BIRDS, BEES AND BUTTERFLIES WITH GEOFFREY GORMAN
June 3-5, 2024 - Port Orchard, WA
Take flight while learning how to build a variety of curious winged creatures with Geoffrey Gorman
During this workshop with Geoffrey, be prepared to let go of conventional building techniques and traditional methods of designing while learning how to build a flying creature.
Using a wide variety of cast off materials and unorthodox construction, we will design, assemble and bring to life a curious menagerie. We will learn how to make bodies, legs and wings from an assortment of materials including wood, wire, bike tires and odds and ends.
Each participant will be given a wooden bird form to create their first creature. For the rest of the workshop anything goes, let your imagination go wild!
TECHNIQUES
Hand tool use
Basic woodworking
Unusual construction techniques
Carving wood
MATERIALS
Wood
Lost and found stuff
ephemera
OUTCOMES
A new approach to the creative practice
Working intuitively with mixed media
Expanding visual vocabulary
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
This three-day workshop encourages students to experiment with innovative and intuitive ways of creating a variety of flying creatures using wood and found and recycled materials. Students are invited to think about subjects, shapes and forms that hold particular interest and bring these ideas to the workshop for realization.
Using unusual techniques developed by Geoffrey to overcome construction challenges, each student will complete a variety of creatures, something they want to create. This class is perfect for beginners seeking an introduction to creating curious objects as well as intermediate and advanced students wishing to reach the next level and break out of their comfort zone.
Bellissima Art Studio
This Escapes Includes
Three days of lessons from Geoffrey
Three lunches and one dinner
Carved bird
Some supplies
The cost of this workshop is $800. A non-refundable $500 deposit is due upon registering. The remaining $300 is due February 3, 2024.
Port Orchard is the site for the workshop. The location is 9 miles north of Gig Harbor, WA which is listed as one of the most desirable cities in the US to visit (or live). It is located south of Seattle, across the Narrows Bridge on Hwy 16.
The Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter stops in Gig Harbor and in Port Orchard.
There are many Arbnbs and B&Bs in the area. A list of accommodations will be provided if requested
Daily Schedule
Monday, June 3. Meet in the studio at 9:30 for introductions and Geoffrey will go over the workshop schedule. Stop for lunch, then continue working until 4:30-5.
Tuesday, June 4. Meet in the studio at 9:30, break for lunch, continue working, then we will stop for appetizers and dinner.
Wednesday, June 5. Meet in the studio at 9:30, finish up projects stopping for lunch. Finish up any last minute additions to your bird(s), then we will clean up and have a Show ‘N Tell. The workshop is over at 4:30
We will Provide
Power drills
wood blocks
Drill bits
Hammers
Screwdrivers
Bicycle tires and inner tubes
Gel medium
Krylon Clear spray
Artists Supply List
Two 5” threaded rods with nuts and washers
Old tin cans
Set of carving tools
Utility knife
Geoffrey Gorman was born in Paris, France, but eventually moved to and grew up on an old horse farm in the countryside near Baltimore, Maryland. The dilapidated architecture and abandoned quarries of his childhood influence and inspire the found material sculptures the artist creates today. Gorman has worked as a contemporary furniture designer, gallery dealer, curator, and art consultant before becoming a full-time professional artist. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in China and South Korea. Gorman’s work is in public and private collections, including the Racine Art Museum; the University of Colorado Boulder, CO; and Delta Airlines. His work has been published in the New York Post, Southwest Art, American Craft, American Style, and Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Geoffrey Gorman currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Kathie Vezzani is a mixed media artist who loves anything rusty. She rusts, paints and uses encaustic and cold wax in her practice. She also creates mixed media sculptures. In her spare time, she organizes workshops for other artists. She will be hosting this workshop in her new studio.