HYPERTUFA 9- THE LAST STUDIO FOR THE SEASON

 Weekend weather was dandy and this group finished off the 2011 Studio season with plenty of flash n 'dash.

 They really got into the hand mixing of the hypertufa- a real flurry of activity...and a pretty good workout too!

 Joan brought an elephant ear leaf ...

 ...and cast it as a water basin.

 A large single leaf can be very dramatic...

 ...but smaller leaves arranged in a chasing pattern also make a pleasing water basin.

 Brenda, an advanced tufaf-maker,  made an awesome two-part fountain.  Here she is touching up a bunch of grapes she sculpted from concrete for the upper portion of the fountain.  Water will pour out of a whole drilled near the bunch of grapes on each of the four sides.  I'll be sure to post shots of this fountain when she completes her project.

 Marsha begins packing hypertufa into her box mold.

 Jo completes the top edge which must be packed hard and finished well to withstand repeated lifting and planting.

 Ann added a scalloped detail to her planter edge using a cardboard paper towl tube.

 Deanna hammered small flat stones vertically into the edge of her planter.

Hand-sculpted stepping stones featuring several mosaic techniques.

HYPERTUFA STUDIO 8

 This week the group spent extra time making their stepping stones...

 ...Janet made a mosaic angel using one of my stones as inspiration.

 Pat made a butterfly with sections she planned to paint later.

 We also had a dog, a cat and I couldn't resist making an elf getting ready for our upcoming holiday retail event, Here Comes Santa Claus!

Kystal used large blue marbles for eyes on her grot...

 ...and Marilyn added more teeth to her grot's mouth. 
These will be ready to go for Halloween fun!

Sheryl brought some metal leaves she purchased at a garagre sale and arranged them into a wreath on the front of her box planter.  This is a great idea...I may have to try this myself!

STILL ROOM IN LAST 2 STUDIOS OF THE SEASON!

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 .

SCHEDULE:

September 10/11

September 24/25

Call Steve  at 913-579-5395 to sign up!.

HYPERTUFA 6

Nathan demonstrates how to cast leaves with concrete. Charlotte takes what she's learned and casts her squash leaves.

Everyone casts individual leaves and a grouping of leaves which becomes a wonderful leaf water basin for the birds.

Sigird's grot  sports lots of wire embellsihments and even broken mirror teeth!

Handsculpted Stepping Stones

HYPERTUFA 5

 

 Brannon and Logan are brothers who joined us for the studio  and did a fantastic job.  These guys had some great ideas...

 ...like a guitar pick and baseball stepping stone.

 Diane is very good at packing this tufa mold.  Note how nicely her finished piece has come out of the mold.

Brannon shows he can do the job just as well, while Logan gives his Grot some dental attention.

 Diane's beautiful natural leaf-edged water basin

 Grandma Sue gives Brannon a hand attaching leaves to his platter.

HYPERTUFA STUDIO 4

 Susan found a broccoli leaf in the garden and we cast it along with our other projects. The detail captured in concrete is amazing.  Susan plans to use this cast leaf as a serving platter for olives and cheese!  We will have a variety of these available at our Holiday Retail Event, Here Comes Santa Claus, coming in November.

 Kara and Bruce took the studio together but created separate projects.  Both proved to be very able craftspeople and turned out some really nice stepping stones, water basins and planters.

 Jessie and Susan add the finishing touches on their sculpted Grot heads.   "Grot" is a Danish term for a gnome and gardeners in Denmark love to bury them so they appear to be emerging from the earth.  The gnome is a symbol of good fortune and boy do we need some good fortune to make it through this terrible heat wave!

 Freshly made stepping stones.

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 3/4

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: 

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

Thursday, September 9/15

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

HYPERTUFA STUDIO 3

 Really nice stepping stones this time and not one "cowpie"  A "cowpie" is our clever term for a pile of cement with a bunch of glass stuck in it!

 Stephanie created a unique stone using canning lids.   This photo reminds me of the type that made the newspaper during fair days in Wisconsin.  Homey and newsy, they usually depicted the aproned house wife showing her prize blue ribbon jam.   In 2011, Stephaine's chucked the apron and buys her jam at the grocery store or From the Summer's Garden.  She's into making cool things to complement her garden.

  

 Nancy makes her stone "footable", safe to walk on with a barefoot.  She's usung a brick to smooth the sharp edges.

 Phyllis is an accomplished artist and discovered new ways to use her mosaic skills.  Here she cleans up her sculpted sleeping cat stone.

 Brenda arranged interesting leaves with deep veining on a sand hump mold. Then applied a layer of thick concrete to capture the leaf texture for her leaf platter.

 Here's proof that I actually do help mix up the tufa.  Usually studio participants are shown doing this hearty task.  

Tired, hot, but happy too!  Even though the extra warm weather can be uncomfortable, it is perfect HYPERTUFA-making weather.