Workshops

1/BLACKSMITHING

High Relief Chasing and Repoussé on Steel and Bronze

Greenman (detail) by Kirsten Skiles. Chased & repousséd bas-relief bronze panel, 7" x 5".

High Relief Chasing is derived from the Japanese style of High Relief Chasing used in sword ornaments and kimono pins. The technique is inspired by, but not true to, the full Japanese tradition. In this workshop, students will learn how to make their own high quality chasing tools and then complete a chasing that incorporates extreme elevation shifts, foldovers, undercuts and highly textured surfaces. Repoussé with hammers, over metal stakes or wood stumps, will also be covered. All levels welcome.

KIRSTEN SKILES uses the ancient techniques of chasing and repoussé to express the ornate wilderness of river, garden, and life. As a self-employed artist, she frequently works on commissions for private residences through interior designers, architects, and other blacksmiths. Kirsten Skiles has an MFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from San Diego State University. Her work is featured at the DNR Visitor’s Center at Itasca State Park in Minnesota and at St. Paul’s Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most recently, she has exhibited as a part of the Healing Arts program in Hudson, Wisconsin and at the Frehner Gallery in Monroe, Wisconsin.

www.flickr.com/photos/knitsteel/collections/
www.knitsteel.com

1/CLAY

When is a Cup Not a Cup?

Cuplet 4 by Anne Hirondelle, 2003. Stoneware, 12 5/8" x 5 5/8"".

This workshop will explore the functional origins and sculptural potential of the vessel so participants may approach it as an abstract, archetypal form. Participants will develop a core shape through handbuilding or the wheel; from this shape create a series of related forms borrowing elements from traditional pottery and expanding them into sculptural ideas. Non-glazed surfaces will be addressed. Instruction will include demonstrations, slide presentations, and how to keep personal notebooks. All levels welcome.

ANNE HIRONDELLE is an independent studio artist who lives and works in Port Townsend, Washington. She studied in the BFA program at the University of Washington with Robert Sperry. She has exhibited nationally including one-person shows in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Her pieces are in numerous private and public collections including the White House, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Los Angeles County Art Museum, and the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum. Anne Hirondelle is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

1/FIBERS

Material Expression

Untitled installation by Mi-Kyoung Lee, 2005. Installation, sewn felt, 5000 rubber bands, 32" x 32" x 10", 5' x 6' on wall.

During the first week, students will experience a wide range of materials and fiber constructions with an emphasis on found objects, recycled materials and other collected detritus. Although textile techniques including knotting, coiling, crochet, and knitting will be introduced, this workshop is highly experimental and will encourage students to invent their own unique means of construction. In the second week, students will further examine materials and processes with the workshop directed toward the development of forms that speak of the body or are applied directly to it. All levels welcome.

MI-KYOUNG LEE is Head of Fibers/Assistant Professor, Crafts Department, University of the Arts. She received dual MFA degrees at University of the Arts and Cranbook Academy of Art. She has had seven solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea; Ann Arbor Art Center; Cranbrook Art Museum; and the Honolulu Academy of Art, among others. Mi-Kyoung Lee has contributed essays to design and craft magazines in Korea as well as the Michigan Korean Journal. She was the recent editor for Art Textile of the World: Korea, Volume 1, Telos Art Publishing Company, England, 2005. In the summers of 2005 and 2006, Mi-Kyoung Lee worked as a costume and set designer for the International Opera Theater Company based in Philadelphia and Citta della Pieve, Italy.

1/METALS

Embracing the Eclectic: Inspirations, Ideas, and Applications for Jewelry

(The Future is) An Open Door by Ken Bova, 2007. Brooch, sterling, 23k gold leaf, bronze, bone, US currency, acrylic, butterfly wing, candy wrapper. Cast and fabricated mixed media assemblage, 4 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 3/8".

Eclectic (adj): (1) choosing what is best or preferred from a variety of sources or styles.
(2) made up of elements from various sources. Eclectic (noun): somebody who selects what is best or preferred from a variety of sources or styles.

