Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Exploration

+ + + TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010

Day 6, and the participants look forward to branching out and spending a day exploring Fogo Island ...

(Right: Caribou herd on Fogo Island. At least 200 Caribou live on the Island)
Click on the image to enlarge

Schedule for Day 6

9 AM - All gather at the Barr'd Island Church
Coffee and refreshments

10 AM - Presentations by several of the Participants:
Michael Pittman
Martine Myrup
Elaine Fortin
Justin Armstrong

1 PM - Lunch and free time to explore the Island


In the morning everyone gathers at the church in anticipation ... today we finally get to see the work of some of the artists/designers who have been staying on our Island. There is a great variety of work to be showcased today. We have a visual artist, two designers and an anthropologist.

Once again the presentations take place within the shell of our model Inn room. But this time the proverbial 'fourth wall' between actor and audience is replaced with the real thing. Studs have been put into place to represent the placement of windows in the room.

After the presentations the participants are on their own to explore the island. People poke around sheds, old fishing stages and peoples homes in hopes of finding inspiration, friendly faces, stories and materials. The participants delve into their work ... Great things are being set into motion ... A wish list is being put together for materials and supplies. The rest of the week will unfold in many imaginative ways.


+ + + Greg White

Charrette

+ + + MONDAY. FEBRUARY 15, 2010


Today is Day 5, it is a new week and some group exercises are in the works ...





Schedule for Day 5

9 AM - All gather at the Barr’d Islands Church

9:30 AM - Presentations:
Zita Cobb
Steve Topping
Dressler Brothers

12 PM - Lunch at Nicoles Cafe

1 PM - Charrette Exercises

5 PM - Free time

7 PM - Social Dinner at Nicole’s Cafe


Back in late November of 2009 the Shorefast Foundation and the Arts Corporation held a Charrette here on Fogo Island where invited guests and people from the Island combined their previous hotel experiences with their emotions and imaginations to explore the designs of the Fogo Island Inn. Today the participants and members of the community will come together at the Barr'd Islands church to work on similar group exercises centered around the design, interiors and textures of the Fogo Island Inn.

Charrette: The word charrette may refer to any collaborative session in which a group of designers drafts a solution to a design problem. While the structure of a charrette varies, depending on the design problem and the individuals in the group, charrettes often take place in multiple sessions in which the group divides into sub-groups. Each sub-group then presents its work to the full group as material for future dialogue. Such charrettes serve as a way of quickly generating a design solution while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people(wikipedia).

The crowd was divided into five groups with about seven people in each group. They discussed the following things: Path, Entrance and Lobby of the Inn, write the narrative of exploring one of the guest rooms, Washrooms, Functional spaces and Storage.

Participants took advantage of renderings, architectural plans and a plethora of local items (old windows, boards, fishing gear, crab pots, hooked rugs, quilts ... the list goes on) brought in to inspire everyone.

At the end of each session one member from each of the seven groups present the findings. The information gathered will be used in combination with the local materials and discoveries from the excursions to aid in the rest of the workshop experiments.


+ + + Greg White

A 'Time'

+ + + SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2010

It's Day 4, it's Valentine's Day, and there is a love concert today ...





Our experimental workshop is still taking shape and in the days to come we have lots of work to do. But today is Valentine's Day and there is time to relax, take in a concert and enjoy a cooked meal prepared by the ACW.

Schedule for Day 4

11 AM - All gather at the Barr’d Islands Church
Practical information

11:10 AM - Presentation – Walter Peddle

1 PM - Snacks at the church
Excursion to Island Harbor & Fogo

3 PM - Valentine’s program at the Catholic Church in Fogo

4 PM - Sunday dinner in Fogo served by the Anglican Church Women

4:30 PM - Free Time

9 PM - Visit to the Outport Square Dancers for a lesson


There is a later start to the day today. Participants have time to sleep in, relax, and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Fogo Island on their way to the Barr'd Islands Anglican Church for a presentation by Walter Peddle.

