2007
THE CARVING STUDIO AND SCULPTURE CENTER
WEST RUTLAND, VERMONT
Phone: (802) 438-2097 Fax: (802) 438-2020 e-mail carving@vermontel.net
Website: www.carvingstudio.org
Workshop Descriptions 2007
JULY
Vermont Slate Relief Carving - July 9-13
Slate is often overlooked as a potential carving material due to its association
with more utilitarian uses such as roofing, tile or - going back a few years
- blackboards. In fact, slate has a wonderful tight grain that accepts fine detail
and can be worked up to a matte shine. Its relative softness allows ease of carving
with standard fire-sharpened steel hand tools and very quickly with carbide air-powered
ones. The flat nature and horizontal bedding of slate makes it an ideal media
for relief carvings- think what the Egyptians did with incised line and shallow
cutting!
The workshop will concentrate on proper tool usage, a brief tool-making demonstration,
lettering and techniques for translating a drawing onto stone. Open to all skill-levels.
Please bring sketches.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Frank Anjo
"Meals were excellent and I enjoyed
the gathering from all of the classes."
Direct Stone Carving - July 9-13
Learn the art of stone carving from hand chiseling to finishing with optional
polishing; as well as the use of form, volume and texture to produce desired
effects. Explore the direct carving method of releasing the form the artist sees
from within the stone. Imagery may include figurative or abstract subject matter,
depending on individual preference. We will work in limestone or marble. Open
to all levels.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Nora Valdez
"I was ravenously hungry after a day
of concentration and each meal was an abundant, delicious surprise."
Bronze Casting - July 9-13
Learn about the wonderful world of molten bronze. Participants will produce three
bronzes using a different method for each. Techniques demonstrated will be:
Lost wax - make your own wax original the first day of class, to be cast in
ceramic shell. Green sand casting - each participant will make a 3"x5" plaque,
to be cast using cope and drag green sand casting. Experimental resin-bonded
sand-cutting, drilling and gluing sections of bonded sand together, then casting
the negative spaces, resulting in a unique assortment of unknown forms and
shapes. In keeping with tradition, the workshop will culminate with a blast
from the shop cannon!
Fee: $625 * Instructor: Glenn Campbell
"I love you, guys!"
Carve a Stone Sculpture in Five Days - July 16-20
Learn how to use power tools in a safe yet experimental way to create a sculpture
while incorporating elements of design. Using both the direct and indirect methods
of stone carving you will see your form begin to take shape. Emphasis on safety
and proper power tool use will guide the participant to a finished sculpture-
ready to display.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Alicia Deya
"Beautifully structured, nice environment."
Introduction to Cold Cast Sculpture - July 16-20
The variety of techniques and media available to today's sculptor makes the range
of possibilities for mold making and casting an exciting adventure. This workshop
will explore everything from the most traditional technique of relief casting
with plaster to the more sophisticated process of building two-part rubber molds
for works in the round.
With the flexible mold, we are able to realize complex forms
that would not be possible with the rigid mold, and these new
materials lend themselves to the further production of "multiples." Multiples
enable us to make variations on an original or in a repeated
installation.
Plaster is the most traditional and efficient way to instant gratification but
we will also experiment with a range of non-traditional materials and add-mixes
to create our own customized casting compound that can be finished in various
patina effects.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Lars-Erik Fisk
"Lars was excellent at both communicating
technical aspects as well as encouraging more exploratory techniques
and risk taking."
Open Stone Symposium - July 21-27
Join us for seven days of carving in the heart of the historic
West Rutland Marble quarries. Often called "carving camp" by
participants, the symposium provides a supportive community for
exploring both hard and soft stone. Native Vermont marble and
granite, as well as some imported stone, is available.
The core of the symposium is long, concentrated work hours with the available
resources of expert professional sculptors who offer a wide range of aesthetic
and technical skills. In addition to frequent demonstrations, they will be available
for individualized consultations on your work.
