Chicago workshop with Rik Pierce

"Fair Rosemond's Bower" is the name of the workshop that I took at the Chicago International.

Rik Pierce is a kind, down-to-earth man and a great teacher.

I learned so much in the class that I feel it was well worth the price of the workshop.

We worked from 8 o'clock in the morning until late at night for four days.

In class, I completed some of the paper clay on the exterior of the structure. Here at home, I am working on finishing the stone work. After I complete applying all of the paper clay, pressing in individual stone shapes, and cleaning the grout lines, I will be ready to give the stone a watered down wash of black and dark burnt umber paint to tone down the white of the paper clay. Then I will start to add washes of color to the stones.

Rik supplied everything for the class. He gave us all of the paper clay, the tools, and even the board, tile and a piece of plastic pipe to roll the paper clay to the right thickness.

This photo is of the ground floor interior that I finished in class. The base of the structure is just foam core board and surprisingly lightweight. I still have to add the flooring.

This photo is of the upper level. We learned to distress the timbers in class with a make-shift saw blade. We also leaned to make the stained glass windows. One of my favorite techniques is the plaster covering some of the brickwork.

I will keep posting photos as I make progress. When it is finished, the house will sit in a wood base supplied by Rik.

If you ever get a chance to take one of his workshops, jump at the chance!

Have a great day,

Donna