Anderson Ranch Arts Center Workshop Catalogs 2010-2014 | Page 32
Tai Lake, Sitka Dresser
Matthias Pliessnig, Providence
Alphonse Mattia, Fetish Chair
June 27 - July 8
Furniture: making a living
July 11 - 22
July 25 - August 5
Wood Bending: curves
and structure
Tai Lake
Take a Walk on the Soft Side:
u
pholstery basics
Matthias Pliessnig
Alphonse Mattia & Annie Evelyn
Skill Level: II - IV
Skill Level: II - IV
Concept: This workshop challenges the conventional idea that wood should be flat. Students begin by understanding the material
properties of wood with a series of explorations solving design problems, innovating
structural solutions and dealing with dynamic
loads (the body). Each student combines his
personal aesthetic with the rules of a chosen
system to make a piece that is both structurally sound and a personal expression of beauty
and function.
Concept: Learn upholstery techniques for functional furniture objects. This workshop covers
both traditional and modern upholstery methods, including advanced principles of frame
design. This workshop also surveys upholstery
in historic and contemporary studio furniture.
Media & Techniques: Wood, traditional and
inventive woodworking techniques.
Activities: Students work through one or
two basic exercises before beginning a final
project. We have slide shows, lectures, demonstrations, student presentations, in-depth
research and project development.
Skill Level: II - IV
Concept: This course looks at designing with
what we have (on hand) to work with, using
techniques that maximize the final object. Students focus on skills to successfully conceive
and create a furniture design, emphasizing the
design process, understanding materials, tool
skills and overall philosophy. We also discuss
in detail the commissioning process and artist
presentations, examining how the process can
move the artist in a positive direction.
Media & Techniques: Wood, metal and found
materials. Traditional woodworking techniques and processes with both machine and
hand tools.
Activities: Students have group design exercises to find and refine each student’s personal
design sense. We learn to use drawings, models
and mock-ups to help launch projects. We keep
organized sketchbooks and portfolios and discuss the camera as a shop tool.
Faculty: Tai Lake studied at Buckminster
Fuller’s design department at Southern Illinois
University in 1972. He moved to Hawaii in the
1980s where he worked in architectural woodwork, and became a full-time furniture maker
in 1990. He is currently serving as president of
the Hawaii Forest Industry Association whose
mission is planting trees. Tai’s work has been
published extensively and can be seen at SOFA
exhibitions and in private and public collections
throughout Hawaii.
www.tailake.net
Tuition: $975 / Studio Support Cost: $1375
Studio Fee: $145 Code: W0404 Enrollment Limit 12
30
www.anderso nranch .or g
970/923-3181
Activities: Students have slide lectures and
project reviews throughout the workshop.
Demonstrations include steam bending,
free-form bent lamination and various joinery techniques.
Faculty: Matthias Pliessnig is a BFA graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and
received his MFA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His interest in woodworking
developed after he decided to build a boat and
was inspired to apply those techniques, particularly steam bending of wood strips around a
mold, to furniture making. His first solo exhibition was hosted by Philadelphia’s Wexler Gallery in 2008. He is on the faculty of the Rhode
Island School of Design.
www.matthias-studio.com
Tuition: $975 / Studio Support Cost: $1375
Studio Fee: $145 Code: W0607 Enrollment Limit 12
inf o@and er s o n r a n c h . o r g
Media & Techniques: Basic wood frame construction, webbing, spring tying, material
selection, cutting and shaping foam, pattern
making and cutting, basic machine sewing,
hand sewing, stapling and tacking.
Faculty: Alphonse Mattia is on leave from the
Rhode Island School of Design and is teaching
at the Center For Turning and Furniture Design
at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He has
received fellowships from the Massachusetts
Artists Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His work is included in the
permanent collections of the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston and the Smithsonian Museum of
American Art, among others.
www.alphonsemattia.com
Annie Evelyn is a furniture artist, upholsterer
and teacher. She received her MFA from the
Rhode Island School of Design Furniture
Department and was an adjunct faculty member there for three years.
www.annieevelyn.com
Tuition: $975 / Studio Support Cost: $1375
Studio Fee: $145 Code: W0811 Enrollment Limit 12