Workshops at PSU

I became the Manager and Instructor for the College of the Arts 3D workshop spaces which include a 6,000 sqft wood shop, metal shop, bronze and aluminum foundry, casting lab, laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers, and more. I am super grateful for obtaining this position, because it truly feels like an accumulation of my educational experience and an opportunity to present and explore each of my areas of expertise: teaching, social practice, and object-based art making. Every day I am utilizing my background in sculpture, painting, art history, social practice, conflict resolution, social facilitation, and business management, and more. I don't know how to begin sharing everything I've done and learned through this role since September. That's part of the reason I was inspired to write this newsletter.

My main job duties include: leading project-based workshops and safety trainings on all equipment for student and faculty use; hiring, training, and supervising staff; managing the department budget; maintaining inventory and up-keeping tools, equipment, and the organization of the space; and more.

Students returned to campus the last week of September after being closed for nearly 2 years. The first part of the gig was to get the spaces cleaned up and ready to be utilized again! There were so many abandoned projects from March 2020 due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic shut-down. I took a part of lot of projects and cleaned up the wood into useable scraps, rearranged the equipment, and organized... everything. - add

Workshops

We host a series of workshops in each of the studio facilities for students and faculty and PSU, including:

Wood Shop Safety Training: general safety and policy overview and demonstrations on the table saw, miter saw, panel saw, bandsaws, disc and belt sander, and drill presses.

Joinery Workshop: presentation of various methods and types of joining wood together and demonstrations on the router table, hand held routers, biscuit joiner, dowels, drills, nail and staple gun, chisels, files, and hand saws.

Lathe Training: series of demonstrations on the lathe including: spindle turning, bowl turning, cup making, and more!

Metal Shop Training: general safety and policy overview and demonstrations on the drill press, chop saw, band saw, sheet metal shaping tools, stationary grinder, and angle grinders.

Welding Workshops: series of trainings to learn: MIG Welding, TIG Welding, and Oxy-Acetelyene.

Plasma Cutting: demonstration on the hand held plasma cutter.

Laser Cutter Safety Training: policy and safety overview and demonstration on our laser cutting equipment.

Outside of the workshops above, I am also working with the CNC routers, our burn-out kiln, metal furnace, ceramic kiln, and 3D printers.

​The Team

There was no current staff in line following the 2 year closure. I hired a group of 20 incredible students ranging in undergraduate and graduate programs including: architecture, art practice, engineering, political science, art history, and more. Some people began the job with prior shop/building experience, and for a large majority, this was their first exposure to shop equipment and processes! Many students using the shop spaces are in their second or third year, but this was their first time being involved on campus due to the pandemic! Everybody has come from such unique places, experiences, and backgrounds and we've really grown into a great team of creative, innovative, and talented thinkers, educators, and makers. It has been a really wonderful and transformative experience to transition from teaching classes to managing and working with a team of collaborators and educators to create a communal creative work space. This photo of staff gathering around our communal fridge/microwave/coffee area brings me so much happiness and gratitude for the relationships that have been built in this space.

Every single person that works in the shops brings their own respective energy, expertise, and interests. We offer all of the trainings above, although I just learned some of the processes myself! I have so much gratitude for my coworkers who have been able to fulfill and train in the areas I had no experience with, and to collectively work towards teaching all of the processes that we offer. I equally admire working with staff members with a lot of prior shop experience and the members who are learning everything for their first time because we are all learning something new, together. Our team is complete by learning about what each individual feels comfortable facilitating, and what skills each individual would like more experience in. My trainings have been in direct response to what my staff is interested in learning or facilitating, and I take the next steps in that direction. This approach has encouraged and forced me to quickly learn techniques and processes completely new to me to be able to create the communal workspace that accommodates multiple interests and access points.

If you come into the space, we always have at least two people working. So you are guaranteed to be greeted with eagerness to learn and help you with your individual projects!


Outside of shop maintenance and workshops, we've been hired to create a series of custom builds for affiliates of PSU and are available to help with any project! For one example, we made a series of pedestals for 'Monuments for a Wednesday Afternoon,' organized by Michelle Illuminato and Jordan Rosenblum with the Art and Design Core class. This was an early project, which made for a great opportunity for staff to create their own pedestal (large box) for the exhibition, and for some, building something out of wood for their first time! Other custom projects have included custom shelving, drawing boards, tables, carts, signage, and more.

Questions/Research

The spaces have been primarily used by undergraduate and graduate Architecture students and students enrolled in Sculpture courses. I wanted to let all students in the College of the Arts and the whole University to know that these incredible spaces and opportunities to learn and create are available to them. 

A few of the questions I've been asking within this role include: 

How can increase accessibility and inclusivity for students?

How can I encourage more people to utilize the facilities?

How can I encourage more artists to utilize the facilities?

What role am I playing in students' higher education experience?

How can I de-masculinize the environment of a shop?

How can I uplift and encourage student voices, knowledge, and experience?

