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labricoleuseI have to say, one of the great boons of having established the North Carolina piedmont as my artistic "home base," is the truly diverse range of other artists to be found here, and the ways and means in which we all overlap and interact and collaborate.
A couple weeks ago, i attended a stilt-making and -walking workshop co-hosted by the Hillsborough Arts Council of Hillsborough, NC, and the grassroots/activist puppetry collective, Paperhand Puppet Intervention. The workshop was held at the historic Moorefields house, an estate in rural Orange County built in 1785. Its final owner, Edward Draper-Savage, left the property to be used for the advancement of the arts, and a couple dozen of us met on the grounds for this workshop, which is apparently a recurring yearly event.
The workshop was led by Donovan Zimmerman of Paperhand (whose shows have often incorporated stiltwalking characters) assisted by Mark Donley from the HAC. They had set up some tables and sawhorses on the Moorefields grounds with tools and supplies, and we worked outdoors beneath shade trees. As best i could determine from informal conversation, the participants ranged from middle-schoolers to grandmothers, from experienced carpenters to folks who'd never used a power-tool. We began at 11am and were walking by 3pm (with a quick lunch break on the fly)!
The stilts we made were essentially the same as the ones for which you can download plans at The Stilt Man's site, here--peg stilts that are braced at the wearer's knee.
The workshop went pretty fast and furious, so i don't have step-by-step images, but really, the Stilt Man's plans are sufficient if you want to build your own, far moreso than any post i'd make. I did document some of the action in photos though, behind the cut!
Moorefields, as seen from the front lawn
These cool old boot-scrapers were by every door.
Most of the house was closed for renovations,
but i spied this neat coat-tree on the rear veranda.
Moorefields again, this time from the rear of the house
Power saw in the garden
My finished stilts, propped in the garden
Distance shot with walkers in the background, for a better idea of the workspace we were in
One person's up walking with help in the field, as several more prepare to give it a shot
Mark Donley helps a girl get her "stilt legs"--she took off after this, a real natural!
As i said, they do this every year, so if you're within easy travel of Hillsborough and are interested in such a workshop, get in touch with the folks at the Hillsborough Arts Council about future dates. And, if you aren't nearby, i honestly believe stilts are one of those things that seem more daunting in theory than in practice--with some pals, some tools, and the Stilt Man's plans, you could probably hold your own impromptu workshop.
Unrelated, here's a cool link to a Guardian slideshow of Swimsuits through the Ages!
A couple weeks ago, i attended a stilt-making and -walking workshop co-hosted by the Hillsborough Arts Council of Hillsborough, NC, and the grassroots/activist puppetry collective, Paperhand Puppet Intervention. The workshop was held at the historic Moorefields house, an estate in rural Orange County built in 1785. Its final owner, Edward Draper-Savage, left the property to be used for the advancement of the arts, and a couple dozen of us met on the grounds for this workshop, which is apparently a recurring yearly event.
The workshop was led by Donovan Zimmerman of Paperhand (whose shows have often incorporated stiltwalking characters) assisted by Mark Donley from the HAC. They had set up some tables and sawhorses on the Moorefields grounds with tools and supplies, and we worked outdoors beneath shade trees. As best i could determine from informal conversation, the participants ranged from middle-schoolers to grandmothers, from experienced carpenters to folks who'd never used a power-tool. We began at 11am and were walking by 3pm (with a quick lunch break on the fly)!
The stilts we made were essentially the same as the ones for which you can download plans at The Stilt Man's site, here--peg stilts that are braced at the wearer's knee.
The workshop went pretty fast and furious, so i don't have step-by-step images, but really, the Stilt Man's plans are sufficient if you want to build your own, far moreso than any post i'd make. I did document some of the action in photos though, behind the cut!
Moorefields, as seen from the front lawn
These cool old boot-scrapers were by every door.
Most of the house was closed for renovations,
but i spied this neat coat-tree on the rear veranda.
Moorefields again, this time from the rear of the house
Power saw in the garden
My finished stilts, propped in the garden
Distance shot with walkers in the background, for a better idea of the workspace we were in
One person's up walking with help in the field, as several more prepare to give it a shot
Mark Donley helps a girl get her "stilt legs"--she took off after this, a real natural!
As i said, they do this every year, so if you're within easy travel of Hillsborough and are interested in such a workshop, get in touch with the folks at the Hillsborough Arts Council about future dates. And, if you aren't nearby, i honestly believe stilts are one of those things that seem more daunting in theory than in practice--with some pals, some tools, and the Stilt Man's plans, you could probably hold your own impromptu workshop.
Unrelated, here's a cool link to a Guardian slideshow of Swimsuits through the Ages!
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Date: 2009-07-29 04:26 pm (UTC)