Last week we were privileged to have Scott Grove at the school.

Scott is a world-renowned artist and craftsman, whose work is part of, among others, the permanent collections of the Hunter Museum of American Art, and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York.

Scott is a genuinely multi-talented artist who continues to pioneer new approaches to artistic expression and furniture design.

He has been coming to the Chippendale school for the past six years, teaching our students the intricacies of marquetry and veneering.

In the course of the week Scott touched on over thirty different techniques, including, marquetry, parquetry, radial cuts, curved forms, compound veneering, and all sorts of inlay materials from silver filigree, brass, paua shell and mother-of-pearl and more.

“I try to expose the students to as many techniques as possible, recognising that not every technique is for everyone,” he says.

“I love to see the wide range of diversity of students at the Chippendale school.  They come from all over the world and bring a broad spectrum of aesthetic background, and then they take what I show them and run with it, coming up with some very creative solutions.”

Last year, student Nick Smith entirely veneered his Kawasaki Ninja 600cc superbike, a project which turned it into a work of art – and which won him the 2017 Richard Demarco Prize for creative design.

Nick’s signature project saw him create intricate burr ash veneers with walnut accents to replace the bike’s original plastic fairings.

He also gilded the windscreen and wing mirrors and, to create the final “wow” factor, highlighted parts of the new veneered fairings with 23.5 carat gold.

Scott is also the author of a number of books including his most recent, Advanced Veneering and Alternative Techniques. He also writes for a variety of national publications and is a YouTube personality.

More information can be found IMAGINEGROVE.