Courses


Celtic Longship

Construction of a sixteen foot long boat, using skin on frame techniques on a solid gunwhale. The design will be based on the Dunfanaghy Currach from the West Coast of Ireland. Participants can join for some or all of the project. During the process the Lead Tutor will discuss the design issues of skin/frame construction. For those who wish to build their own boat, a workshop will be offered in July at Potager Garden.
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £20 per day per person, including learning materials. Student/unwaged £10
Duration: 5 days

Hawaiin Surfboard

Construction or sculpture of a "Kiko" wooden surfboard using locally sourced materials. Surfing or wave sliding has been practiced for centuries in the Pacific, particularly Hawaii. Solid wooden boards of up to 40 feet were used. Using traditional Celtic hand tools, we will try to understand the nature of solid wood wave sliding. The project will run over a period of days, and will encourage an understanding of Hawaiin culture. One or more will be constructed, depending on interest. More info
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £10 per day per person, including learning materials, Student/unwaged £10
Duration: up to three days

Woodland Writing
Details to be confirmed

Carving the Buch - Slow Writing
Before paper, there was the mighty beech tree. German scribes carved into tablets of beech which then became buchs or books. This explains the hard edges of Teutonic script. I will provide some planks of beech, chisels and malletts, you will carve words suitable to the occasion. The result will be the centrepiece for the open day.
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £10 per person per day
Duration: 1 day

Shelter Building
Basic materials will be provided to allow the construction of a variety of solutions to one of man's many problems. The shelters are to be designed to be used over a ten day period. Materials will include hazel and willow rods, western red cedar rings, cloth, bark and cordage.
Lead Tutor: Amanda Forman
Cost: £20 per person or £30 per family group. Student/unwaged £10
Duration: 1 day

Yemeni Mud Architecture
Some of the most striking examples of earth architecture can be found in the Yemen. The worskhop will encourage an understanding of the materials, structure and aesthetics.
Lead Tutor: Howard Meadowcroft
Cost: £5 per person
Duration: half day

Heat Expansion of Hollowed Logs
A traditional boat builidng technique in Northern Russia is to take the necessarily small diameter pine logs and to hollow them. Then, by putting over a large open fire, the differential heat gradiant will "unwrap" and flatten the logs so that they can be used for skinning the boat, fastened with sewn spruce roots. This workshop will attempt to replicate the process; in doing so, I hope that an understanding of wood will be developed for possible applications within other disciplines.
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £20 per person per day
Duration: 1 day

Vessels
There is a fascination with "vessels". They transport us to far off places, they contain our food, materials and perhaps dreams. This workshop will look vessels carved and woven. If you want to carve a bowl from sycamore, you will be given a selection of chisels and adzes; for a woven vessel, the hedgerows will provide materials in addition to coppiced willow. What you make you keep. One of my large sycamore bowls ...
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £30 per person day, £30 family group. Student/unwaged £10

Woodland Furniture
Using a variety of materials and techniques, design and make a simple stool or chair. Whatever you make you can take home.
Lead Tutor: Rory MacPhee
Cost: £30 per day per person, £40 per day per family unit. Student/unwaged £10
Bio Fuels
Woodland Sculpture
You will be given a brief and tooling and develop, as a team, a monumental piece of woodland art.
Cost: £10 per person

Woodland Pigments

Wild Food Cookery
A demonstration of techniques for cooking found food.
Wendy Wilbraham
Howard Meadowcroft

Eco Design

Choir in the Woods