Tuesday, December 28, 2010

ANNOUNCING 2011 CREATIVE WORKSHOPS & STUDIOS

Here's the run down of the fun and exciting Creative Workshops and Studios available at From the Summer's Garden in 2011.

Creative Workshops are one session experiences focused on a specific project. All materials are provided.

Hypertufa Studios offer a collaborative experience where you learn to make Steve's "green" version of HYPERTUFA, a mixture of cement and other earth-friendly materials. It is a fascinating medium with great creative potential., You will mix, mold and sculpt concrete and hypertufa into unique and functional garden art. Choose the studio that best suits you;
Beginning Hypertufa, Advanced or Hypertufa Lite.

Handmade Paper Studios provide the opportunity to explore the art and craft of handmade papermaking using natural elements from the garden and recycle materials. It's fun to experiment in the creation of beautiful papers and use them along with paper pulp to make bowls, cast ornaments, books and papermache sculptures.

Look for posts titled Creative Workshops, Hypertufa Studios and Handmade Paper Studios for specific session descriptions and how to enroll.

2011 HYPERTUFA STUDIOS



Hypertufa Studios

The Hypertufa Studio offers a collaborative experience where you learn to make Steve’s “green” version of HYPERTUFA, a mixture of cement and other earth-friendly materials. It is a fascinating medium with great creative potential. You will mix, mold and sculpt concrete and hypertufa into unique and functional garden art including planters, platters, bird baths, stepping stones…if you can imagine it, we’ll try to make it! Most participants happily take home 4-5 finished items from the two-day session. Each is made up of a Saturday and Sunday morning from 9:00-12:00. Cost for this studio is $75.00 with a $50.00 non-refundable registration.
SCHEDULE:

July 30/31

August 6/7
August 27/28
September 10/11
September 24/25


Advanced Hypertufa Studios

The Advanced Hypertufa Studio offers a collaborative experience providing experienced HYPERTUFA makers the opportunity to create special projects of their own or involving advanced techniques building upon knowledge acquired in the Hypertufa Studio. This may include multiple planters coordinated by design, unique water features, garden sculpture and furniture, both functional and aesthetic. Output depends on individual concepts and rate of working. Each session is made up of a Saturday and Sunday morning from 9:00-12:00.Cost for this studio is $75.00 with a $50.00 non-refundable registration Additional costs may result due to special materials or equipment required for specific individual projects.
SCHEDULE: 
July 16/17
August 13/14

Hypertufa Lite

Hypertufa Lite offers the chance to get a taste of the process in just one session. You will learn to mix Steve’s “green” hypertufa , make a mold and cast a planter to take home, all in the same three hour session on a Tuesday or Thursday evening. Cost for Hypertufa Lite is $65.00 per session with a $25.00 non-refundable registration.

7:00-10:00 pm Tuesday or Thursday Evenings
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, July 7/21
Tuesday, August 8/16



Register and secure your spot in the Creative Workshops
and Studios by sending the registration fee to:
Steve Hess
8601 Barkley Street
Overland Park, KS 66212

2011 HANDMADE PAPER STUDIOS



Handmade Paper Studio

The Handmade Paper Studio provides the opportunity to explore the art and craft of handmade papermaking using natural elements from the garden and recycled materials. It’s fun to experiment in the creation of beautiful papers and to use them and paper pulp to make bowls, cast ornaments, books and paper mache items. You will not only learn how to make handmade paper, but will also learn to make plaster molds for casting paper pulp. Most participants happily take home 4-5 finished items from the two-day session. Each is made up of a Saturday and Sunday morning from 9:00-12:00. Cost for this studio is $75.00 with a $50.00 non-refundable registration.
Schedule:
August 20/21
September 17/18

Register and secure your spot in the Handmade Paper Studios by sending the registration fee to:
Steve Hess
8601 Barkley Street
Overland Park, KS 66212

Monday, December 20, 2010

YOUR GARDEN PATHYWAYS

It’s bitterly cold outside and the ground is frozen hard. There’s not much left to do in your garden and besides it’s no fun in the cold. It’s a perfect time to think about the design elements in your garden and develop a simple plan to make your garden even more exciting for the coming season.
A sense of beauty combined with a sense of humor helps to make a garden warm and inviting. It is far more exciting to become enchanted when you enter a garden than merely impressed by scale or expensive plants. The way you arrange the space in your garden influences its’ beauty and its utility. The garden path often achieves this purpose. Pathways divide the space and direct passage and flow through your garden space.

Light-hearted stones can show your sense of humor.


Here are a few tips for creating pathways with stepping stones.
1. Vary the size and shape of stepping stones to define key points along your pathway. Begin and end your garden journey with stones that are larger or more distinctive. These entrance and exit stones should be large enough for someone to stand on with both feet. Place a large stone near any “event” or point of interest you’d like people to notice. Smaller stones lead people to the various events and call for them to look down as they place their feet.
2. Choose stones to suit the setting or concept; large rectangular stones for practical areas receiving high foot or utility traffic and decorative and meandering stones for discovery and interest.
3. Be careful with the pacing. Think about the various gaits and strides of the people who will be moving through your garden. Some move slowly and take small steps while others move quickly, taking longer strides. Just remember how frustrating it is to walk down a stairway with a low rise and wide steps. Generally speaking, stones measuring 12-18 inches across should be spaced about 3 inches apart. This works well for most people. Smaller stones can be placed in a right-left-right-left pattern to mimic walking.
4. Get the stone height right. If you place your stones within lawn that needs mowing you will need to place them below the desired level of your grass. In the interior of the garden they should be set at least 1/2 inch above whatever is around them.Any higher and people are bound to trip along their walk.

5. Strive for a sense of seamlessness. Arrange stepping stones for a feeling of rhythm, complimenting the total look and feel of your garden. Fit them together so they feel right, paying special attention to the transitional areas.



Thursday, December 16, 2010

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Merry "Sweet" Christmas
from Steve, Laurie and
the Studio Assistants at
From the Summer's Garden!

DONATION TO ST. INNOCENT'S ORPHANAGE


Sales of our soaps and skin cremes generated $600 which has been donated to St. Innocent's Orphanage-Project Mexico. Executive Director Geoffrey Bray has informed us that these funds will be matched through the generosity of the Nehemiah Foundation. This will help Project Mexico reach out to many orphans and alleviate the poverty of countless needy families. For more information visit Project Mexico's website.