Creative Living Workshops 2010
Brooke Valley's artisans and eco-builders are dedicated to sustainable lifestyles. We love sharing our skills and knowledge, so we began offering Creative Living Workshops in the summer of 2007.
Brooke Valley Workshops bring you to the studios, gardens and eco-housing sites of the individual instructors. In our first year, all classes were actually in Brooke Valley, a rural community south-west of Perth. But as more instructors have joined us in this unique concept, our geographical impact covers more of Lanark County. Whichever workshops you attend, the instructor's venues are welcoming, professional and beautiful, each in its own way.
Choose your workshops from the list below then download the registration form at the top right.
Please note that we must receive your registration at least two weeks ahead of any class.
If any of these dates are not convenient for you, get together a group of 2-6 people and arrange your own private class! Hammock classes are for 2 people at a time; other classes take 2 to 6 participants.
Beginner and Advance Pottery Anne Chambers
Anne's pottery course is designed for beginner potters interested in creating their first pot or more experienced potters wanting to improve their throwing skills or work out a specific pottery issue. This hands-on workshop is five days long.
July 19-23rd (5 days), 10 am to 4 pm each day - $300
Anne Chambers is a John Mather Award winning potter and teacher. A potter for 27 years, Anne has taught many pottery and glaze workshops around the province and is known for her work in porcelain. Anne Chambers Pottery
Make a Hammock Malcolm Williams
Yes, it only takes one day to weave your own rope hammock and assemble it with wooden stretcher bars. The best part is testing the finished product! For some reason, participants have a very happy grin on their faces at testing time...
The medium-size hammock or hammock chair that you will make are pictured at Blue Chicory Workshop. A hammock chair hangs from a single point - a tree, a beam, or a ceiling joist. Hammocks require two posts or trees about 13-14 feet apart.
Tuition includes lunch and materials: hammock chair $95 or medium hammock $125.
Each one-day class is 9 am to 4 pm. Only two students per class.
June 12, July 18, July 19, July 20, July 21, July 22, July 23, July 24, July 25
Malcolm Williams has hand-crafted hammocks for ten years, first as chief hammock-maker at Sitting Pretty, and now in his own business Blue Chicory Workshop. He works with local wood, much of it from his own woodlot, to make beautiful and durable outdoor furniture.
Rustic Cedar Furniture Making Dawn King
Create your own unique piece of garden furniture. Dawn offers several separate workshops. Each is one day and complete in itself. No previous wood-working experience is needed. Classes are open to all skill levels, age 15 & up. Bring your lunch and wear old work-clothes. Bring the following tools if you have them: 2 drills (one electric for drilling wood, one cordless for screws), a hammer, pruning saw, pruning shears and staple gun.
The following classes can also be offered at other dates throughout the spring, summer and fall of 2010 for your group of 2-6 (arbours, maximum 4 participants).June 19 Six projects $100
June 20 Mosaic table $110
June 26 Garden bench $140
June 27 Arbour $140
July 21 Six projects $100
July 22 Mosaic table $110
July 23 Garden bench $140
July 24 Arbour $140
August 11 Garden bench $140
August 12 Arbour $140
August 13 Six projects $100
August 14 Mosaic table $110
Six projects class includes pot trellis, cedar carrier, hanging shelf, tripod planter, star, and picture frame planter.
All classes are 9 am to 4 pm (Mosaic tables until 5 pm). All prices include materials.
Author of the book Rustic Garden Projects, Dawn has been teaching and making furniture for more than 15 years. She is a founding member of Riverguild in Perth and has exhibited her work at Kiwi Gardens, Rideau Nursery, the Kanata Landscape Show, the Perth Autumn Studio Tour and the Brooke Valley Spring Tour. Dawn King Rustic Cedar Furniture
Organic Gardening: Veggies and Herbs Kristine Swaren
Spend a day in the gardens learning how to grow, harvest and store your favourite vegetables and herbs for good health and taste. Learn about compost, mulch and companion planting. Prepare a fresh-from-the-garden lunch and herb tea. The gardening class will focus on veggies and culinary herbs. The Herbal Health class will focus on the medicinal use of herbs found in the garden and fields, and will include hands-on preparation of herbal vinegars and tinctures to take home
Tuition includes lunch and materials.
