FOR NEW VASQUEZ ROCKS INTERPRETIVE CENTER
SAT - SUN, AUGUST 18 AND 19 9AM - 5PM
10700 Escondido Canyon Road Santa Clarita, CA 91390
"Join us in learning the art of using rammed earth to create a monumental sculpture that encapsulates trinkets and objects of import selected and included by the public during the construction of a new public art sculpture for the new interpretive center at Vasquez Rocks. The series is free to the public; no experience is necessary.
To register (required) and get location details please email [email protected] or 323-913-0915.
The weekend-long workshop led by rammed earth expert Andreas Hessing of Scrubjay Studios and Didier Hess(Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess), creators of the sculpture, offers hands-on learning of thisancient sustainable building technology in which earth from the jobsite is combined with a small amount ofbinder then rammed repeatedly until it is hard as stone. Participants will learn what applications are appropriate for rammed earth, how to test soil to see if it is feasible for use in construction, how to amend soil, build forms and tamp soilinto load-bearing walls and benches in the production of a permanent public artwork."
more info
BRING: bag lunch, sunhat, water bottle, sunblock, notebook, close-toed shoes, gloves, a shovel(if you have one), a wheelbarrow (if you have one), and small artifacts to add to the rammed earth time capsule.
NOTE: Artifacts can include anything golf-ball-sized or smaller, including: golf balls, coins, toys, plastic doo-hickeys, locks of hair, false teeth, toupees, baby teeth, and metal charms. Bear in mind that the objects will be getting SMASHED REPEATEDLY into the rammed earth construction, so if it is important to you that the object is not crushed beyond recognition, then find an object that is durable.
The sculpture, designed by artist team Didier Hess (Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess) andcommissioned by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission's Civic Art Program, reflects, on asmall scale, the geological forces that shaped the monumental formations of Vasquez Rocks.Encased within the earthen sculpture will be a bronze sculpture that will gradually be revealedover time as the softer rammed earth erodes away.
"We hope through our work to not only shift the scale of the geological forces to a morecomprehensible size for visitors," say Didier and Hess, "but also to show that just beneath, oreven on the surface of our surroundings, there are traces of people who were here before us."
Noon bag lunch lecture topics include:
Demo on how to make yucca soap
Photo tour of one of the popular trails at VR
How to make yucca cordage
Lichen story
Barn owl presentation and owl pellets
Archaeology/ Tataviam history/ Hands-on artifact demo
Area geology