Whether you want to create fine furniture from scrap lumber or make shelves for your garage, an understanding of basic design and construction principles can open your eyes to new ways of building what you imagine. This class introduces the art of carpentry as a seamless integration of design and construction, a constant dialogue between creative vision and the pragmatic requirements of any given project. Through hands-on work, we will develop a wide vocabulary of skills with carpentry tools, from basic to advanced, with a view not just to their obvious applications, but also the less obvious. Construction techniques such as material selection, measuring and layout, cutting and shaping, joinery and detailing will be introduced as a continuation of the design process. We will also introduce basic design practices, including drafting and model making, as ways to explore your ideas and their construction. Efficiency and creativity go hand in hand, and so we will learn to make the best use of materials at hand, to turn problems into opportunities, and to revise designs during the building process to take advantage of new insights. Beginner to Intermediate.