Garden art workshops back by popular demand

Three garden art workshops, Concrete Sculpture and Mosaics with Wouterina “Riana” de Raad and Bent Willow Furniture with Bim Willow, will be offered in March and April at The Phipps Center for the Arts.

The Concrete Sculpture workshop will be offered on Saturday, March 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, March 11, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Participants will make a multi-layered metal armature and cover it with concrete. They will learn how to cut and shape metal lath, as well as when and how to use reinforcements. The instructor will give a demonstration on various cementing techniques and discuss cement formulas as well as what pigments to use for coloring cement. Students should wear work clothes and bring garden gloves with a cloth upper and a thin Nitrile palm (Atlas gloves are recommended), band-aids, a dust mask, and a sack lunch each day. All other materials and tools will be provided. The fee for this workshop is $235.

The Mosaic workshop will be held on Saturday, March 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 1, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Students will learn how to cut and break glass and ceramic tile, as well as what materials and adhesives to use for subzero climates. The instructor will lead a grouting demonstration and discuss cement formulas as well as how to use pigments and texture a cement surface. Participants must wear old clothes; provide the object or sculpture to mosaic; bring tiling objects such as broken dishes, buttons, mirrors, beads, shells, tiles, etc. (for outdoor work, tiling materials must be impermeable); and bring old towels or rags, garden gloves with a cloth upper and a think Nitrile palm (Atlas gloves are recommended), band-aids, a dust mask, and a sack lunch each day. All other materials and tools will be provided. The fee for this workshop is $180.

Instructor de Raad’s award-winning sculpture gardens have been featured on “Rebecca’s Garden” and “The Wisconsin Gardener” on Wisconsin Public Television, as well as in publications including “Backyard Living,” “Minnesota Monthly,” “Country Gardens,” “Minnesota Horticulturalist,” and the “Folk Art Messenger.” To see more of de Raad’s work, go to www.concretemosaicsculpture.com.

The Bent Willow Furniture Workshop will take place on Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for those who are making historical bent willow furniture, and from 1 to 5 p.m. for all other projects. Students will learn the basics of building with natural materials while making a bent willow project of their own choosing -- from a plant stand or trellis to a garden bench or arbor to an historic loveseat or rocker. Students are required to bring hammers (8 ounce and 16 ounce), pruning shears, and work gloves. A limited number of loppers and wire cutters will be available to share. All other materials and supplies are included. Participants should ask for a project list upon enrollment. Items not listed may be built in class as well -- all ideas and dreams are welcomed. The fee for this workshop is $50 to $385, depending upon the project.

Bim Willow started making Gypsy willow furniture in 1972 as a hobby. Before long, it was a full-time occupation and now Willow is recognized around the country as one of the masters of the art. In 1998, he published his first “how to” book, “Making Gypsy Willow Furniture,” and began teaching classes in this historical American craft. He has authored five books and was featured on HGTV as well as in numerous magazine newspaper articles throughout the United States.

For more information or to enroll, go to

www.ThePhipps.org, call 715.386.2305, or stop by the center.

Tags: arts and entertainment, lifestyle, arts, education