An arbutiful life: Camosun fine furniture grads exhibit year-end project

In the past year, 15 Camosun students graduated with a certificate in fine furniture and joinery. To celebrate, they showcased their final projects in a public exhibit entitled “An Arbutiful Life: Seating in Arbutus and Garry Oak” at the Arts Centre at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, in Victoria, B.C.

“Our students have shown a lot of commitment,” says Camosun Fine Furniture instructor Sandra Carr. “They successfully completed their certificate program on campus during the pandemic and turned out some outstanding work.”

For over 34 years Camosun’s Fine Furniture program has been at the forefront of Vancouver Island’s woodworking and furniture-making industry.

“2020 was the only year in the three decades of our program that an exhibition had not been held,” she explains. “We were excited to be able to showcase their talents in 2021. This capstone project allowed students to push their skills in the areas of furniture design, construction and finish­ing. The exhibition promoted the fact that high quality, well-designed furniture is being made right here in Victoria out of our local wood resources.”

The students designed and crafted a variety of seating out of reclaimed arbutus and Garry oak wood supplied by the Vancouver Island Woodworker’s Guild wood recovery program.

The main focus of Camosun’s Fine Furniture student exhibition was seating, with a selection of other student works also on dis­play for the public to enjoy.