Short Courses 2018

Weekend Courses – Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 August, 9.30am-4.30pm

Tool restoration and sharpening with Keith Houston

Level: All | Cost: $300 + $10 materials
Using a tool you have rescued and lovingly restored, whether it is a chisel, a plane or perhaps even an antique bread knife, is rewarding. But what is the best way to restore an object? This two day, hands-on course will show you how – and, importantly, what not to do. Bring a selection of hand tools, no matter what their condition, and be prepared to transform them back into working condition, whether for personal use or for profit.

Keith Houston, a retired scientist and past President of the ACT Woodcraft Guild, has been collecting and restoring hand tools for much of his life. You may have seen him and purchased restored items at tool events, or read his articles about hand tools, or attended one of his many workshops on woodcarving or sharpening.
Online registration »

FROM SCRATCH: Re-thinking process within a craft based practice with Cara Johnson

Level: All | Cost: $300 + materials (TBA)
Rip, cut, press, slice, wind, wrap, bend, twist and stitch.Over two days participants in this workshop will explore a range of approaches to idea development through hands on material experimentation and drawing. Rather than focus on skill, as is the core of a craft practice, the aim is to equip participants with a shifted perspective on how to generate original, individual and contemporary ideas.

Cara Johnson completed Honours (First Class) Gold and Silversmithing, within a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2016 at RMIT University, where she is a currently an MFA Research Candidate. Her practice is concerned with the articulation of fragility and preciousness in nature, while concurrently addressing the presence of human impact on the landscape. Cara exhibits her work both nationally and internationally, and resides in the Otways in Victoria’s southwest.
Online registration »

Nature narratives: a winter weekend of dying and slow stitching with Julie Ryder

Level: Beginners - Intermediate | Cost: $300 + $30 materials 
Using the colours and textures of the landscape as our inspiration, this course explores place and space through natural dyeing, collage and stitch. Cloth and threads dyed by local plants, together with the use of mordant printing, stencils, stamps and slow stitching will be used to create a small narrative piece referencing the natural world around us.

Julie Ryder is a professional textile designer who has gained international recognition. She originally trained in science, and holds an MA in Textiles from the ANU. Her work reflects her love of nature through natural dyeing, printing, mark-making and slow stitch. Her work is represented in many public and private collections, including the NGA, NGV, MAAS, AGSA, BRAG, CSIRO, ANBG, Tamworth Regional Gallery, and the Textiel Museum in the Nederlands. 
www.julieryder.com.au IG: @julierydertextiles

Textural imagery on the ceramic surface with Cathy Franzi

Level: All | Cost: $300 + materials (TBA)
Learn to ‘draw’ textural imagery into the clay surface using carving, incising, sgraffito, water erosion and inlay techniques. This comprehensive course guides you through various approaches to composition by exploring mark making on small clay samples. On Day 1 you will make 1-2 shapes using slabs and plaster moulds and follow this on Day 2 by learning aspects of integrating imagery with form to pursue your own surface designs. Suitable for beginners with an interest in the materiality of clay and those more experienced who will extend their skills.

Dr Cathy Franzi is an award winning ceramic artist interested in ways to represent Australian flora and the environments they inhabit. Cathy is an experienced tutor, teaching at the ANU, in community arts and workshops nationally. In 2016 she was artist-in-residence in the ANU Research School of Biology, working closely on projects with Alpine Buttercups. Her work is held in numerous public collections and Cathy is represented by Sabbia Gallery and Beaver Galleries. (Pictured: 'Beach Edge', 2015. Porcelain, stoneware, 21h x 30w x 20d cm. Image: Andrew Sikorski, Art Atelier.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Weekend Courses – Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 September, 9.30am-4.30pm

Working with porcelain with Avi Amesbury

Level: Some experience | Cost: $300 + materials (TBA)
The workshop will focus on the use of porcelain and a combination of ceramic techniques to explore story-telling through connection to country. We will explore form by combining slab, stamping, hand-building and slip-casting techniques and investigate the use of found-materials from the natural environment as an expressive language. Avi will demonstrate making plaster stamps, rolling slabs from a full bag of clay and stamping techniques. Participants will learn processes for test-firing found materials, and make work from these various processes and techniques.

