John Wardle

Well I've spent a career proudly saying how I can't make anything and I'm totally reliant on the skills of others and I kind of like that.

It extends my range of working with others this having a strong belief that I shouldn't make anything myself so I've developed enough kind of a shallow knowledge of many many things.

I can talk to a ceramicist or a timber worker or

particularly a steel fabricator.

I know a lot about that through this will of actually not making anything.

But then I did do a chair making stuff in a very busy year last year.

A guy called Bern Chanley has a chair making class and you go and I went with a good friend of mine.

It takes a whole week and you make a contemporary version of Windsor chair.

Most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life.

LAUGHTER

What did you learn from it?

Well, actually, I learnt the great skill I've always had, particularly most of the years of being a sole practitioner, of asking questions.

I asked that poor guy more questions than anybody in the class and I actually didn't make any mistakes, not through any great skill, just the poor guy every time I was saying, hey, could you just show me that a second time?

And I just asked my way through a week of making a chair.

So sitting out there in the shed, I'm quite proud of it.

We should have a look at that.

I'd like to photograph that.

Is it making its way into the house at some stage?

Well, what it does, it requires me now to sand and seal it, the one thing I haven't done.

But, you know, it's still there.