Woodcraft Sponsors Scholarships for Three Students at The Krenov School

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Woodcraft contributes funds to provide scholarships for three students at The Krenov School.

PARKERSBURG, W.VA. (PRWEB) MAY 19, 2022 - Three students at The Krenov School in Fort Bragg, California, are recipients of scholarships awarded by The Krenov Foundation and funded by Woodcraft Supply.

Chris Secrest of La Crescenta, California, was presented his scholarship this semester. Hayden Castagno of Rexburg, Idaho, and Miles Gracey of Los Angeles, California, received scholarships in the fall of 2021.

The Krenov Foundation, established in 2014, awards several substantial scholarships each year to students attending The Krenov School, which was founded in 1981 by the late James Krenov, a highly acclaimed cabinetmaker, author and teacher. Read more about the foundation at thekrenovfoundation.org.

“Woodcraft is proud to support this scholarship program that encourages participation and excellence in fine woodworking,” President and CEO Jack Bigger said. “The Krenov School and Foundation play an important role in preserving this centuries-old craft.”

A part of Mendocino College, The Krenov School offers an intense fine woodworking and cabinetmaking program. Prior to COVID, the program was nine months, six days a week, eight hours a day over two semesters. To accommodate COVID protocols, the program operated on a shorter timeframe with fewer students. The regular program will resume in August 2022.

Although machinery is used at the school, the focus is on teaching students to use hand tools and learn to design and execute a project on their own. A second year program and summer workshops are also available. Learn more at the school’s website.

Pursuing Wood in a Creative Relationship

Chris Secrest. Secrest learned woodworking and carpentry from his grandfather as a kid growing up in San Antonio. After pursuing screenwriting and making a living designing and creating motion graphics for several years, he took a summer workshop at The Krenov School that led him to switch to woodworking and related fields full-time.

Regarding his current studies at The Krenov School, Secrest said: “Going forward, the techniques and practices I’ve learned at Krenov will certainly elevate my working style as well as my end product, helping to differentiate my work from examples of turn-the-crank products.”

Hayden Castagno. Castagno grew up spending time in his father’s metal fabrication shop and went on to make a living working with metals. In 2019, he applied to The Krenov School.

Castagno said The Krenov School woodworking environment – 48 hours a week surrounded by supportive instructors, inspiring alumni, and a tried and true curriculum – completely transformed him as a craftsman.

“I began combining my metalworking background with woodworking by making tools and have started a business under my own name, making a range of tools,” Castagno said. Building functional furniture is also in his plans for the future.

Miles Gracey. Miles moved through the disciplines of music, design, and sculpture before making furniture and eventually enrolling at The Kenov School.

“The Krenov School offered a safe and supportive space to test the limits of my skills and experiment with new techniques,” Miles said. He will now take the skills he learned at The Krenov School to several artist residencies where he will further refine and expand his body of work.

SOURCE Woodcraft

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