After lunch everyone heads out on an excursion to Island Harbour and then to Fogo where Valentine's Day is in full swing. There is a concert at the Roman Catholic Church and the theme is ‘love’. Everyone enjoys some local talent and then head to the ACW for a traditional Newfoundland sunday dinner of fresh meat and boiled vegetables smothered in gravy.

In the evening the participants gather at the JBS Town Hall. But this time they are not here for a meal ... tables are pushed aside and the Outport Square dancers are plankin’ ‘er down. The participants watch keenly as the dancers scuff and kick their heels, spin, circle up and shout out enthusiastically. Soon it is our participants turn and they dive right in, moving around on the floor fast and furious. It is quite the ‘time’.


+ + + Greg White

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Repurposed

+ + + SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2010

Day 3 and the word of the day begins with R ...

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the three R's ... well, there are the educational R's, but the ones I allude to are there to remind us to be environmentally friendly human beings. We've seen them advertised on the walls of cafeterias, food packaging, bottoms of water bottles and many other public spaces: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. Wise words for this obsessed consumer driven age of "want everything, waste everything". So in this world filled with accessible commercial furniture products is there an advocate sending out a clear message to the consumer about the beauty of reused materials? You bet!

Schedule for Day 3

9:00 AM - All gather at the Barr’d Islands Church

9:30 AM - Presentations – Walter Peddle & The Dressler brothers

12 PM - Lunch for visitors & local people at the Town Hall

1 PM - Lecture – Frank Tjepkema, designer

Excursions - The Wells House, Don Wells' Shed, The Long Studio in Joe Batt's Arm

5 PM - Free Time

7 PM - Salt Cod Dinner for the visitors at the big Seldom house

The morning session begins with a further study into Outport furniture by Walter Peddle. The images are charming and please the aesthetic senses. Walter's passion is palpable and again his attention to detail is expert to say the least.












The next presenters are famous for their dedication to responsible furniture making and repurposing materials to create things that are beautiful and timeless. The Brothers Dressler are identical twins, Jason (left) and Lars (right), who run a furniture studio in Toronto. Their presentation shows us stunning examples of repurposed materials used to make superbly crafted tables and chairs. There are examples of wood that would normally be discarded because of warping that has been used by the brothers to make furniture that embraces these imperfections and celebrates the natural beauty of the objects. Their presentation is very inspiring. The R words rattle around in my head throughout.
www.brothersdressler.com

Lillian Dwyer shows us how rug hooking embraces the reuse of materials through repurposing fabrics.






Lunch is at the town hall next to the Anglican Church where the workshop is being held. 'Cold plates' ... a traditional Newfoundland meal usually served during fundraising activities. Easily made and easily transported the cold plate consists of several versions of cold potato based salads (mustard, beet and vegetable), sliced ham, cold beef, lettuce, tomato and jello.

After lunch we sit down for a presentation from designer Frank Tjepkema. Frank runs a studio in Amsterdam named Tjep. He discusses his recent works, including the award winning design of the Heathrow Airport executive lounge, and plays several videos which illicit many smiles and laughs.
www.tjep.com

In the evening we head to the town of Seldom for a traditional Newfoundland meal prepared by Michelle LeBlanc, Shorefast consultant chef. The smell of salt fish fills the air carried on the steam from a pot full of potatoes, mixes with the smell of 'scruncheons' (fried pork fat) and the simmering drawn butter. The hearty meal is devoured in minutes and only bones are left. The participants take advantage of this time to relax, chat and get to know one another. Music soon fills the air, mingles with the salt of the fish and in this two-story saltbox house the Outport interior comes to life.

At the end of the day, back home on my couch with my cat in my lap, the R words still bounce in my head. And I think for the purposes of this workshop we should consider three new R's ... REPURPOSE, RECLAIM, REJOICE.


+ + + Greg White

Thursday, February 18, 2010

From Crates To Cabinets

+ + + FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2010

Today is Day 2 of the workshop and a history lesson never goes unappreciated ...

