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Creative with wood
“No plan, no goal, turn your head off. That’s the most important thing when being creative,” workshop leader Karlheinz Koepfer immediately recommends. At the large garden table with a view of the walnut trees, he holds a briefing before things get going. “Wood has a will of its own anyway.
If you try to force yours on him, it won’t work.” Sabine, in her early 50s, nods. The art teacher from Seligenstadt is here for the second time on the former farm in Bürstadt in Hesse. Likewise Claudia, the 35-year-old draughtswoman . Engineer Bernd, 59 , especially wants to try out the huge reservoir of tools waiting in the warehouse.
And me? I’m surprised right from the start: I wanted to choose a small piece of wood from the finds stacked in the courtyard from the forest, from the Rhine or old orchards. One that fits in the trolley case on the way back. And then a shoulder-high, moss-covered piece of driftwood whispers in my ear, “Take me!” So that’s how it is with your own will. Machines have it too. Therefore: “Always both hands on the tool, gloves on, protective goggles on.” Karlheinz guides, encourages, pays attention, sets an example: “The Flex is excellent for removing wood. But go about it gently, with a rocking motion.” We should also keep our wrists relaxed when working with the hand chisel, a kind of chisel. The chips fly, it hums, hammers, roars.
Sabine frees a long, curved piece of robinia wood from the bark, Claudia has a discussion with her rootstock. The hard yew is unruly even to the flex. Bernd is working on a hollow log and I come across something rotten under the moss. “Lumber is often a problem, but first remove everything, there’s still enough wood,” Karlheinz consoles me at brunch.
We eat homemade bread, quiche and other delicacies from wife Gaby. Then we ask the 59-year-old business economist who was fed up with numbers and turned his passion into a career five years ago:
Why does he advise, for example, not to work objectively? “Because wanting and being able to diverge quickly and that can be frustrating. Because abstract sculptures are open to different interpretations and thus stimulate the imagination.” Why do so many more women book than men? “Because ‘beautiful’ alone is usually not enough for men. They want something with purpose.” And what about this being addictive? We would have to find out for ourselves, he says. In the end we all agree on the answer: Because we forget time and space so quickly. Because it’s so much fun. And because we are all a little bit in love with a piece of wood that has a lot to do with us.
Info: Weekend workshop from Fri 2 p.m. to Sun 2 p.m., from 250 euros.
Weekly workshop Tue, Wed, Thu 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 350 euros. Incl. brunch, coffee and cake. Accommodation in hotels or apartments in the area. Maximum 6 participants.
Edelweiss carving in Bad Gandersheim
Delicate blossoms made of linden wood
Participants don’t need to bring anything apart from the desire to carve: Linden wood and carving knives are ready when August Schmitt introduces the art of edelweiss carving. With his day courses, he is reviving an old handicraft. Woodcutters used to carve the delicate blossoms. Today more and more women, but especially men, are interested in it. Although most people are not used to holding a chip carving knife in their hands, after eight hours some beautiful edelweiss have emerged. “Everyone can then continue on their own – wood and knives are everywhere,” says August Schmitt.
stone sculptors in the Homburg region
create sculptures
The joy of form brings people together who want to try stone carving. In good weather, preferably in a clearing between spruce and pine trees in Friedenthal in the Bergisches Land. The sculptor and restorer Rainer Pape and his wife Corinna have turned the old knife factory next to it into a creative meeting place.
A quiet, idyllic and inspiring place to give new shape to blocks of lime, tuff, sandstone or marble. Rainer Pape guides the maximum of ten course participants, encourages timid newcomers, shows how to use tools and can tell many exciting things about stones and their processing. For example, how to get a sharp edge. Before the hands become lame from hammering and knocking, it’s time to “pause!”. Then Corinna Pape takes care of the well-being of the craftsmen. With lunch from the organic farm next door, with snacks and drinks. And when the work is done with cheese and a good red wine. Outside in the summer, where the wild sheep graze around the brick house and only the murmuring brook can be heard. And the satisfied sighs of the course participants: “Tomorrow I may have to file something away here…”
Natural art in Scotland
Built on sand
Colors, shapes, different textures – nature provides everything that art needs. That is why stones, sand, clay, shells, driftwood, leaves and berries are the starting materials for the course, which is called “LandArt”. The backdrop to the works is the landscape of the Morayshire coast in northern Scotland. There the participants collect the ingredients on the beach, in the forest or by the river and use them to create their objects. Every day at a different place in nature. Beautiful – and ephemeral.
For course instructor Dietmar Voorwold, this is exactly what makes it so appealing: “We let our intuition guide us, use light and shadow, the tides and experience the rhythm of nature with them. It is an emergence and passing away, a creation of beauty and finally letting go.” However, the works should not be forgotten, which is why the course ends with a photo exhibition. Accommodation is provided by the Findhorn Foundation, a famous 50-year-old alternative living community in Cluny Hill College, a Victorian house.
