Masters of Sloyd is a webinar series in which makers talk about their craft online via Zoom. Masters of Sloyd arose from my own interest in learning more about traditional crafts and the people who still practice them today. I like to help spread that knowledge in the modern world, because I believe that these crafts can bring contemporary people, the products they use and nature closer together. The Masters of Sloyd is by crafters for crafters. The speakers do this free of charge and participation is free.
How it started
Due to the Corona pandemic it was difficult to meet each other in real live. Courses and festivals were canceled and a curfew was imposed. The evenings were long and I asked a number of people to, online, tell us about their craft . One after the other said yes and suddenly there was the series The Masters of Sloyd. At the end of the first series, people enthusiastically asked for a part two, with other crafts, more in-depth knowledge and international speakers. Many of you have suggested topics and speakers and so I started working on it. Before I knew it there was a second series with about 500 participants who registered for one or more webinars and now there is the 3rd series!
Now running
The first webinar of the 3rd series was December the 1st with Jane Mickelborough about Fan Birds. Jane is known for her beautiful spoons, but she also specializes in making Fanbirds. She tells us all about it and it will be in English. Fan birds are birds that look very beautiful and very complex, but you can make them completely out of just one piece of soaked wood. Making a fanbird is not that difficult, but a lot depends on the wood you use and the knowledge of how to make them is not very widespread. Jane is going to change that by hosting this webinar tonight and releasing a book soon. Jane Mickelborough (www.chatquilit.com) is internationally renowned for her beautiful inlaid Breton spoons and her vast knowledge of the subject. She is also the author of the book about perhaps the greatest challenge of every spoon carver; folding spoons.
The program
There will be a webinar every other Thursday at 20:30 CET starting from December the 1st till March the 30th. There are 5 webinars in Dutch and 4 in English. So international participant are welcome to join us. Last series we even had international participants joining us during the webinars in Dutch!
- December 1st – Jane Mickelborough about fan birds (in English)
- December 15th – Lieuwe Jongsma about Urushi (in Dutch)
- January 5th – Gijs van Zonneveld about Finials (in Dutch)
- January 19th – Jan Harm ter Brugge about Side Branch Spoons (in Dutch)
- February 2nd – Ron Eerdhuijsen about Mid Winter Horns (in Dutch)
- February 16th – Molly Sjöstam about Relief Carving (in English)
- March 2nd – Fred Livesay about Knot Baskets (in English)
- March 16th – Raleigh Klotzek about Broom Binding (in English)
- April 6th – Sjors van der Meer about Chair Making (in Dutch)
How to participate
The speakers during Masters of Sloyd give their presentations free of charge and participation is free for everyone. If you want to join all you have to do is sign up via my website Masters of Sloyd – The free webinars are back! – Carolina’s Sloyd (slojd.nl). The webinars with international speakers are in English and so international participants are welcome to join us. I’m really looking forward to the series and I hope to see you soon!
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About the Webinars in English
Jane Mickelborough is known for her beautiful spoons, but she also specializes in making Fanbirds. She tells us all about it in this free webinar. The language of this webinar is English.
Fan Birds
Fan birds are birds that look very beautiful and very complex, but you can make them completely out of just one piece of soaked wood. Making a fanbird is not that difficult, but a lot depends on the wood you use and the knowledge of how to make them is not very widespread. Jane is going to change that by hosting this webinar tonight and releasing a book soon.
About Jane Mickelborough
Jane Mickelborough (www.chatquilit.com) is internationally renowned for her beautiful inlaid Breton spoons and her vast knowledge of the subject. She is also the author of the book about perhaps the greatest challenge of every spoon carver; folding spoons.
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The very first Masters of Sloyd was once with Lieuwe Jongsma (Livius.eu), who talked about the Japanese lacquer technique Urushi. For those who missed it then, Lieuwe will be repeated tonight! The language of this webinar is English
Urushi, a Japanese lacquer technique
Urushi is a Japanese lacquer technique that produces a beautiful result. Many layers of Urushi give your work a beautiful deep dark shine, but there is a lot to know about how to prepare, apply and cure this finish. Incorrect use can even be dangerous! Lieuwe will introduce you to the secrets of this ancient Asian art.
About Lieuwe Jongsma
Lieuwe Jongsma is an internationally known spoon carver. He is a regular face at many international festivals such as Spoonfest in England. Because during the very first Masters of Sloyd the image & sound was not as good as it is now, Lieuwe will give his presentation again. A great opportunity for those who missed it at the time.
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Molly Sjöstam (@slojdarmolly) is a well-known Swedish wood carver. Tonight she will tell us more about the decoration technique relief carving. The language of this webinar is English.
Relief carving
Relief carving is a woodcarving technique where it’s not about what you cut away, but more about what you leave behind. With this technique you can apply very nice 3-dimensional decorations.
About Molly Sjöstam
Molly Sjöstam comes from near Umeå in northern Sweden. Molly is a professional craftsman and lives from selling her handicrafts and giving courses. Relief carving is one of her specialties and she is known for colorful work with organic shapes. She carves flowers, leaf patterns and cinnamon buns.
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On March 2nd, the American crafts teacher Fred Livesay (www.hand2mouthcrafts.com) will tell us about the knutkorg, the Swedish word for knot basket. It is a special way of making baskets. The language of this webinar is English.
Knot baskets / Knutkorgar
Knutkorgar are wooden baskets that are partly woven, with a frame that holds itself in place by tension, by using special wood connections. It is a craft that has its roots in Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
About Fred Livesay
Fred Livesay has devoted his life and career to traditional handicrafts. He studied Scandinavian folk art, decorative crafts, art history and museum studies. Fred is a crafts teacher with over 35 years of experience teaching in the US and Sweden. He is a founding member and instructor of the North House Folk School in Minnesota and also teaches internationally in countries like The Netherlands and England.
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During this webinar, Raleigh Klotzek of wildcraftedhome.com will demonstrate and tell us about binding a hand broom from a type of Soghum, which is commonly referred to as Broomcorn. The language of this webinar is English.
Broom binding
During this webinar, Raleigh Klotzek tells us more about the history and making of a ‘turkey wing’ hand broom. This is a traditional hand broom made from Sorghum, the grain that is also known in America as ‘broom corn’.
About Raleigh Klotzek
Raleigh lives and works with her husband in their business Wild Crafted Home; you may recognise them as @wildcraftedworkshop. Until recently they were traveling with an orange campervan, but in the last month they have moved to Sweden. They teach a variety of traditional crafts, including the pole lathe, spoon carving, woodworking, and also brush and broom binding. They are co-organizers of the German craft festival Von Hand.
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Sincerely yours,
Carolina Smoorenburg
www.slojd.nl
carolina@slojd.nl