This is a workshop of applied imagination. Using an eccentric assemblage of tips, tricks, and tools, participants will explore a multitude of resources for idea generation and hands-on jewelry making. Play and experimentation will be the watchwords. Students will be working primarily with cold connections in the service of found object and assemblage jewelry. Focusing on traditional hand tool techniques, students will play with a variety of forming and linking mechanics that will include the use of a torch; and also work with color and collage and make a few special fun tools out of ordinary hardware and grocery store materials. Lots of bench tricks, impromptu demonstrations, design exercises, and discussions of creating jewelry with personal content will also take place. Students will come away with a small bunch of tools, a whole bunch of experimental pieces, and one souvenir work. All levels welcome.

KEN BOVA is a studio jeweler living in Anaconda, Montana. For the past twenty years he has taught as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Beginning & Advanced Jewelry/Metals at Montana State University in Bozeman. Past President of Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), his work is in several permanent collections including the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and the Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin. His work has been exhibited nationally including the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution’s Jewels and Gems; Facere Jewelry Art, Seattle, Washington; and Winter Showcase Invitational, Wustum Museum, Racine, Wisconsin. Awards received include two Awards for Excellence in Teaching, MSU Alumni Association, and an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the Montana Arts Council.

1/PAPER

The Topography of Handmade Paper

Kumasi (detail) by Mary Hark, 2006. Mixed media, collage.

Soft, ephemeral and airy, or tough and bark-like; paper can be an absorbent material that carries fluidity with ease or possesses a dense impenetrable face. Paper has potential to carry a smooth as glass surface or become a field of lush texture. A thorough investigation into papermaking fibers and traditional tools will be the starting point for an exploration of surface, form and content. Basic sheet forming, with an eye towards producing high quality papers suitable for use in books and printmaking, will lead into a personal exploration of surface and texture. Some bookbinding and sculptural techniques will be covered. A variety of experimental as well as traditional approaches to color will be introduced, including pigmentation as well as the use of some natural dyes including the making and maintaining of an indigo vat. Workshop participants will develop a portfolio of papers that will carry a great variety of qualities. Each person will be encouraged to find ways of using this material that address their individual aesthetic concerns. All levels welcome.

MARY HARK is Professor of Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and recently spent ten months in Ghana, West Africa as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar. She is proprietor of HARK! Handmade Paper Studio, and has taught workshops at Penland; The Women’s Studio Workshop; and other art centers around the country. Her work has been exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Minnesota Museum of Art; The National Gallery and the Foundation for Contemporary Art in Accra, Ghana; Artemisia ( Chicago), the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, and SOFA in Chicago.

1/WOOD

Artifact—Any Man Made Object:
by Art and Skill

Artifact#1 by Michael Hosaluk, 2007. Stone, rawhide, copper, wood, sinew, hair, 10" x3" x 5". Photo Trent Watts

This class will give the opportunity to explore personal direction in object making. Instruction that takes place in the workshop will be through an exchange of ideas, techniques, through making. New techniques will be explored and developed as a collective. Use of found natural objects and found discarded objects from our culture and society will be used as well as any material that is best suited to convey the essence of the idea. Wood and woodworking techniques will act as the binder of ideas but all materials and techniques will be considered. Collaboration will be encouraged. All levels welcome.

MICHAEL HOSALUK is an artist, designer, and educator living near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, who has taught and demonstrated extensively: Anderson Ranch, Furniture Society, California College of Art, Penland, International Wood Turning Seminar ( Great Britain). International exhibitions include Shy Boy, She Devil and Isis, The Art of Conceptual Craft, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, and Unique! 30 Years of Outstanding Craft, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec. His work is in many permanent collections including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Idemitsu Corporation, Tokyo; and the Woodturning Center, Philadelphia. Michael Hosaluk is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Saskatchewan Crafts Council.