The symposium provides forklifts and tools in order to facilitate creating sculpture
from moderate size to monumental. All of the Sculptor Facilitators work with
stone in innovative ways and have a combined expertise to share. Communal evening
meals and slide presentations complete the working day.
Fee: $725 * Facilitator: Eric David Laxman with B. Amore, Don Ramey and other
visiting artists.
"It is good to commune with your colleagues
at the table after working all day."
AUGUST
Stone Figure Carving - July 30-August 3
This course explores the process of carving a figure in stone from start to finish.
Topics covered will include transfer of a drawing or maquette to a block of stone,
roughing out planes, structural imperatives, carving and finishing techniques,
and basic anatomy, gesture and proportion. Participants should bring a well-developed
drawing or maquette that they would like to carve in stone.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Don Ramey
"An atmosphere of exploration, inspiration,
beauty, intensity of spirit and allows for creative liberation.
There is no experience like it."
Modeling From Life - July 30-August 3
In this introductory sculpture course, we will be modeling in wet clay from a
life model as a daily hands-on process and perceptual experience. We will use
nature and the human figure as reference points and conceptual tools towards
the organization of three-dimensional form in space and the development of
an
individual symbolic language. Proportion, basic anatomy, texture and scale will
also be addressed. So as not to work in a historical vacuum, we will also investigate
contemporary sculptors in whose work modeling from life
plays a significant role.
Fee: $625 * Instructor: Marsha Pels
"Meals were excellent and I enjoyed the gathering from
all of the classes."
Steel Sculpture - July 30-August 3
Do you think of steel as an unyielding industrial material? Does it make you
think of I-beams and re-bar? In this five-day session we approach steel as a
malleable substance that takes the form of your every idea with ease. You learn
how control the flame and weld of an oxy-acetylene torch to make small solid-steel
sculptures. Larger works become possible as you hammer out sheet steel and weld
it together to create hollow-core volumes. Finally, as you grind and sand the
surface, your sculpture transcends the history of its own making and becomes
an autonomous, unified whole.
Fee: $625 * Instructor: Torin Porter
"I was ravenously hungry after a day
of concentration and each meal was an abundant, delicious surprise."
Introductory Stone Carving - August 4-5
Two full days of hand carving technique and stone carving lore introduce the
beginner to reductive art-making and three-dimensional thinking. Use of the Studio's
tools and a moderate piece of Vermont marble are included in the fee. Discussions
of safe studio practices and stone and tool sourcing help make this two-day course
an excellent initiation to the craft of stone sculpture.
Fee: $225 * Instructor: Ryder Owens
"Ryder is very helpful and considerate."
Narrative Relief Carving in Stone - August 13-17
Relief carving offers the sculptor opportunities to combine elements
of drawing with sculpture, i.e. to create illusionistic space
while also working with actual three-dimensional form. Relief
carvings by participants will be based in story- whether imagery
is based on the single figure or form, a dialogue of figure and
space or a purely narrative relief pattern. This workshop will
explore the essential subtractive methods of carving stone by
employing traditional and contemporary carving tools. Mass & space relationships, volume, surface plane & spatial
transitions and textural variety will be among the elements of
sculptural form discussed and applied to study. This workshop
is open to all levels of skill.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Jim Zingarelli
"Jim was one of the best instructors
I ever had."
Wood Sculpture - August 6-10
The possibilities of wood sculpture are endless. Carve a single form from a log,
or build out into space by carving joints or laminating. Select an interesting
piece of wood and envision the form, following its natural curves and twists.
Develop three-dimensional sculpture by establishing the planes of large forms,
then add the smaller details.
Finish the sculpture by adding textures with chisel or chainsaw. Split off sections,
burn areas, or sand to a smooth finish. Add color with paint, stains, or dyes.
Experiment with different types of protective finishes such as oil, shellac,
varnish, and lacquer. Emphasizing safety practices, demonstrations will simplify
sharpening techniques to maintain chisels. Whether rough-hewn, or finished to
a glossy shine, wood is an easily worked medium with which creative ideas can
be explored.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Mark Carroll
"Beautifully structured, nice environment."
