Current Exhibition
Maxx Sizeler: From Rust To Restoration (making and restoring traditional woodworking hand-tools)
Exhibition Dates: November 14 – December 6, 2026
Opening reception: Saturday, November 14, 6-9pm
Gallery Hours Sat. & Sun. 12-5pm
The story of this project begins with covid, and deciding it was a good time to learn how to use my grandfather’s bit brace. While learning how to sharpen the bits, I realized how these tools were made to last many lifetimes. I became fascinated and engrossed in learning as much as I could on the history, construction, and how to use antique woodworking tools. I saw the brilliance that went into the invention, engineering, and construction of these tools.
The height of woodworking skills was the 1700s, before electricity, mechanical production, and the Industrial Revolution. Cast steel’s mass production kickstarted the Industrial Revolution in the 1850s in England. Before that, carpenters made their own wooden tools with blacksmith-made blades. Many of the woodworking tools we still use today were invented by the Romans, as wood itself, and the ways necessary to mill it, have not changed.
This show displays tools I have made and restored, and examples of hand-cut moldings and display fixtures.
Maxx Sizeler (he/him), visual artist of many media and fine woodworker, received a MFA from The University of New Orleans 2001, a BFA from Parsons School of Design New York 1988, and attended Parsons at the American College in Paris 1986. Maxx’s work reflects his interest in a wide variety of subjects, including an ongoing exploration of subject matters close to his heart: living between the gender binaries, New Orleans history, and social justice issues. Recent works include installations: Head Start (1949-2018 Mass-Shooting Project) and Sliver By The River 100 feet down (Illuvial Project) and From Rust To Restoration (making and restoring traditional woodworking hand-tools).
For more information, please contact staplegoodsnola@gmail.com
Connections: Staple Goods 10th Anniversary Exhibition Catalog
Exhibition catalog commemorates the collective’s 10th anniversary exhibition, Connections (May 2021), and is available for $5.
Curated by Laura Richens. Text by Amy Mackie. Book Design by Tiffany Lin. Printed at Paper Machine.
Participating Artists: Minka/Thomasine, Aaron Collier, Robyn Denny, William DePauw, Abe Geasland, Daniel Kelly IV, Kristina Knipe, J Knoblach, Norah Lovell, Kaori Maeyama, Anne Nelson, Jack Niven, Laura Richens, Cynthia Scott, Sadie Sheldon, Lorna Williams