Site Title
On a whim
2017
in Westport
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, 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.
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.
Participants are asked to bring:
Preferably inexpensive materials and any kind of packaging supplies, such as strings, ropes, tapes, threads, yarns, staples, papers, wires, rubber band, adhesive, etc.
Basic jewelry hand tools.
Language: English
contact: onawhimofficial2017@gmail.com
About Klaus Bürgel
Born near the southern boarder of Germany, Burgel 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.
He has had one person exhibitions at: Gallerie Loup, Montclaire, NJ; Sofie Lachaert Gallery,Tielrode Belgium; Oliver Art Center California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA; Bernard Toale Gallery Boston, MA; Goethe Institut, Boston, MA; and Jewelerswerk Gallery, Washington D.C. Most recent group shows include amongst others: Schmuck Rotunda, Pinakothek der Moderne Munich, Neiman Print Collection, Tsinghua University. Beijing, China; Des Wahnsinns fette Beute, Neue Sammlung Munich; Adornment, Goucher College, Baltimore; Micromegas, American Craft Museum, NY; Bridge I, Gana Phyungchangdong Gallery, Seoul, Korea; Historical Connections, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA; Art of Gold, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; ICE, Sienna/Heller Gallery, New York. He is currently teaching at the New York State University (NYU) New York, NY. Prior teaching includes: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Maine College of Art, Portland, ME; UMass, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA; California College of Arts, Oakland, CA; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; and Parsons school of Design, NY.
About Sayumi Yokouchi
Sayumi Yokouchi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to the U.S. 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 many other school, most recently Walka studio in Santiago, Chile, Atelier Rudee in Bangkok, Thailand. Her work’s been exhibited in museums and galleries in the US, Japan and Europe. Publications include: New Earrings & New Rings: 500+ Designs From Around the World, American Craft, Metalsmith, Lark Books’ jewelry series, The Compendium Finale of Contemporary Jewelers and among others. Most recent invitational group exhibition includes Schmuck 2017 in Munich, Germany, Jewelers' Werk Galerie during Munich Jewelers Week, RR Gallery in Manhattan, NY. Her solo exhibition is opening at Jeweler's Werk Galerie in May. She’s a teaching faculty in the Art Department at New York University in Manhattan.