design+craft WORKSHOPS
Summer, 2012
Artist and Woodworker Laura Yeats now offers her design+craft WORKSHOPS exclusively at The Stables on Orcas Island.
The Wood Bowl
From a Tree to Your Table
Learn the tools and techniques to make beautiful bowls from reclaimed local hardwood trees. In these private, one-on-one woodworking sessions you will learn the fundamentals of using a wood lathe for green bowl turning. More importantly, you will gain an understanding of wood characteristics and the principles of good form in bowl design.
This Workshop is designed for one adult at any skill level and beginners are welcome. Two adults can be accommodated in the Companion Workshops where one session is together and the remaining sessions are individual. The Workshop can be customized for returning students that wish to work on larger or more complex forms.
Turning green wood is so much fun and I am sure you will find it as addictive and rewarding as I do! My students appreciate the stress-relief they experience while working at the lathe and they leave the studio feeling relaxed and inspired. -Laura Yeats
The Stables - Orcas Island, WA
The Stables is a private woodworking studio on beautiful Orcas Island. The converted old horse barn is situated between a native forest of fir, cedar and madrone trees and wide open pasture. Expansive pastoral and marine views enhance this idyllic rural setting. The stalls now provide well-equipped studio space for the resident artist and for workshops. Turn the workshop into a a retreat experience and stay on site. Students may camp or stay in one of the barn’s Loft Rooms.
The Workshop|Retreats provide a unique enhancement to an island vacation. The workshops are a comprehensive immersion in design, materials and craft. Students explore the qualities and nuances of natural materials, learn principles of form and design, and of course, develop fine craft.
The Workshops are taught using thoughtful and sustainable methods and practices. The primary source of wood for these workshops is from trees that grew and died on the island, such as the standing dead Pacific Madrone and storm fallen trees like Douglas Fir and Alder. Woodworking methods are more traditional, emphasizing hand skills and the use of simpler tools and equipment.
