How
do you capture the elusive essence of elsewhere?
Whether we go
upstairs, around the block,
or around the world
we expect to come
back different.
Join us in Oiseaux Sisters Studios North for a
joyful and productive week of mixed media exploration.
This is
a week of playing with maps, souvenirs, books, baggage, figures
and wayside shrines and seeing where they take us.
Our well equipped studios are set up for working with wood, print,
paper, paint, metal, cloth and papier maché. We offer technique
demos and individual problem solving. Focus on one technique and/or
format in depth, or sample and mix your media. We’ll discuss
strategies for continuity, mechanisms for change, Issues of scale,
portability and presentation.
$698 includes lab fee, 5 extravagant, healthy lunches, 2
sumptuous dinners,
and daily lavish snacks. Limited to 12 participants... only 2 spots left!
*Special bonus: Session ends just in time for the Route 90 weekend
of 50 miles of garage sales!
HOUSING LIST PROVIDED ON REQUEST AFTER REGISTRATION.
Please email
us if you have interest in enrolling in the session.
Continue scrolling to the bottom of this page for a registration
form.
View our suggestions for armchair travelers at the bottom of this page.
What to Expect
We provide a wealth of images to open your imagination, a beautiful
setting to work in, time for sharing ideas and quiet contemplation.
You will have access to our huge library of images and our considerable
collection of Asian and Mexican folk art.
Our studio home was built around 1875 as a private school. After
a time, it was converted to a hopital staffed by the one of the
first woman doctors in the area (who also led seances in the attic).
The building was converted to domestic use in the 1950’s.
There are many places to work. Outdoors we have both front and
back porches, a huge park like yard and a a large studio barn
with many work stations. In the house there is common rest and
dining space, a woodshop, metal, copy and painting studios as
well as more work stations.
Our workshop will combine one on one and small group coaching
with class projects, exercises and critiques. Studios are open
for work 8 AM to 8 PM. Instruction is provided 10AM - 12PM and
1PM - 2:30PM though we are available throughout for consultation.
We provide handouts on many techniques.
A tremendous resource for all of us is the great wealth of experience
and imagination that each participant brings. This is a week of
intense focus and immersion with others who treasure their time
making art.
Prior to classes, we will send a Reading List, as well as basic
tool kit and materials lists.
Moravia, New York
Our studio is located in the historic village of Moravia, NY.
The village is charming and pedestrian friendly. We are easy walking
distance of shopping, restaurants, a library post office and,
most importantly, a hardware store. We are just a short walk from
Filmore Glen, a state park with swimming, camping, and beautiful
hiking trails. There are also several other lovely hiking trails
along the creek that runs through the village.
Our Fingerlakes area of upstate NY is rich with natural beauty.
Lakes, parks, gorges, waterfalls, and forests alternate with rolling
farm land and vineyards. The village is just south of Owasco Lake,
one of the finger lakes. We are a 25 minute ride to Ithaca, NY,
home of Moosewood and many other good restaurants, interesting
shops, movies and cultural events at Cornell University and Ithaca
College. Cornell is the home of Sapsucker Woods and the world
famous Lab of Ornithology. We are just a short drive from Mackenzie-Childs’
pottery extravagant lakeside headquarters (with aviary, roving
exotic cattle, factory and second’s shop) and the Aurora
Shoe outlet. Another favorite stop of our participants is Dinosaur
Dry Goods which features “lightly used” Flax, Angelheart
and other designer clothing. A 20 mile drive to the west will
bring you to Seneca Falls, home of the Women’s History Museum,
the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House and several other sites key in
the history of the Women’s Sufferage movement.
The session concludes the day before our largest local “holiday”,
the Route 90 Fifty Miles Of Garage Sales. This
is always held on the last weekend in July and runs from Route
81 through rolling hills, continuing up to the northern most tip
of Lake Cayuga. All of the many small towns have bake sales and
barbecues, rumage sales, book sales and everywhere, even in the
fields are tables set up with items waiting to be claimed. There
are people cleaning out their attics and professional antique
and flea market dealers throughout the route. The sale runs through
both Saturday and Sunday.
Meals will be healthful fare featuring local
fresh fruits and vegetables of the season. A lunch “smorgasbord”
is provided daily. We provide dinner Sunday, and Friday. There
are light snacks and beverages available throughout the day. LET
US KNOW YOUR DIETARY RESTRICTIONS IN ADVANCE.
Studio Supplies
Your tuition covers tools and materials you will use in class
as well as technique handouts. Materials may include: Paperclay,
casting paper, colored gessos, wood, sandpaper, metal foils. You
will also have access to our wood shop and copy studio includes
10 free color copies and 20 black & white copies free.
