Omega Institute, July 5-10, 2015
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Making art is about moving back and forth between order and disorder. Artists and makers are the worker bees who make and remake this order and disorder as the impulse arises. But what happens when an artist’s life is disrupted or becomes disordered through difficult events, poor health, or aging? Revisit, adjust, and align yourpassions and skills with your current life situation in this workshop guided by acclaimed rustic artist Daniel Mack. Using a slightly alchemical and Surrealist approach, we explore natural materials and new tools and techniques to develop a better understanding of our motivations and personal style at this time in our life.
We experience the surprise outcomes of working with a group and get comfortable with chance, accident, and coincidence. We practice with both logic and magic to recognize the way things speak without words. And we discover our emerging capacities through various methods of making, including carving, drilling, assemblage, sculpture, totems, land art, and writing. Questioning makers and artists of all kinds are welcome.
Daniel Mack has been working with rustic materials for more than 30 years to make furniture, architectural work, garden structures, and small, simple objects. He has written seven books on rustic work and his creations appear in many private and museum collections. danielmack.com
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. 2008 Version