Materials Matter will host a series of 4 Summer workshops at VISUAL. The workshops will take place outdoors (weather permitting) and be suitable for 8 -10 people to attend. These small groups will come together to explore methods and recipes for the production of sustainable DIY alternatives to plastic-based contemporary art materials and tools. Tea, coffee and lunch will be included.

This series of workshops will be delivered by the Materials Matter group Clare Breen, Mary Conroy, Laura Ní Fhliabhín and invited collaborators. These processes, practices and knowledge are local, publicly shared and
open-source. Materials Matter are slowly unlearning our dependence on unsustainable processes of artmaking through researching, exploring, playing, sometimes just fumbling about and documenting and sharing that
journey along the way.

There will be a completely free space for a student, please apply to learning@visualcarlow.ie with a short letter outlining your interest in the project and a small CV and portfolio.

Day 1

July 4th: Making paper

- Clare Breen will lead you through the papermaking process, using recycled office materials and organic matter, you will make sheets of paper and consider paper as a sculptural material.

Day 2

July 5th: Processing wild clay and firing

- Mary Conroy will lead you through the process, from identifing and sourcing suitable clay from the ground to firing a handmade bowl.

Day 3

July 6th: Making charcoal and exploring drawing

- Laura Ní Fhlaibhín will guide you through the process to make our own charcoal. We will prepare willow stems and then fire outdoors. There will be time to explore ways of mark making with the willow charcoal in the afternoon, we will also make some charcoal inks and explore drawing techniques using paper made on Day 1.

Day 4

July 7th: Making crayons, paint and exploring drawing and painting techniques

- Laura Ní Fhlaibhín will lead participants through the processes involved in making crayons using natural materials. There will also be time to experiment with some organic pant recipes too. The afternoon will be devoted to mark making and colour experimentation activities with our new tools.

Materials Matter is a movement, a container, a holder and a way of
thinking, rather than an autonomous project. Our aim is to bring
together practices and ways of working that have been forgotten,
indigenous, passed along, embellished, reworked, reformed, remembered,
with the common denominator of sustainability.

https://materialsmatter.ie/

instagram: @materialsmatter.ie