Wood Fired Oven Workshop in Mendocino

Create beautiful sculptural wood fired oven and participate in the power of recycling cultural waste. Garden art and sculpture workshops use Darjit – an innovative architectural sculpting compound made primarily from recycled paper and clay.

Darjit is clay like in texture, user friendly, light weight when dry, and fantastic for elegant large scale work such as statues, garden walls and planters, columns and seating, outdoor kitchens, fire places, wood fired ovens, and organically shaped living spaces. It’s unique applications as a sculpting compound or finish plaster in a variety of thicknesses allows the artist to achieve an organic adobe look, round  corners, niches, arches, gateways, or whatever one can imagine. By the virtue of its flexibility, recycled and natural elements, and broad application of use, it is an ideal material for the artist or natural builder.

Participants will experience the joy of community learning and self expression, while manifesting the artist within who creates beauty and contributes to recycling in a meaningful way. In a supportive environment we’ll explore 3D design, learn armature building techniques and flesh out our sculptural visions.  Students begin with their design ideas, progress to building a wire netting armature, or using a recycled form armature such as old metal frame chairs, furniture or buckets and then begin forming the frame for the sculpture. Our hands and hearts will bring the power of our vision alive as we sculpt the final shape with the aesthetically pleasing Darjit plaster. A wide variety of finishing effects can be achieved with Darjit including embedded mosaic patterns, impressed patterns, textured finishes and hand crafted fine details. In this workshop we will be creating a unique high quality wood fired oven.

Brent Sumner is a visionary artist, permaculturalist, naturalist, experimental and natural builder and inspiring teacher. He has been designing and creating stunning sculptured artworks and living spaces, performance art pieces, vertical garden sculptures, mosaic furniture and unique wood fired ovens for over 15 years. Brent turned his hand to developing a recycled architectural sculpting compound 8 years ago. He now works at the Institute of Mosaic Art in Oakland California and as a highly sought after workshop leader in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.alchymia.co.nz