LAMPWORKING HANDS-ON WORKSHOP

Patrizia & Evelina, glass bead

Become a "perlera" for a day! In two hours Patrizia makes you experience the magic of Murano's glass lampworking, she tells you the story of Venetian beads and shows you some techniques. You will be then able to make your first bead that will be sent to your home very soon.

VENEZIA, Ve

MAKE YOUR PAIR OF SHOES

Olivia, shoe maker and designer

The beauty of a bespoke pair of shoes lies in its construction. This course offers an alchemic journey from the raw material to the finished shoe, a journey through which you will appreciate and understand the hidden beauty of creation. Thanks to slow and repetitive motions, just like a mantra, you will forget about hectic life and delve into a very special mood. The model of shoes for this hands-on workshop is a traditional unlined lace-up with Norwegian structure, but different kind of personalization are more than welcome. The process will be split in two parts: a stage will be totally directed by me and the other one will be carried out in collaboration with other professionals. This second stage consists in a 25 hours program that can be organized upon your schedule. During the module that we will have together, we will also prepare the necessary tools to work, such as leather covers for the fingers and twine for the handmade binding. I suggest you this experience if you want to dedicate some days to creativity and manual work, and it will also be a perfect occasion to enjoy the beautiful Pesaro and Urbino. I’m more than available for any kind of tips for your accommodation and I’ll be glad to suggest you the most peculiar places around the city. Since we will share the whole week together, everyday I will offer you a very special break with the best tastes that Marche has to offer!

PESARO, Pu

GLASS FUSION IN THE NATURE

Maya & Denis, glazier

Our lab is located in a small town in the heart of the Belluno’s Dolomites. Here, lost in the green and inspired every day by nature, we give life and shape to our ideas. With this hands-on workshop we want to share our skills and knowledge and we want to give the opportunity to anyone who is interested in discovering the world of glass’ art; specifically, you will make an artifact in glass fusion of approximately 15cm x 15cm that can be used as a decorative addition to your home. The object, after a 24 hours cooking time in the oven, will be sent to your address or you can take it directly in our laboratory in the days after the experience. The costs of packaging are included in the price of the hands-on workshop.

LIMANA, Bl

IN THE SIGN OF

Maria Josè, restorer

Do you want to learn the techniques of the XVI century knowledge? We'll show you and tell you our manual skills in restoration, in faithful reproduction of vintage furniture, in cabinetmaking, in painting and gilding. We'll re-experience emotions, the study, the passion in doing the faithful reproduction of the “Studiolo del Duca di Montefeltro”, of which the original is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We'll have lunch together in a typical restaurant of Gubbio. Later we'll go together to see the replica of the “Studiolo del Duca di Montefeltro”. We created it and now it is possible to see it in its original location, at the Doge's Palace in Gubbio. In this important context, you'll have the chance to admire other fine artifacts that we restored.

GUBBIO, Pg

THE PILGRIM’S NOTEBOOK

Lucia e Hans, bookbinder

The experience involves the creation of a notebook made of paper, leather, and string (of about 8x13cm in size). You may choose your favorite colored leather from the many in the bookbinding workshop. With Hans and Lucia’s guidance, you will be able to follow the different workshop phases, which include a medieval technique in the preparation of the paper sheets, which are sewn and bound directly onto the leather cover. This way, book cover and stitching make a single piece and the notebook will be ready in just a few steps. You may also personalize it with graphic or floral motifs, or with your initials, directly embossing the chosen decoration on the surface. Finally, a leather string around the notebook will help tie it shut.

VITERBO, Vt

STUCCO WILL BRING YOU LUCK!

PATRIZIA, artisan of gypsum

Are you ready for a journey among beauty? I'm going to take you in the fascinating world of stucco, a history as ancient as man. Imprints in mud can be considered as primordial molds. It all begins from the gypsum's dust that capable hands transform into artworks. With this you will prepare the mixture to be poured into molds that are made in the atelier. All the creative-productive process, in fact, is the result of research, experience and know-how accumulated over many years. Now have fun: wear Renaissance fashion aprons, use brushes, colors, soils, glues, shine with brass, silver, and gold leaves, paint with ancient lacquers, rub the beeswax, sign your work to make it unique! Believe it or not, it's suggestive and fascinating to create an object that brings good luck and wellness within our homes. During this workshop I will initially present to you my activity. After an introduction to the ancient art of stucco, we will go through the preparation of the dough base. Once we have done this, we will proceed with the pouring in the horn of plenty and pomegranates' molds. We'll then get ready for the leaf gilding. At this point we'll move to the leaf lightening of the relieves, before passing to the pictorial decoration and to the brush writing. Once we are done with these stages, we'll be ready for the painting, the coating and the final lacquering. At the end of the workshop I'll provide you with the object that you created, the booklet, the Diploma of Participation and the “weirdo license” of Gubbio. This envisages a really particular procedure to be carried out, exactly in front of my atelier!

GUBBIO, Pg

THE WHOLE FAMILY STARTS TO PRINT!

Gianpaolo, screen printer

This is a tour for families inside the discovery of screen-silk printing, a technique that allows you to experiment with colors and make a reproducible work of art while maintaining its uniqueness. The hands-on workshop takes place in the historic silkscreen laboratory of Cannaregio, in a unique and authentic Venice where art and tradition come together and come to life in the ancient crafts of the artisan workshops. Immersed in an archive consisting of more than a thousand works of art printed from 1968 to present, you will learn the secrets of the silkscreen and you will experience the printing of a one-color graphic on a support you choose among cardboard, t-shirt or canvas bag, which you'll take home as a souvenir of a creative and unusual adventure.

VENEZIA, Ve

THE ART OF INTAGLIO CARVING

Sergio, carver

In my studio, surrounded by old tools and the fragrances of materials, you can find out how a carved object comes from a sketch on the wood. I will show you the main steps, starting from a short description about the different types of wood essences, then the tool grinding and the sketch on the wood. You will then try to plane with your own hands and I will finally held a demonstration of intaglio carving. If you already are passionate about that kind of works, you can bring your artifacts with you so that we can have some experimentation with them. Participants will receive a gadget as a record of the experience.

BOVOLONE, Vr

CHISELING EXPERIENCE

Francesco, puppets maker

The art of chiselling is one of the oldest decorative and goldsmith techniques in history still used today for the artisan production of various artifacts, from goldsmiths to ecclesiastical ones. It consists in the embossing of metals with the aid of two simple tools: hammer and chisels (chisels) on a pitch support. The student will be followed and enabled to know the properties of the material and the tools to work it, in order to be able to perform the exercise independently under the guidance of the teacher. During the course it will be possible to dedicate oneself to the creation of a necklace, or pendant, to be made through the use of the chisel technique, seeking texture or decorative effects to be interpreted and reproduced on the brass plate. The object created will remain as a reminder of the experience.

PALERMO, Pa