As our little incubator slowly warms up on this lovely morning I find myself dozing off at my work station and in desperate need of sleep or a major dose of coffee. The last few days have been an adventure for everyone and things have yet to settle. The experimental workshop has not yet taken its mature form, but we are getting there ... slowly. It is actually a beautiful thing to witness how the participants, artists and lecturers with their different customs, cultures and history can come together on Fogo Island and give birth to a creative environment and begin to operate as their own little community. Beautiful to watch and a little exhausting to create, but all good things take time ... so say the wise. And I truly believe them.

I down a mug of coffee in a matter of seconds, feeling the burning satisfaction run down my throat, into my belly and coursing through my exhausted matter. It works ... for about a minute. But then the time has arrived to begin and Walter Peddle, expert on Outport furniture and author of The Dynamics Of Outport Furniture Design: Adaption And Culture and The Traditional Furniture of Outport Newfoundland starts to share his wealth of knowledge with the audience. His speaks with true genius on the subject matter, holds a long pointer in one hand and talks vigorously with the other while a large series of slides project on the screen behind him. One by one the slides show us furniture many Newfoundlanders are used to seeing in homes across the province, but Walter takes us beyond those things we see and shows us the things we don't see. The details, the simplicity, the beauty and of course the materials. I am surprised when I learn just how much of this Outport furniture was made using repurposed materials and reclaimed wood from barrels, fish crates and boxes. Many times in my childhood (and that wasn't very long ago) I remember seeing pieces of furniture in the homes of relatives with strange printings on the back and have only now realized that these pieces were made from old packing materials or barrels ... my eyes are open now, literally.

Next up is Mike Paterson, cabinet maker and woodworker living in Bonavista Bay, and another expert on furniture. Mike's presentation shows just how sexy outport designs can be and like Walter he gives insight into the details of this precious art. The slides of turned bed posts, windows and cabinets are simply stunning and hide nothing. I am left excited and wanting more. But I have to make the dash to pick up three more participants and I need to hurry ... I don't want to miss anymore and neither should the newcomers. This is good stuff.
www.patersonwoodworking.com


We end the day by gathering everyone near the work area and making wooden names tags to hang around our necks. No standard-issue-plastic-pinned-to-your-shirt style names tags for us ... and extra points are awarded for creativity. There is something very special about these personalized name tags. Each personality is showcased along with the names and it will certainly help you remember the names of the participants easily. As I write this post it is 7 days into the workshop (oops) and I don't think anyone wears their names tags anymore. I guess they worked.


+ + + Greg White

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Gathering Place


+ + + THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Day 1, here we go ...

In the middle of the Barr'd Islands Anglican Church on Fogo Island we have created a cocoon ... Sure it would be fun to think of giant moths or butterflies bursting free and terrorizing the Northeast coast of Newfoundland, but this is not THAT type of cocoon. Practicality and not experimental biology is of course the reason: it is February and the capacity for the very large church to retain cold winter air seems almost limitless. Therefore the industrious men of Fogo Island have built a tarpaulin cocoon to trap the heat and shelter everyone from the bitter sting of the salty winter air.

On the afternoon of February 11 I am waiting inside this cocoon with a fear I'm sure all people who have had a hand in organizing large events often feel ... will anyone show up?? Of course there are the participants and lecturers, we just had a delicious lunch of beans and toutons together at the local cafe, but what about the community? During the course of our preparations for the Outport interiors workshop we have invited many local artists, woodworkers and craftspeople to explore the aesthetics of such interiors and help integrate them into the Fogo Island Inn and the Arts Corporation Studio projects. We also encouraged the general public to come and investigate what sorts of things we will be up to at the church for the next 16 days. But once again the thought creeps into my mind ... will they come out?

With the cocoon slowly heating up (now with the added help of what can only be described as a 'fire canon') the stage has been set and the actors, or in this case the participants/lecturers, are ready for the curtain to rise. All is quiet, I pour myself a cup of coffee and as I chat with one of my colleagues about the A/V setup the door opens ... the first person has arrived and they are a member of the community. The doors open again ... and again ... and again. Soon our little cocoon is overflowing with people from Fogo Island who are curious about the workshop and many of them already want to get involved. In the next few minutes we run out of chairs and the event becomes standing room only. This is very exciting stuff.

