By Courtney O’Brien
56 | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 | SOUTH GIPPSLAND SENTINEL-TIMES
HELPING people discover the craft, learn about wood and furniture and the design purpose, to enrich lives is what Helmut Burri strives to do.
“It’s about passion. I think the world’s got a little bit too much darkness in it and I want to bring people something that’s beautiful and something that connects them to nature and to the world and gives them a purpose in life.”
Holding intimate sized classes in Venus Bay, Foster and Coal Creek, Helmut infuses his teachings with philosophy on the craft itself.
“Every tree has a story, where it grew, its life history is made manifest in its grain, in its body and as woodworker we take that body of a tree, and we have to work with it and working with it means understanding and talking about its life story and bringing its life to life.
“Woodworkers are like the caretakers of deceased trees, the undertakers of trees. We look after their corporeal remains after they’re gone, and by making furniture and by making objects from them, we give them a second life.”
Helmut aims to instil a love of the craft and the process in students, and skills on how to work with and treat wood properly, so it can be gently shaped rather than forced into shape.
“If you kind of look at what you’re doing, listen to what it’s saying to you; talk, I literally mean, talk to the wood. There’s a sort of a dialogue that goes on with the material and you will succeed because you’re no longer fighting.”
Spoon carving, chair making and tool sharpening workshops are being taught by Burri&Co. (renamed Dimble), the business Helmut founded a year ago.
A student puts the final touches on his spoon in a spoon carving workshop.
Having been teaching students privately, just for the love of imparting the craft to others, for many years, Helmut decided to begin offering public classes.
With students from their twenties through to their eighties attending and both men and women showing an interest.
“I teach spoon carving because it’s a really approachable and achievable project that takes you from, I know absolutely nothing, to understanding the structure of wood, how a tree grows, how the grain works, and then how to break that down into an object that you can work with, and then to using a variety of tools that teaches you how to cut wood.”
In a spoon carving class students get to split a green log – of liquid amber, cherry, plum, apricot, or birch – with a froe, break it down and do a rough carving with an axe, then using a shave horse and a large blade, carve out the plan and side views of the spoon before carving out the bowl using a hook knife.
Students also learn about chemistry for wood finishes, about tool sharpening, different abrasive mediums, different ways of sharpening odd tools, which in spoon carving there are quite a lot of, as well as tree anatomy, and tree biology.
“The aim is to get people hooked on working with their hands, hooked on working with wood and understanding the value of the material.”
Helmut commented that students can learn the basics in spoon carving and go on to shrink pots and then chair making, to gain a good foundational knowledge. They can then tackle more complex elements like mortise and tenon, dovetail joinery, parquetry inlays, bent laminations and steam bending.
His focus is on teaching an appreciation for the finer aspects of working with wood, as well as an appreciation for personally created objects.
“It kind of ties in with this question of sustainability.”
“Unfortunately, people have things because they’re impulsively acquiring things, and because there’s no emotional resonance with the object, the object becomes disposable.” “I think, let’s try not to kill the planet any faster.”
Helmut’s is looking for a permanent space for his wood working and furniture design school, where people can come to class, form connections and build community.
Burri&Co’s Helmut’s long-term aim is to build a community of designers and makers who work in a communal space creating different furniture, wood works and carvings, under a social enterprise structure.
“I’d love to set up a venue where you could have people who can take classes and people can make pieces and people can have exhibitions and share that space.”
For more information visit burri&co.com dimble.com.au.