On a Whim by Klaus Bürgel and Sayumi Yokouchi

You know how to saw and how to use a file. Soldering is not an issue. Obviously, you enjoy making things by using your hands, but you are feeling lost and stuck. Feeling isolated or out of touch? Wondering what the hell it is you are doing, and how to generate new ideas?
This workshop is for you.

On a whim we put on our shoes and go for a walk. On a whim we decide to visit a friend, look for a job, travel someplace, to do something that is out of the norm, different, unexpected. On a whim, describes that brief moment where courage overtakes fear and the heart overrules the mind. 

On a whim we decided to offer a four-day workshop for people working in metal, wood, or fiber who look for discourse, inspiration and community. Both of us have been working as artists, jewelers and teachers for over twenty years in the United States and abroad, and know how confusing it is to not be able to identify with one’s work.
This workshop allows participants to work with hybrid aesthetics and a wide range of materials to achieve new results. Our aim is to encourage your ambitious curiosity, provide support, and offer context for your experiments. During this four-day workshop, hands will be busy while the mind wanders.

Of particular interest will be the distinction between ‘natural object’ (as ‘authentic object’ of ‘prime source’) and the objects ‘man’ creates, which we generally understand as ‘artifacts’.

We will propose a number of projects for participants to sharpen awareness for materials, techniques and processes, and establish new ways to connect with the world in a fearless manner.
 

Teachers

Klaus Bürgel
Born near the southern boarder of Germany, Bürgel received his MFA from the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, Germany. Of his own work he writes: “I’m searching for a dialog with the material. I prefer to use materials, which do not like to talk, materials that are shy, locked up in them selves. Their silent power is driving me crazy. I try everything to make them open their mouth, everything to make them talk to me”. He lives and works in New York and Westport, MA. He is currently teaching at the New York State Univeristy (NYU) New York, NY; Prior teaching includes: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Maine College of Art, Portland, ME; Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC; UMass Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA; California College of Art, Oakland, CA; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; and Parsons School of Design, NY.


Sayumi Yokouchi
Sayumi Yokouchi was born and raise in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to the US in 1990, began her practice in metalsmithing at Cabrillo College in California. She earned her BFA in Metal Arts from California College of the Arts, followed by MFA in Metal Arts from State University of New York in New Paltz. She has taught at many metals programs and given seminars and workshops, including Cranbrook Academy of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Penland School of Craft, Hong Kong Design Institute, Contemporary jewelry Workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Japan, among other schools, most recently Walka studio in Santiago, Chile, Atelier Rudee in Bangkok, Thailand.
She’s a teaching faculty in the Art Department at New York University in Manhattan.

Dates and price

Dates: June 1^st – 4^th, 2017

Prices: 4-day workshop fee: $475.00 including accommodations, food & drinks (there will be additional $25 per night per room in Klaushaus). There also is the possibility to sleep in tents as well as in a communal bedroom (No charge, tents are not provided). Bedrooms are available on a first come first serve basis. Please ask.

Deposit: Upon acceptance, please make a deposit (registration fee) of  $250.00 to secure your spot. Payment information will be mailed to you. The remaining balance is due by May 25, 2017. Registration fee is not refundable.

Number of participants: 8 – 12. Registrations are processed in the order in which they are received.

Conditions

Participants are asked to bring materials of any kind:
Packing supplies, such as strings, ropes, tape, tread, yarn, staples, rubber band, adhesive, etc. Basic jewelry hand tool set.

Language: English.