Women in Trades Week
ACBA is hosting a week-long celebration with current women artisan and craftsmen that are masters in their fields. They will be conducting workshops, demonstrations, and a panel discussion. These courses are open to both students and the public.
All courses are suitable for all skill levels. Tuition, material fees, and class capacity vary.
Forged Fashion
January 6 - 10
Tuition: $550
Forged fashion is open to beginner as well as advanced students. The class is based around creating something to be worn on the chest or neck: it could be a neckpiece, chest piece or maybe both. We work with combining different forging and forming techniques using bar stock as well as sheet metal (sometimes copper). The focus of the class is to get students to create an individual piece inspired by the demonstrations during the class. I like to incorporate leather into the pieces to make them more wearable. Feel free to contact me before the class if you have a specific wearable project in mind.
Professor: Ellen Durkan
Ellen is an artist blacksmith who creates forged fashion. Her interest in fashion grew from her fascination with metal forming and forging. She combines art, blacksmithing, and fashion. Ellen grew up in Wilmington Delaware, went to undergrad for art and then continued on to get an MFA in sculpture. She got into forging from the decorative and design sides of things instead of the functional and utilitarian option. Her current "wearable series" started as stationary dress cages with complete with shoes; Ellen would place nude women in them as a performance, and then remove them in front of the crowd. This led to her current growing performance runway like series: Forged Fashion. The pieces she creates challenge craftsmanship and pose dynamic psychological questions. Creating the pieces to be “wearable and adjustable” adds a bit of a challenge.
Decorative Wood Carving for Historic Interiors
January 6 - 10
Tuition: $550, but students will need a carving set, see description for more information
Join European-trained woodcarver Mary May to learn the techniques of traditional relief carving. She will teach the skills that have been used for centuries, starting with how to carve in the correct grain direction, how to sharpen tools, and how to carve several traditional designs into shallow relief. In this 5-day class Mary will walk you through a variety of skill techniques, tool safety, and several complete projects. These projects will include floral designs, classical shells and fans, and the traditional acanthus leaf. Students will also learn how to carve architectural molding such as bead, rope, and egg & dart. Students are responsible for bringing a carving tool set, or they can be purchased at https://www.chippingaway.com/cat/hand-woodcarving-tools-accessories/mary-may-carving-tool-sets/.
Professor: Mary May
Mary May is a self-employed woodcarver in Charleston, SC, with more than 27 years of professional experience in carving architectural ornament, custom furniture, and sculpture. She originally studied with master woodcarver Konstantinos Papadakis in Minneapolis, and later furthered her skills in England, Greece, and Malaysia. Mary has been a featured guest on the PBS series “The Woodwright’s Shop” four times and teaches woodcarving classes throughout the U.S. and in Europe. She has an online video school with over 400 instructional videos, has written a variety of woodcarving articles for national publications, and is the author of Carving the Acanthus Leaf (Lost Art Press, 2018). Mary’s website is marymaycarving.com.
Introduction to Stained Glass Skills, Materials, and Techniques
January 6 - 10
Tuition: $550
Daniella Peltz, an expert stained-glass artisan and restorer based in the New York City area, will teach a one-week, intensive course introducing the basics of stained-glass design, construction and conservation, with an emphasis on hands-on experience. The body of the course will include the following: layout, patterning, glass selection and cutting, leading and copper foil construction, waterproofing, basic glass painting and staining (demoed), as well as studio and materials safety and hazard mitigation. There will also be a short, visual introduction to the history of stained-glass techniques and design, with a bibliography for (optional) further reading.
Each student will complete one standard project using clear glass, copper foil and lead came, which will demonstrate their knowledge of all of the requisite stained-glass skills. In addition, if there is time at the end of the course, students will complete a personal project, a rectangular panel of no more than 20 inches in any one dimension. Students are invited to bring their own design with them, which the instructor will help them realize in stained glass, or they may select a pattern from one proved by the instructor. Finally, if there is time at the end of the course, each student will learn some basic stained glass repair and reinforcement techniques.
