Exploring the
Rustic Tradition
at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, Kingston, NY
Rustic Bench Building
Saturday, October 8, 2016 9am-5pm
Join rustic builder Daniel Mack for this exploration of the tools, techniques and design challenges of building furniture and sculptures from sticks, log, and -- especially here in Kingston--driftwood. Mack brings unusual tools, finished projects, books and portfolios to look over.
No woodworking experience is needed but even skilled builders will enjoy the unique challenges of building rustic. This workshop is suitable for children working with an adult. All makers are encouraged to bring pictures and samples of their work.
Select and shape a 3’ piece of slab wood and create four legs which are mortised and tenoned into the slab and wedged and glued in place.
Mack will discuss finishing options for rustic work. (Bring a battery-operated drill and sander if you have one)
$175/day 10 people maximum
Daniel Mack has been making and teaching rustic for 30 years, helping artists, carpenters and curious new learners work with natural materials. His many books on making rustic have defined the field.
TEACHING BIOS
Daniel Mack has been working with sticks, saplings, logs, bark and driftwood for 25 years to make furniture, rustic architectural elements and small, simple objects. He has written five books on the techniques and attitudes of working rustic. He has learned about the 'language' of natural materials which he shares in this workshop, "Rustic is really a way of saying something about beauty, nature, longing and your place in the world. It's much more than just furniture".
Dan introduces the basic construction techniques and tools of rustic work as you work on your own projects. This workshop is excellent for people who have never used a drill or a hammer. But experienced builders and craftspeople will be surprised and challenged by the subtleties of the rustic ways of making things. You can expect to make two or three things during the course.
Daniel Mack is committed to sharing information about working with natural materials. Besides his writing, he has been teaching and about this for more 25 years...at The Omega Institute, his own studio, the Woodlanders Gatherings and various arts and crafts centers and healing centers. He's organized an Arts-in-Healthcare Seminar and has recently started Arts in Nature, a custom-workshop service for organizations interested in deepening their experience of nature and human nature. Dan has begun on-line creativity workshops and salons with people around the world. He is developing what he calls: Wayward Psychology, an approach to well-being through making.