Home Stays in Moravia
The village of Moravia has little in the way of commercial accommodations.
We have, therefore, asked friends to open their homes to participants
in our workshops. Several have generously agreed to do so. Most
of these accomodations run $45 - $55 per night. All reservations
for accommodations are between the home owners and you, so please
call them with any questions. We will provide a housing
list after registration.
Hotels/Motels/ B & B’s
If you wish to stay at a regular B & B, Hotel or Motel, Ithaca
is a lively college town a pleasant drive (20 - 30 minutes) from
Moravia--Movies, Restaurants, galore. Other options you can try
are Groton, Aurora, Lansing, Skaneatles, Cortland and Auburn,
NY which are about the same distance from Moravia. Here are some
websites to start your research
http://www.VisitIthaca.com/
http://www.bbithaca.com/#links
Camping:
Our studios are walking distance from a lovely state park, Fillmore
Glen. They have a few rustic cabins (beds, fridge, stove, sink
but a short walk to the bathroom). If you want to get a cabin,
contact them early, as they are very popular and reservations
for the summer fill up quickly.
They also have camp sites for RV’s and tents. To find out
more go to: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/157/details.aspx
Registration, Cost and Deposit: $698
includes lab fee, 5 extravagant, healthy lunches, 2
sumptuous dinners, and daily lavish snacks.
To insure a productive workshop experience, we will keep our classes
small, usually 10 - 12 students. Early registration is recommended.
A non-refundable deposit of $150 must accompany your registration
form,. Your entire deposit will be applied toward tuition. Balance
is due when you arrive for class.
Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If you must withdraw from a class and you give us a minimum of
one month’s notice, we will refund your deposit, retaining
a $25 processing fee. If you withdraw later than one month before
the first day of class, your deposit is entirely nonrefundable.
Registration
form click here
To
see images from past New York Workshops, click
here!
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READING/BROWSING LIST:
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ARMCHAIR TRAVELERS
Here are but a few of the books and other media which have inspired us:
NOVELS:
Jane Gardam’s Caruso’s Daughter
Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Mr. Fortune’s Maggot
Nicole Mones Lost in Translation, The Last Chinese Chef, & Cup of Light
Amy Tan’s Saving Fish From Drowning
Barbara Doerr’s Stones for Ibara
Sandra Benitez’ A Place Where The Sea Remembers
ESSAYS/MEMOIRS:
Vladimir Nabakov’s Speak Memory
Adam Gopnik’s Paris To The Moon
Josephine Herbst’s The Starched Blue Sky of Spain and Other Memoirs
Alexandra David Neel’s My Journey to Lhasa
Dervla Murphey’s Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle
Lucy Lippard’s The Lure of the Local
ARTIST-TRAVELERS:
Sara Midda's South of France: A Sketchbook
David Hockney’s Travels with pen, pencil and ink, China Diary, David Hockney; A Year in Yorkshire, David Hockney: Egyptian Journeys
Francesco Clemente: Three Worlds
Peter Sis: Tibet Through the Red Box, The Three Golden Keys, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, A Small Tall Tale From The Far Far North, An Ocean World and many more.
Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman and check out her wonderful blogs on http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/,
MAP BOOKS:
Sara Fanelli’s My Map Book
Katharine Harmon’s You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination, The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography
Caroline Laffon’s Mapping the World: Stories of Geography
MOVIES:
The Beaches of Agnes ( Plage d'Agnès)and The Gleaners and I by Agnes Varda
The Visitor
When The Sea Rises [Quand La Mer Monte]
Across The Universe
The Science of Sleep
L'iceberg
Bread and Tulips (Pane E Tulipani)
The Kitchen Stories (Salmer Fra Kjøkkenet)
Italian For Beginners (Italiensk for begyndere)
There is a wealth of material which relates to our topic. In addition to these lists: Folk and fairy tales are always a good inspiration for thinking about story. There are so many talented artists working today with a mixed media collage aesthetic that we urge you to take a browse through your local library or book store.
Some of our current favorites include: Kathryn Bold,True Colors: A Palette of Collaborative Art Journals. Max Ernst: Collages, Heinrich Drescher: Julie Taymor: Playing With Fire, Eileen Blumenthal: Puppetry, A World History, Milton Glaser: Art Is Work, Also books on masks, world folk and outsider art and antique toys. Books on costuming and the history of theater also may have inspiring images to consider. Look for your favorite artists on the web. |
