing vocational training in secondary schools throughout North America. Michael is also assisting a new school in Puerto Rico that promotes use of timber salvaged after destructive hurricanes.
In 1993, Michael was the first woodworker to receive the prestigious Prix Saidye Bronfman, Canada’s highest award in the crafts, and in 2007 he was the first Canadian to receive the Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society. He received the Mather Award in 2019 for his contribution to craft in Ontario. Michael Fortune has a clear vision of how fine craft can positively effect the culture and economy of Canada and the world beyond.
http://www.michaelfortune.com/
Working Out of Square
Instructor: Michael Fortune
Single day course: December 7, 2025
Price: $235
Creating shapes or joints in wood that are not flat and straight may seem daunting and beyond what you are comfortable with. There’s a surprisingly simple solution: build a custom support, often called a jig, that puts the piece in a “square” reference so your machine or hand tool can accommodate the irregular form. The next step may be clamping and assembling the shapes and joints. We’ll show you how to identify what’s needed to apply perfect pressure and how to fabricate clamping cauls, both specialized and cauls used repeatedly. This class will open new design and construction vistas.
Topics covered:
- Learn how to choose the correct hand tool or machine for the task at hand
- Tools and materials for making jigs, both shop made and purchased
- How to secure parts in jigs for one-off or repetitive operations
- Build a collection of reusable clamping cauls that will simplify assembling irregular shapes
- How to analyze the direction for perfect clamping pressure
- How to upgrade quick jigs so they last and last
This class will be limited to 12 students and will largely be demonstrations; however, feel free to bring a project idea and Michael can help you problem solve the fabrication.
Canadian designer/maker, teacher and mentor Michael C. Fortune has become acclaimed for his innovative, but resolved, designs for one-of-a-kind objects in wood, commissioned residential furnishings, and items in limited editions. He is acknowledged for both his technical and design expertise, giving lectures and workshops across Canada, United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil. Michael’s work has appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide and he has taught at many schools and craft centers including; Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology NY, Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts, Anderson Arts Center, Colorado, Savannah College of Art and Design, Australian National University School of Art, and the Marc Adams School in Indiana where the fellowship program for advanced students has been named in his honor. Michael is the senior mentor for the Artist in Residence program (2018, 2020) at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in New Zealand.
Fortune’s international career includes consulting for Trinidad and Tobago’s Commonwealth Fund for Technical Assistance, working for sustainable source timber in Mexico aimed at supplying the expanding hotel industry within the country, and volunteering for Woodlinks, a joint Canadian/U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing vocational training in secondary schools throughout North America. Michael is also assisting a new school in Puerto Rico that promotes use of timber salvaged after destructive hurricanes.
In 1993, Michael was the first woodworker to receive the prestigious Prix Saidye Bronfman, Canada’s highest award in the crafts, and in 2007 he was the first Canadian to receive the Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society. He received the Mather Award in 2019 for his contribution to craft in Ontario. Michael Fortune has a clear vision of how fine craft can positively effect the culture and economy of Canada and the world beyond.
http://www.michaelfortune.com/
Wood Finishing Fundamentals
Instructor: Mike Mascelli
Single day course: April 11, 2026
Price: $175
This one-day class is for everyone who has been confused, frustrated, and otherwise unsure about how to choose from the vast array of finishing products, and how to apply them. The goal is to carefully explain the building blocks of all wood colorants and finishes so that students can confidently make informed choices by knowing “what’s in the can”. The class format is a mixture of lecture, demonstration and hands on activities with an emphasis on the science, craft and art of wood finishing.
The morning is devoted to color, with an exploration of dye and pigments and how these two very different materials can be used separately and together to achieve effects including color matching, enhancing or “popping” the grain, and harmonizing the colors within a board or on an entire project. To focus on the optics of color, students will complete a classic color wheel to see the relationships of the various colors and how they interact, and how the color “temperature” of the light affects the way we actually see color. Students will also gain experience in using the four different methods of applying color: dyeing, staining, glazing and toning, which provide a nearly endless set of possible colors and decorative effects with both oil based and waterborne colorants. There will also be discussion and demonstration of using asphaltum (tar) as a glazing and ageing agent, and the many chemical or “reactive” treatments that can be used to alter the natural color of various woods.
The afternoon is all about the huge number of different finishing products available on the market, and the goal is to understand that they are all composed of the same basic components, and that they fall into groups or “families” that have similar working properties, but do not always work well with products from other families. Students will practice several ways to apply shellac, and employ the proper applicators and techniques for oil based, and waterborne varnishes, as well as the very popular hard wax-oil formulations. Using prepared panels, students will practice various techniques for rubbing out a cured finish, both to lower the sheen or to enhance the gloss.
MIKE MASCELLI has been a student and practitioner of the upholstery trade for nearly 50 years and divides his time between the worlds of classic cars and classic furniture. He has provided upholstery for national champion cars and furniture that is on display at the US House of Representatives and numerous historic homes and private collections. He is also the longtime Director of the Professional Refinisher’s Group an organization of professionals in the conservation and restoration trades, from whom he has learned much of the science, art and craft of wood finishing. Mike actively lectures and teaches, and has instructed hundreds of students in basic and advanced upholstery techniques as well as the fundamentals of wood finishing at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, and numerous other schools and organizations both in person and on line in both America and England.
He contributed an essay on 18th century upholstery techniques for Roubo on Furniture by Don Williams (Lost Art Press). Mike has also published a number of articles on various aspects of historic upholstery in the Journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and on modern upholstery for Fine Woodworking. He has also completed several instructional videos on upholstery and finishing for Popular Woodworking, and Fine Woodworking, and was a presenter at the “Working Wood in the 18th c”. conference at Williamsburg. In the summer of 2024 Fine Woodworking will release an online course: Foundations of Furniture Finishing” presented by Mike.
In addition to driving some classic cars, Mike and his wife are the very proud grandparents of two small boys who are the main focus of semi-retirement.