Everyone is welcomed. Everyone mingles. Introductions are made around the snack table, people slowly open up and things are going well. The little room heats up quite fast now and the 'fire canon' is no match for the heat of 50 or more people packed into our little sheltered dome. Things get started and continue in the following order:

+ Welcome

+ Words from the Shorefast Foundation - Zita Cobb and Tony Cobb

+ Introduction to the Outport interiors Workshop - Elisabet Gunnarsdottir (Director of the Fogo Island Arts Corporation)

+ Words from Walter Peddle - Expert on Outport Furniture

+ Story and Song about Fogo Island Sealers - Pete Decker and Greg White

+ A Look at the Fogo Island Inn Plans - Nick Herder (Staff Architect for the Shorefast Foundation)

+ Excursion to the Inn Build Site

The day is a success. The gathering place that has stood for so long in this location has once again proven to be the ideal location for bringing minds together for a common purpose. Cocoon no longer feels like the right word for our little heated room sanctioned off from the rest of the cold church. It now feels much more like and incubator ... a warm place for the ideas of the artists, crafters and the community to grow and blossom into something that will benefit and inspire us all.



(Photo: Nick Herder)



+ + + Greg White

Workshop Participants

JUSTIN ARMSTRONG
Justin is currently preparing to defend a dissertation in cultural anthropology at McMaster University where his research examines the visual, narrative and material culture of isolated and abandoned settlements throughout North America. Justin also produces experimental electronic music and is a sometimes drawing-maker, printmaker and photographer. He was born in Saskatchewan, raised in Northern Ontario and lives in Boston.

JEFF BAGGS
Jeff is a woodworker and cabinetmaker in St. John's. He graduated with a BA in Theatre (technical scenography) from Dalhousie in 2003. Over the past 10 years, Jeff has worked extensively in theatre, film, and on a multitude of unique millwork and furniture projects. He currently operates Means Design Inc., offering custom furniture, cabinets, heritage renovations and specialty woodwork.

ELISABETH BELLIVEAU
elisabeth is an interdisciplinary artist working in stop-motion animation, drawing, textiles and writing. She completed a MFA at Concordia University and an BFA at the Alberta College of Art and Design. elisabeth is a published author and has screened and exhibited her work throughout Canada and Internationally. Currently her studio is based in Montreal, Quebec.

ERIC DEMAY
Eric is a Montreal-based designer & photographer. Things that get him going: everyday objects, human interactions, low-tech VS high-tech, experimental kitchen endeavors, phone interfaces, good lighting, text messaging, long journalistic essays, all things bicycles, his well-worn jeans. He's also been blogging about design and other interests since 2003.
www.ericdemay.com

PALL EINARSSON - WORKSHOP COORDINATOR
Pall is one true entrepreneur, especially in his field of endeavor which very few others have engaged in. Probably no one! Pall has the advantage over other chair designing, latte drinking modern designers of being extremely handy, creative, profoundly intelligent, verging on the autistic spectrum, but least and not last, dead handsome. He was basically appointed by god himself as a leader in his field.

ELAINE FORTIN
Elaine is the co-founder of Bipède, a young multi-disciplinary design studio, combining architectural and industrial design. Through its work, Bipède explores multifunctionnality, flexibility and modularity to create optimal interactivity between the user and the object or space. Bipède believe in design that allows the user to be creative and fully possess his environment.
www.bipede.ca
http://atelierbipede.blogspot.com/

KYM GREELEY
Kym is a St. John's-based visual artist whose work explores places where the natural environment meets with human intervention. Painted and screenprinted works range from large, abstracted landscapes to small practical objects for daily use. Kym has exhibited works in Canada, the USA and Germany.


NICK HERDER
Nick was born and raised in St.John's, Newfoundland, is a 7th generation Newfoundlander, and recently relocated back to Newfoundland form Brooklyn, New York. He now works as an architect for the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island and resides in the town of Tilting. Nick is primarily concerned with the next 300 yrs of Newfoundland building - especially on the edges. He reads backwards, walks forward, and talks with his hands.