Professor: Daniella Peltz
Daniella Peltz is a stained-glass artisan, conservator and consultant with twenty-five years of experience in the field. After receiving her BA in Art History from Vassar College in 1991, she worked for a law firm for a couple years while trying to figure out what to do with her life. In 1993 she discovered the St. Ann Center for Restoration and the Arts in Brooklyn, NY, where she volunteered to help work on the historic stained glass contained in the National Historic Landmark Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity. After a year she was offered a place in their paid, three-year apprenticeship training program, which she completed in 1997. On finishing her apprenticeship, she was able to travel for six months in Europe, with internships at several private and cathedral stained glass studios, through a fellowship from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
During the course of her stained glass career Daniella has been fortunate to be able to actively participate in all aspects of the fabrication of new stained glass installations, as well as the conservation of historic stained glass windows from the 12th through the 21st centuries, with private studios and museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In 2012, Daniella earned her Master’s Degree in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management from the University of York in the United Kingdom. Since receiving her MA, Daniella has concentrated much of her energy on providing stained glass consultation services to buildings and their stakeholders throughout the United States, while continuing to work on smaller, hands-on stained-glass projects for private clients.
Carving Traditional Springerle Cookie Molds (Special Schedule: 3 Day Class)
January 13 - 15
Tuition: $550, but students will need a carving set, see description for more information
Join professional woodcarver, Mary May, in learning the fun techniques of carving traditional German and Dutch cookie molds (springerle and speculaas). Remember the dutch windmill cookies? These are hand-carved wooden molds made in a variety of designs including gingerbread figures, animals, flowers and windmills. These cookie molds are carved into the wood where the designs are in reverse so the when the cookies are pressed into the mold, they are shaped correctly when removed. This is a beginning carving class, and will be both fun and challenging. Students are responsible for bringing a carving tool set, or they can be purchased at https://www.chippingaway.com/cat/hand-woodcarving-tools-accessories/mary-may-carving-tool-sets/.
Professor: Mary May
Mary May is a self-employed woodcarver in Charleston, SC, with more than 27 years of professional experience in carving architectural ornament, custom furniture, and sculpture. She originally studied with master woodcarver Konstantinos Papadakis in Minneapolis, and later furthered her skills in England, Greece, and Malaysia. Mary has been a featured guest on the PBS series “The Woodwright’s Shop” four times and teaches woodcarving classes throughout the U.S. and in Europe. She has an online video school with over 400 instructional videos, has written a variety of woodcarving articles for national publications, and is the author of Carving the Acanthus Leaf (Lost Art Press, 2018). Mary’s website is marymaycarving.com.
Introduction to Silversmithing (Special Schedule: 4 Day Class)
January 13 - 16
Tuition: $550
Learn basic silversmithing techniques with this beginner’s class that does not require experience. The centuries old method of forming and fabricating sheet silver to create objects will be the focus of this week long course. Traditional silversmith hollowing, hammering, forming, and fabrication techniques will be taught in order to create a silver box. Additional beginner’s techniques will be explored through piercing, filing, soldering, and finishing.
Professor: Kaminer Haislip
Kaminer Haislip, originally from Aiken, SC, earned her BFA in Jewelry and Metals and MFA in Silversmithing from Winthrop University where she studied under Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed English silversmith. Kaminer designs and creates functional objects and jewelry in her Charleston studio. In addition to her work as an artist, she is frequently commissioned to create custom designs in silver and gold. Her award-winning work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and featured in over sixty publications.
Restoring and Maintaining Period Furniture
January 13 - 17
Tuition: $550
This full-immersion hands-on class will focus on each student’s own restoration project. The instructor’s inspection and evaluation will begin the process of repairing and cleaning each piece of student furniture. Every step will be guided by the Master Restorer Russell Buskirk. Lectures and digital presentations on selected subjects will expand the study material. Students will also learn from other student’s various project instructions.
With luck, some skill, and commitment; a small project or two might be completed by the end of the class. Students will be encouraged to continue more extensive projects; with continued support and advice after the class has ended.
Professor: Russell Buskirk
Russell Buskirk has over thirty years’ experience in furniture restoration. He is a Master Woodworker and Master Restorer. He has worked on pieces in the collections of MESDA, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Charleston Museum, The John Rivers Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of
Art. His attention to detail established the quality and historically accurate standards for restorations in Charleston. In 1994, he established his own shop, Buskirk Restorations, Inc. He was commissioned to reproduce five pieces of furniture for the newly restored Charleston County Courthouse and received the Samuel Gaillard Stoney award from Historic Charleston Foundation. Russell received another Samuel Gaillard Stoney award for his work on the Winter Antique Show 2011 Loan Exhibition Booth.
He served on the MESDA Advisory Board from 2005 until 2011, and has also been a member of AIC, Charleston Library Society, Decorative Arts Trust, Friends of Drayton Hall, Friends of MESDA, and the South Carolina Historical Society. Russell joined the Charleston Artist Guild in 2006 and is an Exhibiting Member in Art and Photography. He served as Director of Exhibitions from 2008 to 2014.