This course offers an in-depth immersion in wood carving, emphasizing an experimental, sensitive, and resolutely abstract approach. It is aimed at those interested in exploring the artistic potential of wood using a wide range of hand tools: chisels, gouges, rasps, as well as a wood lathe, which is used occasionally. At the end of the training, the trainee will be able to:

• Discover wood and its properties:
  Understand the main physical and technical characteristics of wood to better adapt their sculpting techniques
• Learn the fundamental techniques of wood carving: Use hand tools and machine tools specific to woodworking
• Learn basic technical techniques related to volume and material (cutting, assembly, roughing, finishing)
• Develop a personal artistic approach to abstract sculpture:
• Experiment, observe, and analyze the forms produced to isolate their visual qualities
• Draw on artistic references to enrich their thinking
• Structure a series sculpture project:
• Develop an artistic intention as a group
• Explore the notion of series in sculpture through common constraints and Formal variations
• Design and create a finished sculpture at full scale:
• Move from a model or miniature to a final creation, integrating the technical stages of construction and finishing
• Consider the spatial arrangement of the works and their arrangement in series

The course begins with a methodical exploration phase where each participant is invited to freely experiment with the tools provided. This tactile and gestural exploration allows participants to discover the multiple ways of transforming materials, playing with textures, shapes, and the marks left by the tools. These initial investigations serve as a foundation for identifying formal or gestural qualities that will guide future sculptural work.

Based on these experiments, each participant will develop a series of abstract objects or sculptures. The work is carried out both individually and in groups, fostering discussion and collective creativity. A common archetypal form, such as the baluster, is proposed as a starting point. The goal is to move away from it to create transformations, reinventions, repetitions, or deformations, in order to reinterpret this form in a personal and contemporary manner. The approach emphasizes formal research rather than the faithful reproduction of traditional models.

It's important to note that this training is not intended as a traditional turning class. The wood lathe, available in the workshop, will be used as one tool among others to explore volume. Its use will be the subject of specific, safe, and individualized introductions, adapted to each student's level and desires. These learning sessions will allow trainees to acquire basic skills, with the opportunity, depending on their comfort level, to produce simple pieces.

Program

Day 1

Morning and Afternoon

• Introduction of the students and instructor
• Introduction to the training
• Visit of the workshop and explanation of the tools and machines
• Safety instructions
• Explanations of the main physical and technical characteristics of wood
  Experimenting with wood and tools: individualized learning of the manual gestures and tools related to working with wooden volumes

Day 2

Morning and Afternoon

• Put into perspective with works by artists working in abstract wood sculpture: Brancusi, David Nash, Giuseppe Penone, Wang Keping, etc.
• Resumption of experiments with hand tools and machines
• Time Reflection to extract and isolate the visual qualities of the experiments produced.

Day 3

Morning and Afternoon

• Put the concept of series into perspective with the work of artists/designers (to be explored in more detail beforehand)
• Deepening the understanding of a gesture or intention, with a view to producing a model or miniature of a sculpture project, structured within the constraints of a series.
  (The constraint could be having the same starting volume, and/or working from an archetype, or even articulating the productions like an exquisite corpse... To be defined to have a sufficiently loose but not too broad guideline, given the short timeframe.)
• Drawings and sketches of the sculptures
• If necessary: ​​cutting, gluing, sketching volumes (working with a jointer, planer, or saw) format, band saw)

Day 4

Morning and Afternoon

• Creation of full-scale sculptures using the various tools available
• Individualized support from the trainer on implementation techniques

Day 5

Morning and Afternoon

• Finalization of projects
• Presentation, staging, and organization of the sculptures as a series
• Training debrief
• Workshop tidying up

• Classroom, multipurpose room, workshops with professional equipment
• Materials provided
• Individual and collaborative work
• Workshop work
• Active participation and experimentation of participants are encouraged

• Collective and personalized monitoring of work, regular updates
• Self-assessment of technical skills
• Collective feedback
• Half-day attendance sheet
• Certification of completion issued by Campus MaNa