Carve Animals in Stone - August 13-17
This course will be focused on the techniques used to carve stone animals. The
entire process from subject and stone selection to final surface finishes will
be covered. Instruction will be given on various approaches such as direct
stone carving and the use of templates. The where, when and how of using hand
and power tools will be discussed and demonstrated. The course is open to students
of all abilities. Ideally participants will bring numerous photographs of their
subject matter. Advanced students should feel free to bring a maquette or even
partially finished pieces.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Bill Nutt
"The perfect teacher - utterly expert and utterly relaxed."
The Versatility of Plaster - August 13-17
It's cheap, it can be carved or modeled, painted or pristine white, cast into
or cast out of, and best of all- immediate results! No waiting to fire clay,
or carve until you have tendonitis, or time-consuming casting. You can work big
or small, make beautiful smooth surfaces or intensely detailed textures. Final
finishing can be handled in a myriad ways- richly colored, classic white, or
emulations of other materials such as bronze and stone.
Techniques will range from casting to modeling plaster over armatures with a
host of hybrid methods in between. Slide talks showing uses of plaster in contemporary
sculpture will be woven into studio practice. Be ready to make a lot of different
kinds of plaster sculpture in five days! A fun workout with one of sculpture's
most useful materials.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Leslie Fry
Granite Carving - August 20-24
Since ancient times granite has been regarded as a noble gift
of Nature that intrigues and challenges those who seek to shape
it. This hands-on workshop will cover the full range of tools
and techniques of working granite. Instruction will cover all
aspects from stone selection through textured finishes and
final polishing. Individual instruction will accommodate all
levels of experience. An evening slide presentation will focus
on the instructor's sculpture and his own granite quarry in
the Berkshires.
Fee: $625 * Instructor: Allen Williams
Papier-Mâché Sculpture - August
20-24
The instructor will teach her personal methods of structure-building
to support papier-mâché. With traditional papier-mâché as
a goal, the workshop participants will learn a variety of ways
to create armatures and underlying supports for forming strong,
durable 3-D objects out of paper. We will learn about paper selection,
glues and surface treatments. Multiple techniques will be demonstrated.
Fee: $575 * Instructor: Joan Curtis
"Very organized."
SEPTEMBER
Introductory Stone Carving Weekend - September 8-9
Two full days of hand carving technique and stone carving lore
introduce the beginner to reductive art-making and three-dimensional
thinking. Use of the Studio's tools and a moderate piece of Vermont
marble are included in the fee. Discussions of safe studio practices
and stone and tool sourcing help make this two-day course an
excellent initiation to the craft of stone sculpture.
Fee: $225 * Instructor: Ryder Owens
"Ryder [Owens] was personable, knowledgeable,
and available when needed."
OCTOBER
Alumni Week -October 8-12
If you ever thought you would like to utilize the Carving Studio
and Sculpture Center as your own studio, this is your chance!
This week will be ideal for anyone who has taken a workshop during
the Studio's history and would like to finish a piece or start
a new one. This will also be a terrific opportunity to reconnect
with other artists and recapture the magic of earlier experiences.
Tech support and knowledgeable advice from our teaching staff
will be available throughout the week, and studio space may be
reserved either indoors or out. Participants are encouraged to
bring slides of their own work to share.
Fee: $225 * Studio Staff
"It is good to commune with your colleagues
at the table after working all day."
Introductory Stone Carving Weekend - October 20-21
Two full days of hand carving technique and stone carving lore introduce the
beginner to reductive art-making and three-dimensional thinking. Use of the
Studio's tools and a moderate piece of Vermont marble are included in the fee.
Discussions of safe studio practices and stone and tool sourcing help make
this two-day course an excellent initiation to the craft of stone sculpture.
Fee: $225 * Instructor: Bill Nutt
"The perfect teacher - utterly expert and utterly relaxed."
Phone: (802) 438-2097 Fax: (802) 438-2020 e-mail carving@vermontel.net
Website: www.carvingstudio.org
SUBMIT
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF STONE-RELATED EVENTS TO:
tomas@stonefoundation.org
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