Shelia Collins, of Lewisburg, is a woodcarver and furniture maker. Raised on a self-sufficient dairy farm, her family produced its own food, and built and maintained all the equipment necessary to carry out daily life and work. Except for a radial arm, all the family’s woodworking equipment was built from scratch by Shelia’s grandfather and father. Many of these sixty-year-old plus machines are still in use today. Shelia began spending time playing in the family farm shop when she was still a toddler. Mostly self-taught through observation, she carved a stylized quail around age 9 using a wall-mounted jig saw, a draw knife, rasp, and sandpaper. In the third grade, she made replicas of colonial tools without any assistance. By age 12 she was using the table saw by herself and built a desk organizer with drawers. Although she has been surrounded by woodworking her entire life, she became more focused on the art form after moving to her husband’s family farm in 2002. There she built a dedicated woodworking shop that enabled her to achieve her current skill level.
“Wood turning and box making are my favorites due to the infinite choices in materials and designs that make each one different,” Sheila explains. “I also build custom furniture, most often starting with a picture and basic dimensions then designing my own plan.”
As part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program this year, Shelia will be teaching woodworking and furniture making to apprentice Paula Schuerer, of Franklin, Tennessee. Shelia has previously taught woodworking classes at Woodcraft of Nashville and carving/wood burning classes at the Marshall County Art Guild. She has also taught her daughters and grandchildren woodworking skills.
“My grandfather was born in the late 1800’s. A buggy ride would take you to the local blacksmith, cabinet builder, butcher, etc.,” Sheila says in describing her motivation to teach. “In the 1950’s Popular Mechanics published plans to build almost anything. Now people have no access to see items being made and it is difficult to find someone that can make or repair items–so self-sufficient skills have been lost.”
For Paula, her interest in woodworking is also connected to family. “I started exploring woodworking and building small items as a child (Lincoln Logs, tinker toys, bird house kits, etc) but really got interested in woodworking in the early 2000s after my dad retired and started building furniture. I became very interested in it as I watched him build a variety of items including a pet casket, bookcase, and a high-end chicken coop. My desire is to become proficient in furniture making which utilizes commercial equipment as well as ‘old school’ hand tools. Carving as well as turning are skills I have yet to attempt.”
