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Join Us For The 75th Anniversary Midyear Meeting Sep 7-11 ↗

The Rhythms Of Stone Workshop - Chicago

Words: DJ MartinelliThe Rhythms of Stone Workshop will be held at the Chicago Botanic Garden, October 11,12, 13 and 14, 2013.

Sculptor-In-Residence DJ Garrity developed the Rhythms Of Stone Workshop at Mount Rushmore National Memorial as an interpretive training program in collaboration with the National Park Service. The artist has subsequently conducted the accredited workshop at museums, botanic gardens and art associations across America.

The workshop is based on the artists book “The Rhythms Of Stone - The Essential Guide To Carving The Face In Stone”. Participants in Garrity’s workshop develop skills to quickly finesse the human face from a rough block of stone and gain an appreciation for the powerful influence that the human vestige brings to the landscape and as a distinctive and unique signature within stone or masonry projects.

Garrity currently divides his time between France and the West of Ireland and prior to his move to Europe in 2011 the workshop was an accredited and well-known program within the masonry and landscaping communities of California and Oregon. The artist will be conducting just two workshops in America during 2013 at Chicago and Boston. No previous stone carving experience is required.

Day I: Morning Session 8:00 - 12:00

8:30-10:30 The Rhythms Of Stone Lecture

The Rhythms Of Stone lecture is derived from the book of the same title by Sculptor DJ Garrity and is based upon the creative journals documented during the in situ creation of the portrait of Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi within Columbia River Basalt at Portland, Oregon.

10:30-12:00 Introduction and Demonstration

Introduction and demonstration of the basic hand tools of direct stone sculpture and discussion in relation to safe tool handling and work habits.

Day I: Afternoon Session 1:00 - 4:30

Introduction to the basics of three-dimensional portraiture in stone. Individual mentoring
in relation to stone layout, tool selection and roughing out techniques.

4:30-5:00 Brief overview of workshop progress followed by a Q/A session.

Day II: Morning Session 8:00 - 12:00

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief discussions based on the works-in-progress. Brief lecture concerning tool progression in the sculpting process.

Day II: Afternoon Session 1:00 - 4:00

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief situational lectures based on the works-in-progress. Discussion of the landmarks of the human face and demonstration of techniques involved with creating facial features.

4:00-5:00 Monumental Sculpture of the American West Lecture

A behind the scenes presentation that delves into the creation of The Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorials in America. The people, challenges and innovations surrounding the creation of Mount Rushmore accompanied by archival images and contrasted by the work-in-progress of the sixty-year ongoing efforts to create the Crazy Horse Memorial, a work destined to become the worlds largest stone sculpture.

Day III: Morning Session 8:00 - 12:00

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief discussions based on the works-in-progress.

Day III: Afternoon Session 1:00 - 3:30

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief discussions based on the works-in-progress.
3:30-4:30 Discussion and demonstration of techniques to emphasize features of the human face.
4:30-5:00 Group discussion relating to the works created.

Day IV: Morning Session 8:00 - 12:00

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief discussions based on the works-in-progress.

Day IV: Afternoon Session 1:00 - 3:30

Monitor and guide individual works accompanied by brief discussions based on the works-in-progress.
3:30-4:30 Discussion and demonstration of stone finishing techniques.
4:30-5:00 Workshop summation and group discussion relating to the works created.

Call 847-835-8278 or email bpinargote@chicagobotanic.org to register for the Chicago workshop.
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