From Mud to Music
Join us for a very special ceramic retreat making wind chimes with multidisciplinary artist and instrument builder, Julia Elsas. During this two-night three-day retreat, Julia will guide you through making ceramic components for your very own ceramic wind chime.
Julia Elsas is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her art practice encompasses ceramics, textiles, printmaking, sculpture, installation and performance. Recent exhibitions and performances include Carnegie Museum of Art, Asya Geisberg Gallery, Available Items, Pasaquan, The Bo Bartlett Center, Isabel Sullivan Gallery and Jane Hartsook Gallery.
Julia has been an artist-in-residence at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia, Venice, Italy; Gowanus Studio Space, Brooklyn, NY; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA; and Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA. She was in the 2018-2019 inaugural cohort of the New Jewish Culture Fellowship, a 2019 - 2020 Keyholder Resident at the Lower East Side Print Shop and a 2022 Artist in Residence at Obracadobrain Oaxaca City, Mexico.
Julia teaches ceramics at Greenwich House Pottery and printmaking at the Lower East Side Print Shop in NYC.
What to Expect-
This weekend retreat is designed for those who have experience with clay and those who are novices. Those interested in delving further into their practice and learning about making music with mud.
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Create with nature in an inspirational environment and sleep among the stars. Each accommodation at Gatherwild is created by artists and designed for comfort and delight. Each site offers privacy as well as convenience. Choose from a design forward solo or shared accommodation.
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Workshops are led by Julia Elsas, a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist, instrument builder, and educator who teaches at Greenwich House Pottery and the Lower East Side Print Shop. With an extensive background spanning ceramics, textiles, and sculpture, alongside international residencies from Venice to Oaxaca, Julia brings an incredible depth of technical expertise, material experimentation, and creative innovation to her teaching.
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Wind chimes have been used for divination, protection, storm prediction, warding off pests and evil sprits. Make your chime components unique to you and your personal universe. The workshop takes place at the end of summer, on the cusp of the Autumnal Equinox. What are your intentions for this change of seasons and this year?
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Meals will be sourced from local farms where possible and prepared on site. Dietary restrictions and allergies can be accommodated. Please see the schedule for meal details.
Daily Schedule
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Daily Schedule *
DAY 1 - Monday, August 31:
1 pm: Arrival and check-in. Settle into accommodation and meet the artist. Eat before arrival or BYO lunch.
2pm - 5pm Studio Session 1: Learning about wind chimes, and planning out structural technique and design. Start making with mud, we will use a stoneware clay body.
5pm-7pm- Free time, Settle into accommodations.
7pm-9pm- A Wood-Fired Pizza Party.
DAY 2 - Tuesday, September 1:
8:30 am: Coffee & Tea. Walk around to feed animals.
9am: Yoga on the Rooftop deck w/ Dean.
10am: Breakfast. Granola & Yogurt Bar.
12 pm - 4 pm: Studio Time: Designing and building wind chime components. Refreshments will be provided.
4 pm Afternoon Reset: Enjoy a sauna session, exploring the local area or continue working on your instrument.
6:30 pm Golden Hour: Happy Hour on the Sunset Deck with Wind Chime music session.
7 pm: Farm Fresh Dinner Provided.
8 pm: Sonic-mud concert with Julia Elsas and Kenny Wollesen /q&a Bonfire & S’mores Bar under the stars.
DAY 3- Wednesday, September 2:
8:30am-9:30am: Bagel breakfast- self serve, 9 am Egg collecting
9:30-10:00 am: Pack up accommodations.
10:00 am -1pm: Wrap up the workshop with a 3-hour studio session - adding color and surface decoration to your chimes. Document and label work carefully for bisque fire.
1:30 pm: Final wrap up and goodbyes.
Included Workshops-
Begin your morning with gentle movement and setting intention.
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Start your first work session with wind chime show and tell including examples of wind chimes throughout history. We will go over structural components of wind chimes followed by a 3-hour building session using techniques of coiling, slabbing, and pinching to make our wind chime crowns.
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Continue the structural and decorative process in a relaxed and guided environment.
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Wrap up the workshop with a 3-hour studio session - adding color and surface decoration to your chimes. Document and label work carefully for bisque fire. This workshop includes all materials and local bisque firing of your pieces. Your bisqued chimes will be shipped to you with all the hardware necessary to complete your project. Glaze firing is not included in this workshop. If you are NYC-based you can schedule a 2-hour glaze session at Julia’s Gowanus Brooklyn studio or we can provide you a list of other NYC and Brooklyn studios that accept outside firings.
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As an extension of activating her sculptures with sound, Julia started Sonic Mud, a band that showcases her ceramic instruments. SONIC MUD musicians play a range of ceramic flutes, drums, natural trumpets, shakers, “clayrimbas”, water whistles and more. Sonic Mud’s improvisational music offers an immersive experience using the connective language of sound.
Percussionist, instrument builder and Sonic Mud collaborator Kenny Wollesen is a ubiquitous presence on the New York downtown music scene. For close to three decades, he’s played, recorded and toured with everyone from Tom Waits to Jim Hall, Butch Morris to Lou Reed and David Byrne to Bebel Gilberto to Laurie Anderson. Wollesen is an integral part of the Bill Frisell Trio, the downtown super band Sexmob as well as many of John Zorn’s groundbreaking ensembles. https://wollesonic.com; https://wollesonic.bandcamp.com
$1145
Shared Accommodation
Experience the weekend in a communal, artist-designed space that fosters connection and creative exchange. Our shared accommodations feature two sleeping spaces within a single room. This is the ideal choice for those looking to immerse themselves in the social energy of the retreat, or a great opportunity to share with a friend. Each accommodation at Gatherwild is unique! Input the dates (August 30th - September1st) with the button below and book the accommodation that feels best for you.
$1395
Private Accommodation
For those seeking a quiet space to process their craft, our private accommodations offer a secluded retreat. Set within one of our unique, site-specific cabins or structures, these rooms feature a queen bed, bespoke furnishings, and expansive views of the surrounding landscape. Each accommodation at Gatherwild is unique! Input the dates (August 30th - September1st) with the button below and book the accommodation that feels best for you. We will contact you with follow up details.
How Payments Work:
A $500 non refundable deposit is required to hold your place. Remaining Balance will be charged on July 30th.
“Secure My Spot” will lead you to the Booking page, where you will input August 30th. Choose the accommodation that feels best to you, you can also peruse the unique accommodations here.
Still have questions? Contact us directly.
For questions regarding the accommodations & logistics:
hello@gatherwild.com
For inquiries around the workshops:
hello@juliaelsas.com
Local and want to come for just the workshop? Check out the Workshop Rate Here:
Open to the Public
Sonic Mud Concert
Tuesday September 1st at 8pm. Open to outside guests and public. Email to reserve your spot hello@gatherwild.com.