Vivian Beer

Studio Works LLC

February

02/07/06- 04/08/06 1PM - 5PM   Penland Residents Exhibition

March

03/25/06 1PM   Tea Time Talk; Vivian Beer and Angela Bubash Talk; Metals artist Angela Bubash and furniture artist Vivian Beer to give talk about their work.

April

April, 21-24 (4 days); New England School of Metalwork; Class Take Two; Bring in an idea that you cannot figure out, or a piece that in yours eyes has failed and we will work to identify these problems and brainstorm solutions/approaches to change them. Group and one on one problem-solving will develop a plan for bringing each students work to the next level. We will discuss systems of production, jigs, tool making, sample development modeling in scale, basic drafting and design systems such as harmonic proportions. The class is theoretical but we will have plenty of time experimenting at the forges. Practical demonstrations will vary depending on the projects brought to the table. 

June

July

July 7-11 (5 days); Peters Valley; Hot Sheet Forming: Planning & Practice

This class will examine, use and abuse sheet as a material for architectural and artful blacksmithing. We will sink, raise, bend, roll, weld, construct and fold form (all exercises are designed to understand the specific possibilities of forming sheet material). We will use some new die configuration and holding techniques on the air hammer to speed up, augment and add a little excitement into the same processes. Slide presentations on historical and contemporary work will act as a touchstone for practical and creative uses, but be prepared to work hard and generate a box full of samples for further explorations.

September

September 2-3 (2 day); Peters Valley; Furniture Design

This will be a practical design survey. We will touch on the subjects of proportion, ergonomics, style, history, material experimentation, brainstorming exercises, design theory, terminology, scale drafting and modeling. We will be surveying these topics in order to fill our toolbox with new ways to approach the planning stage of furniture making. Whether the goal is personal expression or historical reproduction, students will be encouraged to build a notebook of sketches and ideas to draw from in the future. Although most of the class will take place in a lecture format, group discussions, plus hands-on modeling and drafting projects will punctuate the afternoons.