Felting in swords
Funny menagerie
Whoever enters the old, colorless Ergst train station building has no idea what a cheerful, colorful world opens up to them on the first floor.
Greetings are pink piglets, bright blue rays, mice with purple loops in their ears, grass-green snails with light blue antennae and other creatures, all of whom have an infectious smile on their faces: “filzfrieda’s” menagerie. Katrin Schulz designed the creatures, and anyone who attends her felting courses can be inspired by these lively creations. “Felting is an almost meditative process,” explains the trained graphic designer.
The six to seven course participants first smooth out the unspun merino wool, which has been made supple with soapy water, and then knead it vigorously to finally shape it into a cheerful felt creature. After just two hours, even inexperienced users can look forward to a felt lantern. Bags or school cones take a little longer, as people work on them for up to eight hours. But, as Katrin Schulz hears again and again: “I would have imagined it would be more difficult.”
Processing leather in Austria
With rotary knife and stamping tool
Renata Bock is passionate about old handicraft techniques. She passes on her knowledge of metals, weaving and, above all, leather in workshops. Her leather jewelery combines old technology with modern design – whatever you like is allowed.
And whether a participant wants to work a snake on his belt or make a bag for his laptop – the main thing is that he has fun. “Stamping” is the name of the technique in which patterns are pressed into the natural leather with the help of modeling and stamping irons and rotary knives. When the weather is nice, everyone works outside, otherwise the Bocksche Hof on the outskirts of Oberfellabrunn in the Weinviertel offers large rooms with former stables. And if you like it hearty, you can pitch your tent in the garden.
Mosaic place in France
Colorful pieces
In Susanne Struck’s large, light-flooded studio, newcomers are amazed: Tiles in bright orange and red tones, in shades of blue and bright green, yellow and violet are stacked up here. In addition, precious items such as marble, glass and porcelain. All material for the next few days. The mosaic designers will use these to draw a design for the mirror frame, table top or tray, get used to tile cutters, glue, hammer and pliers and, last but not least, be happy about a successful work of art. The weekly course in Burgundy flies by. At lunchtime, the four apprentices have a delicious meal on the table, prepared by husband Jan Elias.
The couple have restored an old farm in Brazey en Morvan with great attention to detail.
Students can rest in their pretty rooms, but also among the lavender beds in the garden. Or you can explore the meadow-rich surroundings on bicycles. Luckily, the tile adhesive needs its drying time.
Terrazzo design in Italy
From the same mould
Small tabletops are particularly popular. Beginners in Christian Schöning’s terrazzo course can complete one within the four course days. A sense of achievement, precisely because the work on the terrazzo slab only takes four to five hours a day. After all, we are in Italy. And have vacation! Terrazzo is a stone casting process in which pieces or shards of clay, cement of various grain sizes and pieces of colored mosaic are used. Christian Schöning, ceramist and sculptor: “It’s not as exhausting as some think. And after all, I’m always there.”
On the days when the clay is burning or the casting has to dry, there is enough time to explore the oak forests, olive groves and meadows around the old country house Casa Colle Cedro in the Marche.
The workshop participants live here, cook together in the guest kitchen, work inside or outside, and in summer they cool off with a dip in the small pool. “We always wanted to live and work together,” say Christian Schöning and his wife Michaela. In their courses with a maximum of eight people interested in art, they offer not only terrazzo but also ceramics, stone carving and painting.
Tip: It is best to travel by car so that the tabletop arrives home undamaged.
Glass melting in Austria
They shine in the light
Splinters, shards, cut pieces, ground powder – all made of colored glass: the five participants in the “Glass Fusing” course at Schlierbach Monastery work with this material.
And what is created under their hands? Frequently glass pictures that shine in the sun in front of the window. But first they have to be put in the kiln at 800 degrees after they have been assembled. During this time, the course participants take a break, look around the monastery courtyard, visit the adjoining cheese dairy or go for a coffee in the little village of Schlierbach in the Kremstal. The visitors live in simple, but functionally furnished rooms – bell ringing included.
Weaving in Wendland
With hand and foot Alone the vocabulary of weaving must first become familiar: warp, weft, strand, reed, warp, beam. And then the coordination of the left and right hand when the shuttle is pushed back and forth.
Well, and first the feet! No wonder that during the weaving courses in the workshop in the small village of Kukate, two hours south-east of Hamburg, it is mostly quiet as a mouse and only the clacking of the wood of the loom and ship can be heard. “Table runners or guest towels are the most popular practice pieces,” says Inge Seelig, who runs the small courses. Those who immerse themselves in the work find their own rhythm, as the artisan has often experienced.
“That’s where the initial fear goes.” And finally you can relax in between in the cobblestone courtyard under the thick chestnut trees, watch the chickens pecking and have a chat with other artisans. If you want, you can stay in one of the individually furnished, nice rooms, take care of yourself in the guest kitchen and fulfill your dream of country life and original craftsmanship, at least for a few days.
