About this Event
In this workshop, each participant will carve two hair sticks from among a selection of our wood dowels and sticks. This will involve using a sharp whittling knife, and sandpaper. As with any activity involving knives, there is some danger of cuts and scratches, so it is important to practice safe carving practices. We will go over basic knife and whittling safety before we get started.
The first activity we'll be doing is to carve hair sticks, then sand them smooth. Then, we will rub the sticks with oil to seal the wood and give it an even smoother finish.
After creating our own hair sticks, our hosts will demonstrate several updo hairstyle ideas for medium and longer hair, using hair sticks as the only fastener. We will help participants practice any or all of the techniques they choose to try out, so each guest leaves feeling confident that they can do a hair stick updo at home.
This is a great activity for anyone with medium length hair or longer (not just gals, of course--anyone can wear a hair stick bun!) This is also a great date activity, galpal date, parent/child or mother/daughter workshop.
SUPPLIES: Participants are encouraged to bring their own pocket knife for the task, or borrow one of ours, though we do have a limited number of borrower knives. We will have a knife sharpener on hand to make sure our carving knives are nice and sharp- because sharp knives are safer than dull ones! If you'd like to make a small investment in a fun new hobby, see the YouTube video below for advice about good whittling knives you can purchase- or, you may already have one in a drawer at home. Thanks to Carving Is Fun for the video on knife selection. By the way, we like our Opinels, and Swiss Army knives, and there are other great options!
NOTE: All participants planning to whittle must be mature enough to use a sharp knife for whittling. Not recommended for kids under 12, and those under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. All participants will be responsible for their own safety practices and will asked to sign a waiver.
Please see the YouTube videos below to see some basic whittling safety techniques. Thanks to Woodworkers Journal for this good video on basic whittling safety:
Our workshop leader is Laura Noble, a multi-disciplinary teaching artist, who has been wearing her hair up using a hairstick almost every day since the time of the dinosaurs (the 1990's?!).
Laura Noble is on faculty at SAIC, and teaches various creative and craft workshops through Chicago CreaTable LLC, along with her creative and business partner Clarissa. Workshops led by Laura include Upcycled Spirits Bottle Terrariums, Wine and Watercolor, DIY Slipper Socks, Faux Plants for the Horticulturally Challenged, and more. She also teaches classical drawing and painting, and works as a fine art portfolio coach from her own fine art studio, Studio LMN, also located in suite 231 at the Flatiron Arts Building. She's excited to meet you and get carving!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Flatiron Arts Building, 1579 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, United States
USD 55.00