Workshops and Seminars
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Seminar News and Events: (January 2008)
We are pleased to announce our workshop and seminar schedule for the 2008 season.
With our new classroom space nearly completed we will have a space dedicated solely to plaster classes. Students will be working on full size walls with 10 and 12 foot high ceilings, so you can see how the materials work in real world situations. All classes are five days long and will be full days. Classes are limited to 8 people per class. These pictures the new room where all of the current scheduled classes will take place. The room is 15ft. wide x 32ft. long with 10ft. ceilings. We will be running cornice en-situ, installing multi colored frieze panels, installing a decorative ceiling (see photos below. Under decorative ceilings), and installing a large mantle around the fireplace. Light troughs, and embellished moldings around doorway.
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The cost for each class is $2,250.00 per person, which includes meals and accommodations. We have been working with the Essex Inn for many years on our seminars and they have put together a very nice package for us. You will be staying at a beautifully restored circa 1810 Inn and be served a full breakfast and dinner prepared by an excellent chef. Lunches will be catered at the shop or local restaurants. You can learn more about the Inn at their website theessexinn.com The Inn is located in the hamlet of Essex, New York, which is considered to be one of the best preserved pre-civil war towns in the country. The Inn also has a link to the town website.
We accept
Master of Plaster
2008 Workshop Schedule
No other school offers the opportunity to work with these materials or to this extent on this scale
Jan, 21- 25 Master of Plaster Workshop Full
Feb. 25-29 Scagliola / Marrezzo / Caenstone 6 spaces left
Mar. 10-14 Mould making and casting
Mar. 24-28 Running moldings en-situ
Apr. 7-11 Bench running and setting moldings
Apr. 21-25 Casting in color
May 12-16 Traditional three coat plaster on wire lath
May 26-30 Master of Plaster Workshop
Possible additional advanced workshops
Decorative ceilings
Running embellished moldings en-situ
Running moldings on arches
Advanced mould making
Turning plaster column bases and balusters
Running cluster columns en-situ
From idea to finished plaster
Sketching ornament
Restoring old moulds
Barrel vaults, Groined vaults, Lunettes
Course Descriptions
Master of Plaster workshop:
This is a very comprehensive workshop designed to show all the possibilities of the Master of Plaster system. In this class we will work with all the Master of Plaster products, Restoration Plaster / Venetian Plaster / Caenstone. These will be applied over a variety of substrates; cement board, drywall, blue board, mold proof drywall, paperless drywall.
In addition to using Master of Plaster right out of the bucket, we will also be mixing Master of Plaster with other plasters to achieve different setting times, and a variety of finishes.
Classes may be attended by people at all experience levels. We especially encourage people with experience with other materials to attend and make comparisons.
Scagliola / Marrezzo / Caenstone:
Probably one of our most popular classes. When done properly it is nearly impossible to tell scagliola and marrezzo from real marble. Caenstone is the ultimate honed limestone finish and when done properly like marrezzo and scagliola it is almost impossible to tell from real limestone.
We are the only school in the country teaching these most cherished and secretive techniques.
We will take you through the entire process, from grinding pigments through final polish.
As with all of our classes this is not a lecture course but a hands on workshop. You will be encouraged to experiment and make small samples to take back with you. However you will also be getting practical experience by working on full size columns and pilasters.
Time permitting we will also experiment with granite plaster.
Red Numidian Italian Pavonazza Connemara Jauni Fleuri Verd-Antique
The white columns in these photos will soon be covered in marble and stone finishes. There will be 6 columns. 7'-6" tall 8" in diameter to build from start to finish by 8 students. This will give people the opportunity to work together as a team. Each wall will have a column in a complimentary color. The green wall Verdi-Antique. The Terra Cotta wall Red Numidian. The dark Terra Cotta wall Jauni Fleuri. The caenstone wall will have Caenstone columns. Time permitting, we may do two additional columns at the corners of the fireplace wall in black and white marble. Students will also be able to make small samples of there work to take with them.
Mould Making and Casting:
This course is geared towards the beginner. We will cover basic repairs to original models and the different materials used for repairs and prepping the original for the mould making process. If you have a small piece you wish to make a mould of you are welcome to bring it. We also have a number of original pieces which will be moulded and used for future classes.
We will be working with a variety of molding materials, and techniques. Starting with simple rigid moulds we will also cover gelatin moulds and work our way through pour able and thixotropic urethanes. We will from simple block moulds through case moulds and touch on more complex piece moulds.
Running moldings en-situ:
Templates, mufflers, slippers, screeds, mitre rods all the tools of running plaster moldings in place. Simple cornices, embellished cornices, coves, light troughs. You will learn to cut and assemble a template, set screeds, and run long sections of cornice on full size walls, using both traditional plasters and in combination with the Master of Plaster system for comparison under real time constraints and conditions.
Bench running moldings and installation:
This process uses the same tools as running moldings en-situ, but different materials.
Bench running is generally used for creating an embellished master for moulds where multiple castings are going to be made. Or if only a small section of cornice needs to be duplicated. Bench run pieces are also used to simplify both inside and outside mitres.
Casting in color:
With the almost overnight surge in popularity of Venetian plaster few people realize this is in fact a very old process. Put into great practice during the Italian Renaissance, there is little mention of it again until the mid to latter part of the 18th century. This is when Josiah Wedgewood a contemporary and friend of Robert Adam developed his Jasperware in ceramics. The Adam brothers quickly adapted the look and incorporated it into their architectural practice. With their chief plasterer Joseph Rose they developed their incredible bas-relief multi layered tinted plaster ceilings.
We will explore the process of casting bas-relief panels with colored backgrounds, incorporating them into your designs and installing them on tinted wall surfaces.
People attending this class will be able to make pieces to take back with them.
Traditional three coat plaster on wire lath:
Admittedly there really isn’t a huge calling for this anymore. However it is my feeling that people in the construction business, particularly those in the restoration business, as well as architects and designers should have at least a basic knowledge of the methods and materials of traditional plaster. Maybe if more people know about it and its almost unlimited possibilities it would be used more.
This course will cover all the basics. Installing the lath to wood framing with the proper tension. Mixing and applying woodfibre and neat plaster with sand, as well as Structolite scratch and browncoats. Dots and screeds and establishing flat and level planes. Traditional lime and gauge finishes, and Master of Plaster finishes.
Possible Additional Advanced Workshops
These classes will be scheduled as interest dictates. There is room for one more class in April and May we can also schedule classes into the first two weeks of June. After June 16th additional classes will be scheduled for the Winter 2008 and 2009 seasons. These classes are open to anyone, however some prior experience would be helpful. Architects and designers are particularly encouraged to attend.
Decorative ceilings:
Our goal with these classes is to encourage the use of traditional plastering practices and materials in conjunction with new ways to use modern materials and tie everything together with the Master of Plaster system.
We have space to build three ceilings. One will be made from existing moulds which we have in our warehouse from a previous project. Two will be built from scratch. All three ceilings will be in the Adam style. Since all of the ceilings are very complex they will be divided into sections. The ceiling made from our existing moulds will be done in two sections over a two week period. The first will be casting the pieces. This will give you experience casting and handling large scale heavy fragile cast pieces, and cutting large field pieces. The second part of the class will be assembling the ceiling, pointing and finishing.
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We have completed our first instructional video, and are currently working on several others. The video was made during the restoration of a historically significant building in Saranac Lake, New York and covers everything from removing calcimine to applying Venetian Plaster over large surfaces, and making minor lath and plaster repairs. The cost of the video is $10.00