GUDBJORG JAKOBSDOTTIR
Gudbjorg was born in Hafnafjörður, Iceland 1977. Graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts 2006 as an fashion designer. Founded a label of accessories named "Serendipity". As the name suggests the concept is based on the unexpected fortune of the material found. The label is based on repurposing quality material. In 2009 she co-founded a grass root market for young fashion designers, the aim is to create a platform for the designers to introduce them selves to the market.

HAFSTEINN JULIUSSSON
Hafsteinn is an Industrial/Interior designer from Reykjavik, Iceland living and working in Milano, Italy. He has aspired to solve his projects with few objectives in mind. Hafsteinn likes to approach design from new perspective and reach a diverse range of people. He would like to be involved with society, ecology and try to avoid mainstream mass production. As a designer Hafsteinn has no special focus, he is fascinated by simple things with fun solutions which have a rich and strong concept.

JONATHAN MANDEVILLE
Jonathan was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Moved to Halifax to study Architecture in 2003. Received Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies in 2005 and Masters in Architecture in 2007. Worked in Dublin, Ireland during Masters degree. Studied the reuse of abandoned industrial buildings in Germany and England in 2006 and placed first in 2007 LEAP Social Housing Competition. Currently works in Halifax, NS.

YVONNE MULLOCK
Yvonne is a visual artist based in Glasgow. Graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 2001, Mullock has gone on to exhibit widely both in U.K and in the U.S.A. Her current practice has been focused on several research led projects, from celebrating the natural diversity found on the man-made hills left from the mining industry to exploring the acoustic landscape of a region in Kentucky through the use of bird song. Recent exhibitions include ‘Natural Order’ at Glasgow School of Art, and ‘Now and Then and the Things In between’ at the New Center for Contemporary Art, Louisville, Kentucky.

MARTINE MYRUP
Martine is a visual artist based in Glasgow. She graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2002 and has since then exhibited widely across the UK and abroad. Recent shows include the solo show Misrememberings in Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen and New work by Tom Varley and Martine Myrup in Intermedia, Glasgow.


DAGUR OSKARSSON
Dagur (b. 1977) is a product designer who graduated from the Iceland Art Academy in 2008. He grew up in Dalvík, a small fishing village in northern Iceland. Memories of his childhood have sparked ideas he uses in his design that often centers on expressing a new interpretation of an older, utilitarian object in playfull way. In his work he seeks a homage to an old tradition, presenting the past to new generations in a modern way.

MICHAEL PITTMAN
Michael is a visual artist from Newfoundland and Labrador. He has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (MUN) and a Masters degree in painting from the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford, Ireland. Pittman works with multiple media, utilizing non-traditional combinations of materials to create eclectic, multi-layered images; often dealing with the overlap of psychology, science and personal experience. Pittman has had numerous public exhibitions of his work and exhibits regularly at the Leyton Gallery of Fine Art in St. John’s, NL and at View art Gallery in Victoria, BC. His paintings are held in public and private collections internationally. For further information, please visit his website at www.newfoundartist.com

STEVE TOPPING - WORKSHOP COORDINATOR
Steve lives and works in Montreal, Quebec and St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada and elsewhere. Working as an individual or in artists' collectives, Topping organizes and participates in many arts events that integrate film, video, painting, sculpture, new media, installation and performance art in site-specific urban spaces. Topping's art, that has included the creation of his own living space in the wheelhouse of an elevator atop an apartment building, has also been exhibited in more traditional gallery spaces. He has exhibited both internationally and locally.

JESSICA WATERMAN
Jessica Waterman received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the NSCAD University and completed a Diploma in Costume Studies at Dalhousie University. After studying Fine Arts, she worked full time in Carpentry and continued her education by enrolling in the Carpentry program at the Carpenters Millwrights College. Her recent art practice has focussed on texture in Carpentry and in Textiles. Her current work deals with Shape Imagery and the lines of movement and shadows. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across Canada. She lives in St. John's, Newfoundland where she teaches at the Anna Templeton Centre for Craft. She works on many theatre and film productions, building sets, props and costumes.