Chinkapin Craftstead

Woodbury TN, Sept 2024

This was the second in our series of timber framing workshops led by and for queer people! Along with Dawn Robin of Timberhomes Vermont and 18 participants from as far as England (the old one…), we created two 12’x12’ cabin frames over the course of a week. One has a shed roof and a slender forked tree post, and the other has a gable with a lofted bed and a wild pair of curvy walnut braces.

Chinkapin Craftstead is a Queer non-profit arts organization located near Woodbury, TN on 280 acres of old-growth trees, meadows and springs. It is a land project committed to uplifting queer, trans and BIPOC voices; incubating all art forms and creative expressions; and cultivating a safe space for artists and social activists in a beautiful natural setting. 

Finished timber framed cabin with bed loft, made during 2024 Chinkapin Craftstead workshop.
Finished timber framed cabin with shed roof from 2024 Chinkapin Craftstead queer timber framing workshop.
Cabin with gable roof standing in a sunny field after the 2024 Chinkapin Craftstead timber framing workshop.
Cabin with shed roof standing in a sunny field after 2024 Chinkapin Craftstead queer timber framing workshop.
Corner of timber frame with bifurcated tree fork post, and person in a grassy field in the background.
Together a crew lifts a heavy timber onto scaffolding during the raising at a timber frame workshop.
A crew tips up a timber framed bent at a workshop at Chinkapin Craftstead in 2024.
Three new friends at a queer timber framing workshop at Chinkapin Craftstead, holding pinkies and smiling.
A crew celebrates under a newly erected timber frame in a grassy field at Chinkapin Craftstead.
Dash, the director of Chinkapin Craftstead, found a giant lion's mane mushroom to cook for the timber framers.
Ariel Schecter and Dawn Robin pose through a window opening in the new timber frame at Chinkapin Craftstead.
A Miller Falls boring machine in action, cutting chips as it creates a hole for a mortise in a timber frame.
Ariel Schecter poses in front of 13 antique chisels that he uses when teaching timber framing workshops.
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