How can I transform the shop environment into an engaging art space?

How can I support/encourage commuter students who primarily take the bus or bike to create things?

How can I assure the spaces are working with the students and not adding unnecessary challenges?

The Name

The first thing I thought of was the name of the spaces: "The Materials Lab" –– to you, what kind of space do you imagine when you hear "Materials Lab?" I didn't feel like this name represented all of the skills, tools, and opportunities that the spaces offer. I wanted the spaces to have a more vivid representation of the equipment and skills that obtainable in the space. I worked to rebrand the spaces to "The Workshops at PSU," which include four separate rooms: Wood Shop, Metal Shop, Casting Lab, and the Laser Room.

Online Representation

I started an Instagram called @workshopsatpsu to highlight student and faculty projects conducted in the facilities, share upcoming workshop dates/times, and provide further advice and insight on processes related to the spaces. I also collaborated with Aaron Whelton, who is an Architecture professor at PSU, to create a "Shattuck Hall Facilities" website aimed toward student accessibility towards The Workshops and The Digital Lab. The website includes: images, descriptions, and information about how to use the equipment in the spaces; some tutorials; a calendar for students to add upcoming workshops directly to their Google Calendar; room numbers and contact information for additional information. There was little online representation or access points for students to find out about the spaces.

ID Cards

We created customized laser engraved ID cards/punch cards for The Workshops! The idea for these serve multiple purposes. 1) create an easier way for our staff to know which students have been trained or certified to use certain equipment and 2) to create a fun and engaging incentive for students to keep learning and attending workshops that we offer! Every person that attends a training receives a custom laser engraved card.

Signage:

A creative space should be inviting, colorful, welcoming, and FUN! We worked with PSU's A&D Projects, and they designed a branding guide and logos for the spaces to bring color, soft edges, and positive energy into our signage. We replaced all black and white signage with updated signage in a collective color theme. A&D projects (a PSU graphic design class/team) created a series of characters that represent different tasks within the spaces. They also designed a series of vinyl signage for the hallways, doors, and windows to provide more clarity to what type of spaces were inside the closed doors. We now have large scale signage in the hallways for each of our spaces. They also created a series of posters with QR codes directing students around campus to sign up for workshops and learn more about the facilities available to them! After we had our new brand guide, we removed all signs within the shops that were outdated and lacked a little creative flare and reproduced them. This has truly gone such a long way for the feeling within the spaces.

Educational Posters

The shops had multiple large-scale grey scale posters (example- poster on right) that all state one-liners about safety. I wanted the posters/walls to be more descriptive and supportive of student learning and in-process work. I worked with staff member and graphic designer, James Webb to create a Joinery poster (on the left) and are now working on a series of other educational posters for the spaces. Another one I am excited about is a Wood diagram that describes the various elements involved in choosing the right wood for a project! For example: hard wood vs soft wood and taking into account the direction of wood grain. All important things to know! I am thinking a lot about how the space feels and how I can offer additional knowledge and support to students in various majors with a multitude of interests.

Project Ideation/Consultation/Collaboration

Something that I have really enjoyed within this position is that I utilize my experience as a prior student, artist, educator, and facilitator to support students and faculty in their own respective projects. I am grateful to say that I have people who visit my office or reach out to consult me for project ideation and advice on execution plans. I work closely with both students and faculty in preparation for their projects and stay updated and present throughout their project progression. I am really enjoying that my role is a supportive individual in a large variety of projects rather than a professor with the power to give a grade and giving a specific assignment focused on a singular theme, element, or process.

New techniques and processes

For that reason, I learn something new every single day. No work day is the same. I work with students who come with their own prior experience and faculty who specialize in areas completely new to me! I've learn from architects, sculptors, book makers, print makers, engineers, carpenters, chemists, environmental and health officials, and a variety of people with specialized skills. I absolutely love that The Workshops are fueled by community knowledge and gather with creative and innovative intentions. I learned plasma cutting, laser cutting, Digital 3D Design, the lathe, bronze and aluminum casting, joinery processes, and so much more in my first couple of months! I am so excited to spend more time in this position and work with my peers to create a communal workspace that we all are excited about spending our time in.

Things to look forward to

I am really enjoying that we are progressively building an archive of projects created within the shop. I think a lot about my position "title." The job description on paper is "Materials Lab Coordinator," although I currently think of my role through: Manager, Instructor, Curator, Collaborator, and Coordinator. I am always looking into how these roles can be explored deeper. I am currently working on creating a project exhibition space in the hallway, exploring the idea of a Workshop Library with Laura Glazer, and creating a publication for each term of the school year.
During the summer time, The Workshop spaces are available to the public! We will be hosting workshops, demonstrations, and inviting artists and PDX creatives to lead additional workshops in the space. So if are interested in using the spaces, learning any of the processes for your first time, or hosting a public workshop, here is a great opportunity! Send me an email @ eduehr@pdx.edu if interested.