Introduction to Working Rustic
Daniel Mack guides you through the process of designing and building with branches, saplings and other natural materials. He introduces ways of thinking about designs which honor both the materials and the artist…. He teaches a variety of techniques for joining natural materials together with simple tools. This is a workshop for both the Playful and the Practical. You build a 12" high "trophy" chair which has all the mortise and tenon joints and design challenges of larger scale furniture… And for those wanting to escape the tyranny of utility, there is a supply of bark and driftwood to shape into rattles, wands, talking sticks, walking sticks, utensils, jewelry and other forms of decoration and adornment.
Spring and Fall      One Day     Cost $125/day

Rustic Tutorial at Daniel Mack's Studio:
This is a 1 or 3 or 5 day workshop for practicing artists, woodworkers, contractors,craftspeople and anyone with good hand-eye skills and experience with basic tools. It is held at Dan’s workshop in Warwick so you have access to the common and specialized tools and materials in his shop and barn. It is a brisk infusion of energy and ideas into your work.. In addition to the making of furniture, you will gather information, develop ideas and experiment with tools and materials for work n your own shop and... meet other people interested in the same work.
Limit 7 people      Spring and Fall      Cost: $125/day

Building Rustic Garden Structures  NEW in Summer 2007!

Daniel Mack introduces the attitudes and basic construction techniques and tools of rustic work, as we learn by working together on large scale garden structures—one or two arbors, a pergola and a playful garden folly -which all stay at Omega-  and smaller-scale garden elements such as trellises or garden gates. (Plan ahead on how to transport this home.)

Excellent for people who have never used a drill or a hammer, this workshop will also surprise and challenge experienced builders and craftspeople as they encounter the subtleties of the rustic ways of making things.

Writing Skills for Artists and Craftspeople              

Versatile writing skills are more important than ever.  Small business people, artists and craftspeople especially need the skills to write press releases, artists statements, short bios and short, clear descriptions of products and services for websites and promotion. This workshop introduces the basics of writing, finding appropriate “voices” and editing. There are handouts, discussion, in-class exercises and at-home practices.

Three meetings, 2 hours each plus email contact                              $120

Exploring Personal Creativity   2-hour workshop every month

Daniel Mack is the author of seven books, many articles and a successful artisan from Warwick, NY.  He is a former broadcast journalist, Assistant Professor of Communications at Fordham University and member of the faculty at the Graduate Program in Media Studies at The New School for Social Research.                                       Please contact Dan before registering

Pending Workshops: Working with Birch Bark, Free-Form Carving from Bark. Business practices for artists and craftspeople

Suggested Tools and Supplies:
For convenience, people are encouraged, but not required, to bring some of their own tools and supplies. A workshop is a great opportunity to use different tools BEFORE you decide what to buy:

DRILL: electric with extension cord or cordless with extra battery.

BITS: Brad point bits or spade bits… both have tips to hold a place in round wood. (The Black and Decker Bullet set and Irwin Speebore bits 5/8" and 3/4")

SAW: Like the Stanley Shortcut or a folding camping saw from Fiskars, Florian, Stihl, Coghlan's

PRUNING CLIPPERS: Like ratchet clippers by Florian. 157 Water St. Southington, CT (800 275 3618)

KNIFE: Any easy-to-hold knife is OK. Not a Swiss Army Knife

OTHER STUFF: work gloves, safety glasses, Band-Aids to prevent blisters…

BRING: Natural materials you've collected o share with others and pictures of work you do or admire.

SPECIALIZED TOOLS: Take a look at the Tenon Cutters from Lee Valley. For chairs, I use the 5/8 " and 3/4"; for beds I use the 1 1/2" and 2".

WORKING RUSTIC                           3-day workshop with Daniel Mack

$360    limit 7 people                           at Dan's studio/shop in Warwick, NY

               
Daniel Mack has been working with sticks, saplings, logs, bark and driftwood for 25 years to make furniture, architectural work, garden structures 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“

He 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.

TO REGISTER: Send a $100 Deposit and a brief statement about your interests, experience and expectations for the workshop to             Daniel Mack   14 Welling Ave   Warwick, NY 10990

TO PREPARE:  enjoy looking through Dan’s five books, his website, www.danielmack.com

and work by Andy Goldsworthy, Chris Drury, Patrick Dougherty, David Nash and Nils Udo.

TO BRING: Materials/tools are supplied, but you are encouraged to bring some of your own tools and local materials to share

Where to Stay??

Warwick Motel  5 minutes away        845 986 4822   Ask for special Workshop rate...

Holiday Inn Express, Chester, NY,  20 minutes away       845 469 3000

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
First Day                                                                    

9          Tour studio, Discuss materials/tools,(Checklist)                                  

10-12    Intro 12” Trophy Chair to get practice with joints, tools, sticks                                                       

Lunch       Slide Talk: Dictionary of Rustic

Work                                                                                       

2-5          Tools/Technique Demo 1 (see Checklist)

              Finish Chair and Discuss possible projects

till 10pm  Studio open; Videos available 

Second Day

9-10         Tools/Techniques Demo 2

              Discuss next project: Child’s Chair 22” high, Cedar Bench?                              