Organic Gardening - May 8 or June 5 (Saturdays), 9 am - 4 pm, $55
Herbal Health - August 22 (Sunday) or August 26 (Thursday), 9 am - 4 pm, $65
(note that the brochure incorrectly listed Aug 25)
Kristine Swaren has been gardening organically for over 30 years, including recent apprenticeships with a herbalist and an organic farmer. At Blue Chicory Garden she produces veggies, herbs, honey for farmgate, CSA and Perth Farmers Market.
Birch Bark and Twig Mosaic Furniture Dean Spence
Learn the traditional Adirondack craft of building with birch bark and twigs to create a picture frame or end table - either of these two workshops are an excellent introduction to rustic woodcraft.
For those skilled with tools or having some experience building rustic furniture, try the advanced classes to create an armchair, loveseat or headboard.
Each class covers safety and proper use of tools, the collection of raw materials, the use of simple techniques to make the process more manageable, and how to finish the item.
The workshop fees include all materials and lunch. A Student Tool list is provided at registration. Students must be in good health, able to handle sharp tools and perform moderate manual labor. Creating Birch Bark Picture Frames - July 16 or by appointment, 9 am - 1 pm, $85
Building a Birch Mosaic End Table - July 17 or by appointment, 9 am - 3:30 pm, $160
Building a Rustic Armchair - August 6 or October 16, 9 am - 5:30 pm, $225
Building a Rustic Headboard - August 7, 9 am - 5:30 pm, $225
Building a Rustic Loveseat - October 17, 9 am - 5:30 pm, $225
Dean Spence spent 22 years building custom, hand-crafted log homes prior to turning his focus to rustic furniture design and production in 1994. His furniture won awards 3 years running at the Out of the Woods juried exhibition for woodworkers in BC. Dean has taught rustic design, joinery and ornamentation to hundreds of students across North America. His work is sold via the internet at Kapristo Mountain Woodcraft and by stores featuring handcrafted furniture and accessories.
Tree Recognition and Forest Management Malcolm Williams
Can you tell which tree is a maple when there are no leaves on it?
Enjoy a day wandering through 170 acres of woodlands. Our land has an interesting mix of hardwood and softwood trees that you will learn to identify by their structure, bark, and leaves or needles.
Sustainable forest management techniques can accomplish specific goals, optimizing the woodlot for lumber, food production, birds and wildlife, or recreation - or several uses at once. The class will discuss how to decide which trees to save, harvest or prune. There will be opportunity to practice your pruning techniques with hand-tools.
Tuition is $55 and includes lunch. Classes are 9 am to 4 pm.
May 8 (Saturday), June 5 (Saturday), August 22-29 or Sep 26-Oct 2 (any one day)
Malcolm Williams is a life-long student and steward of the forest.
Accommodations are available close by, including rustic cabins or tenting within the community. Inquire about these when registering. Other local accommodations can be found at these links:
Perth Chamber of CommerceFor more information, email us at welcome-at-brookevalley.ca (replace -at- in the email address with @) or call Kristine at 613-278-1226.
Lanark County Tourism
Silver Lake Provincial Park
Christie Lake Cottages 613.267.3470
Nordlaw Lodge 613.273.2920
If you are an instructor in the arts or sustainable living skills, and would like to offer classes in future years, please contact us at welcome-at-brookevalley.ca (replace -at- with @).
Brooke Valley provides learning experiences with an emphasis on relaxation and fun. Enjoy the peaceful countryside - get away from your usual routine, use the other side of your brain!
