This 6-Day workshop will include a mix of classroom time & outdoor, hands-on stone moving, shaping & setting.
Participants will learn globally-informed, best known practices for drystone masonry. They will participate in a multi-media educational experience that includes 3-D puzzles, 2 short films, graph paper drawings, tool fondling, math, a slide show, books, magazines, & more. They will gain the knowledge to plan, budget, stage, & construct drystone masonry.
Penland’s vibrant campus has a variety of examples of both mortared & drystone masonry which we will explore on a walking tour. We will look at drystone projects completed by previous 6-day workshops, and other stone features. We will take a field trip to the stone yard which has supplied much stone to Penland.
Participants should bring: ideas & dimensions of projects they’d like to complete on their own, a tape measure, a basic mason’s hammer, safety glasses, variety of knee pads, & snug fit work gloves. Dress for spring weather. Bring a willingness to work safely as a team towards a common, creative goal that will be a long-lasting aspect of the Penland landscape.
We will have canopies set up for the workshop. In case of lightning, we’ll leave our metal tools behind & safely build small models indoors, or drink warm beverages in comfort.
Based on wisdom from previous 6-day workshop participants, it is important to pace the physical nature of the stonework during the project. Penland has regular yoga instruction, & massage therapists in the area which have been helpful & practical in the past. Stretches are good, & we will do them.