Avi received a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Ceramics), with Honours from the Australian National University, School of Art in 2002. She was awarded a scholarship in 2000 through the ANU International Exchange Program and undertook studies at Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Her work has been selected for national and international exhibitions including the International Triennial of Silicate Arts, Ceramica Multiplex, the Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramic Award and the Gold Coast International Ceramics Award. In 2017 she was international Artist-in-Resident at the Benyamini Contemporary Ceramic Centre in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Online registration »

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Weekend Courses – Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 October, 9.30am-4.30pm

Knotting techniques in textiles with Angharad Rixon

Level: All | Cost: $300 + materials (TBA)
Details to come

Wood project: Mitre fold box with Chance Coalter (Sturt Resident, USA)

Level: All | Cost: $300 + materials (TBA)

Build a decorative veneered box from raw materials using a fun mitre - fold technique that allows you to do all your joinery on a table saw. You’ll create seamless corners, cutting away the lid after the box is glued up (without traditional clamps) and produce individual patterns on your box face using techniques that include jigs, router, veneer saw, scalpel and hand plane. Learn about atmospheric pressure using the vacuum press to glue up your box parts and finish your piece by installing quadrant hinges. Chance will also demonstrate more advanced techniques, such as inlaying a complex pattern into the lid of the box and adding a decorative and protective wood edging. 

Chance Coalter is a furniture designer and craftsman in San Diego, CA, and an adjunct professor in the woodworking program at Palomar College. He earned a BA in Applied Design from San Diego State in 2013 and was subsequently awarded a fellowship at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Among other honors, in 2015 he received a Niche Award and a 1st place honor at Design in Wood competition in San Diego.

Saturday 27 October (1-day)
Coiled basketry with Mariposa Stitch with Meri Peach

Level: All | Cost: $160 + $20 materials payable to tutor
Learn to use natural fibres from common garden plants to make a beautiful coiled basket. Coiling is an ancient basketry method where the materials are stitched together rather than woven. Mariposa is a stitch that can be done with strap-leafed plants without using a needle. This method creates spaces between the rows, resulting in a lattice-like structure. It is an easy, satisfying and attractive method of basket making. 

Sunday 28 October (1-day)
Rustic Twined Basketry with Meri Peach

Level: All | Cost: $160 + $20 materials payable to tutor
Discover the ancient and contemplative craft of basket making with Meri Peach. Basket making is a very satisfying and relaxing way to improve your hand dexterity and coordination, and to make a deeper connection with nature and with ancient cultural traditions. In this workshop, each student will make an attractive twined basket using a variety of locally available plant materials. Twined basketry uses two or more strands to weave. It is an easy and versatile technique that opens up a world of possibilities for making practical and sculptural objects.
Online registration »

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To enrol in a course, please use the online enrolment form or download the enrolment form below and return to Sturt Short Courses, PO Box 34 Mittagong NSW 2575 or email to: shop@sturt.nsw.edu.au. For more information, phone: 02 4860 2083. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SHORT COURSES TERMS & CONDITIONS

  • ENROLMENT: Students are strongly encouraged to enrol early – at least 2 weeks out from the course commencement date. Late enrolments cannot be guaranteed a place or that the course will run.
  • PAYMENT: Full payment is required to confirm your place in any course.
  • CANCELLATION BY STURT: Sturt Craft Centre reserves the right to cancel or postpone any class due to under enrolment or other unforeseen circumstances. Courses with insufficient enrolments will be cancelled 2 weeks in advance of the course commencement date. In this case enrolled students will receive a full refund.
  • CANCELLATION BY STUDENTS: No refunds will be given to enrolled students wishing to cancel less than two weeks in advance of the course commencement date. Students who cancel and wish to receive a refund before 2 weeks in advance of the course commencement date will incur a $50 cancellation fee. 
  • MINIMUM AGE for adult course enrolment is 16 years.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: Sturt reserves the right to photograph classes and to use these photos for publicity purposes only.