11            Possible Field Trip to Doll Lumber/Laroe Sawmill                                                                     

Lunch       Slide Discussion: Variations of Rustic Objects                                                                            

1-2           Tools/Techniques Demo 3    Woods Walk

2-5          Continue Projects

till 10pm    Studio Open for Work or Play

Third Day

9-10         Tools/Techniques Demo 4

10-12        Project Work

Lunch       Slide Discussion:  Inspirations of Rustic Work  

1-2           Tools/Techniques Demo 5

2-5          Finish Projects       

HANDOUTS

A man’s work is nothing more than to rediscover, through the detours of art, those one or two images in the presence of which his heart first opened.”                                             Albert Camus

CHECKLIST of Course Elements

Goals       Increased facility with tools and techniques, Better understanding of personal sense of design,                 motivations for Making, appreciation for breadth--the “grammar”-- of natural materials 

Tools:      General Set-up Tables, lights, storage, heat, safety, air cleaning, Safety Glasses                    

Drills:               1/2”, 3/8” corded, battery, “keyless chuck”

Drill Bits         Varieties, uses

Drill Press:       floor, table model, Use of V Blocks, shims

Cutting:             Saws: Hand  folding, Circular, Reciprocating, Jig

                     Chain Saw(s) Gas, electric, battery, Chop Saw, safety, blocking

Tenon Cutter:    stationary, changing heads, adjusting blades, safety  portable(Lee Valley): methods of use

                     Alternatives: Hand Cutting, Chisels, hole saws, grinders  Antique Tools: hollow auger, spoke pointer, Rounder

Holding             Hands in Gloves Vises, Clamp, extensions, bungees, Shaving Horse: and drawknife/spokeshave

Finishing          Rationale(s) + Grinders, Dremel, Sanders: Random Orbital, etc   Sandpaper: grits, backings

Specialised       Arbortech Carvers

Techniques:

Construction:     Mortise/Tenon, Wedged Tenons  Mechanicals: rationale, screws,(trims, timberloks...)

                     Chemical: Glues          Varieties, conditions for use

Alternative Joinery: Gravity, wire string, wax, Velcro,

Bark Applique    handling, adhesion, trimming, finish

Finishing          Oils, stains, lye, vinegar, Sealers: oils, water-based, wipe-ons, Waxing

Woods              Identifying, Acquiring, Harvesting, Peeling, Storing Drying and Kilns and Bugs

Country Woodworking:   Froe, Hatchet, Drawknife, Spoke Shave shaving Horse

Seating             Seat Weaving, Upholstery

Tricks & Tips    markers, paints, plugs, dirt, acorns, leveling legs

Menu of Possible Projects                                                   Time to allow

Trophy chair, about 12” high                                               4-6 hrs            

Simple Bench with 1 ¼” mortise and tenon joints                  4 hrs

Imaginal, Ephemeral and Sculptural Objects,  “Smalls”  Toys    10 minutes to a lifetime

Site Work,  done and left in the woods         

Willow Deer, Peach Pit Work, Yard Scampers

Counter Stool, driftwood legs                                            8 hrs

Child’s arm chair, about 22” high                                        6 hrs

Adult arm/side chair                                                          10-12 hours

Headboard                                                                       3 hrs

Table structure:                                                                4-6 hrs

Garden Structures or Furniture                                           3 hrs+

White Birch Bark over purchased casework                          2 hrs+

FOR SALE: Books, Birch Bark, old and new tools

Human nature loves heartily well-balanced irregularity and longs for it in life, in character, and in almost everything else        Calvert Vaux  Villa and Cottage Architecture 1864, (1991 Dover Reprint)

Available Materials: 

Dry Sticks with Bark and Peeled, Planks for Tables, Driftwood

Exotics: White Birch Bark, Burls, Found Objects

Other Natural Materials:  stones, bones, feathers, soil, water, nests, copper,

Discussion concepts and terms     Ways to Think about Rustic:

geometry/nature, order/chaos, mater/pater, understructure/over structure  copy another piece

Start from intuition: texture, size, material, technique... what wants to speak through you?

Related Topics

wabi-sabi, moodling, The Imagination: Mythic, Alchemical, Archetypal  punctum/ “feeling in”   Home Altars Politics of

Organic Model. Green Man./Al Khdir  and the Technical Model   Nature-Time-Patience are 3 great healers

“Other” Activities/Exercises       to honor the “other” workshop

Be Alert to moods, coincidences, annoyances, animals, insects, weather, sleep

Tree Id/Woods Walks             Watching people                    Looking at Slides and Videos   

Build a Hut                            Collecting Materials      Read Design Books       Field Trips                 

Visiting Sawmills                               Drawing                                Haiku/Senru Poetry           Mud Painting              

Dancing with Sticks                 Utensils                                Kinetics                                found/arranged            

Gifts for Others                              “Smalls” and Toys        Land-Based Arrangement       

Objects reflecting various techniques/materials                     Collaborate, Assist, Be Assisted          

Gift for your least preferred s’elf (your embarrassment, addiction, weakness)

www.woodlanders.com               www.rusticfurnituremakers.com          

WARWICK, NY’s Points of Rustic Interest for Possible Side Trips                

Within 20 minutes

Appalachian Trail/6000 yr old quarry    A few massive ancient trees deep in the woods         

Black Dirt farming region                  Sugarloaf, NY, “Village of Craftspeople”                             

Pacem in Terris Meditation Center      Bamboo Grove to cut in        

Bowling Alley/Drive In Theater                      Chestnut Log Homes in Greenwood Lake, NY  (from 1950s)

Unusual Saw mills, Florida, NY and Sugarloaf, NY

40 minutes

Storm King Art Center has an exceptional collection of outdoor sculptures + Andy Goldsworthy

Dia Art Center, Beacon, NY  exceptional modern art in a 240,000 sq ft facility

Bear Mt Inn where Dan has installed several benches at Hessian Lake

80 minutes   

New York City           

Dan’s Dutchess County Studio in Wingdale, NY at Webatuck Village