Upon entering the University of Idaho woodshop, students are greeted by a chorus of screeching saws. They walk into the room, laden with the smell of sawdust, and remove any scarves, jackets and hanging accessories.
Leaving their backpacks at the door, they put on a pair of goggles and are ready to go “” prepared to turn their ideas into reality.
This room full of wood scraps and machinery is not the average college technical shop, and it operates under the eye of a not-so-average director.
Jay Pengilly, director of the technical shop for the College of Art and Architecture, recently celebrated his 20-year anniversary at UI on Nov. 3.
Pengilly has been working with wood his entire life, and said his passion for making art started at an early age.
“I’ve been making things my whole life,” Pengilly said.
As a child in Oregon, Pengilly said his father owned a sawmill and would bring back bits of wood for Pengilly to amuse himself with. However, he said it wasn’t until after college that he decided to make it his life’s work.
Before his position at the university, Pengilly said he worked as a custom home builder for 20 years. Although Pengilly did not have a degree in architecture or art, he said he has always maintained a deep appreciation for design.
Pengilly said he decided to take on the UI woodshop, a centerpiece for the college since 1972, after settling in Moscow.
Once he had procured the position of teaching the technical woodshop, Pengilly said he began to renovate the shop to comply with modern technology. Fundamental tools such as table saws and sanders were available, but Pengilly wanted to take things one step further. The shop now maintains laser cutting machines, 3-D milling equipment and 3-D printers.
Pengilly said these printers are the face of the future, and ideas such as using 3-D printing to construct buildings aren’t just theories any more, they’re actually happening.
“They’re in the news every day, they’re talking about using 3-D printers to build buildings on Mars,” Pengilly said.
While UI is imposing this technology on a small scale, Pengilly said he wants those that use the equipment to have a wide range of experience in order to familiarize themselves.
Pengilly said although he is attempting to keep the innovation and latest contemporary apparatuses, he always makes sure his primary focus remains on the students.
Pengilly said he likes working with students and enjoys seeing them grow and find themselves. He also said one of the best parts of working with students is the significant relationships he builds with the individuals he has employed throughout the years.
Having worked at the woodshop for two decades now, Pengilly sees students come in with the same or similar assignments every year. Despite this, Pengilly said he takes pleasure in seeing how different individuals find varying solutions to the same projects.
Pengilly said his specific profession is a “people job,” where he learns about people every day. While he is not a traditional classroom teacher, Pengilly said working with students individually on their projects brings him fulfillment.
“Watching people learn new skills is a wonderful thing,” Pengilly said.
Pengilly said the teaching position has also forced him to expand his knowledge and the technology he uses “” learning new skills and programs has unleashed far more possibilities for students to create more than ever before. Many students work with programs like AutoCAD or Adobe Illustrator in order to adhere to the requirements of the modern technology now working on multiple dimensions and platforms.
Dakota Reed, a transfer student in the Art and Architecture program, said he utilizes the shop regularly.
“The shop has pretty much any tool you’ll need, and Jay knows it all,” Reed said.
After years of mastering the art, Pengilly has noticed patterns in students becoming far more urban with access to tech schools across the nation.
Pengilly said he remembers a time where most students came from rural backgrounds where working with wood was all about working with your hands. Tactile learning is important, Pengilly said, and he wants to preserve this spirit within his classes.
Although passing on his knowledge to students has always been his intention, Pengilly said each day brings new challenges.
Pengilly said he finds that students in the college are known for working to the last minute and pulling all-nighters in order to finish projects.
While Pengilly said he worries about their safety with the operating equipment, he said he understands that students will be students, and all he can do is frequently implement safety training.
Pengilly said he also attends conferences about student shop safety and became a member of a society for academic workshops “” things which provide him with the information necessary to uphold appropriate safety standards.
Pengilly said he has found that there is a wide-range of support coming from faculty, especially when it comes to purchasing new equipment as students come and go through the program, and through the shop.
The coming and going at the end of the year is bittersweet, Pengilly said.
“There’s the people that graduate and move off and you may never see them again, and there’s some people that you’re sort of happy to see go,” Pengilly said.
In order to stay in contact with former students, Pengilly said he began using social media and is able to continue observing former students as they grow, chase dreams and build families.
Even if some of his past students are well into their 40s, Pengilly said he is happy he had the chance to be a part of their lives, even if only for a brief period.
Looking back after 20 years, he said he said his time at UI went by fast.
“I like making things, I like fixing things, but really, it’s about working with people,” Pengilly said.
Pengilly plans to continue his work with the university woodshop, and continue growing alongside students.