UW–Madison’s Katie Hudnall, who leads the woodworking and furniture program in the School of Education’s Art Department, was recently featured on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” program in a story exploring her artistic and teaching practices.

In the interview, Hudnall discussed her approach to woodworking, her experience as an educator, and the ways she encourages students to explore wood as both a technical and expressive material.

Since joining UW–Madison in 2020, Hudnall has guided students through projects that combine creative design with functional craft, including assignments like the “not a spoon” project, which challenges students to reimagine traditional forms with artistic interpretations.

Her artistic work combines reclaimed wood and found materials into what she calls “furnitural objects” — pieces that may resemble furniture but contain unexpected forms and narratives. In the WPR segment, she described one piece: a miniature cabinet with small coffins for her dead pencils. “They do a lot of work for me, so I hope to honor them,” she said.

Reflecting on why she finds woodworking meaningful, Hudnall added, “It’s sort of this connection that kind of bypasses my brain and is really just like this conversation between my hands and my eyes. And I think that that’s a really wonderful space to be in and one that we just don’t let ourselves be in very much anymore.”