Holger Christian Lönze

Alternative Skills

"Alternative technology and the Japanese ‘philosophy’ of wabi-sabi are closely connected in their essence. Both deal with the effect of time, natural forces and natural change on materials and objects. While one is functional, the other is spiritual. One satisfies our physical demands, the other our philosophical needs. Although there is no direct equivalent of wabi-sabi in Western culture, aspects of it can be found in many traditional crafts and vernacular architecture. "

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Workshops Recent and Past

Past Workshops and Events

Previous clients for workshops include the World Archaeology Congress 2008 in Dublin, Wildworks theatre company (Cornwall), The Eden Project (Cornwall), Yarner Trust (Devon), South Kildare Medieval Festival, Bedales School (Hampshire) ,AK Ilen Prokect, University of Ulster, Fermanagh District Council and various other universities, colleges and councils throughout Ireland and the UK.

Yarner Trust Community Camp, Devon, 2010 and 2011: Intended as a drop in workshop where more than 40 participants gained experience in the process of making small lost-wax sculptures and cuttlefish jewellery using low-carbon processes with predominantly locally sourced materials and local charcoal. A night casting session completed the visually spectacular process that has been around for more than 4,000 years...
Environmental Impact: total EE 180 MJ, total EC 5.0kg CO2; 720 car miles

South Kildare Medieval Festival, Athy, 2010: Public casting of a commissioned sculpture based on a 12th century bell.
Environmental Impact: total EE 60 MJ, total EC 1.5kg CO2; 210 car miles

Poetics of Alternative Energy, Rathlin Island, 2008: A symposium developed and organised by Holger for the University of Ulster. Twenty students developed ways to communicate messages with the aid of wind with the help of tutors Jonny Fyffe and Pete Hill. Centred around issues of alternative energy and the Japanese ‘philosophy’ of wabi-sabi, the students dealt with limited resources, a harsh environment and communal living conditions for five days. Workshop and research sessions were accompanied by talks, films and social evening activities in Holger's 20' yurt at the Kinramer Camping Barn. Working in three small groups – as a traditional Irish work squad “meitheal” used to do – at different locations across the island, the students' task was to research, design and make objects which, in some way, used wind to convey messages across the island to the other groups. As well as being functional the devices created also had to be poetic and beautiful in themselves, expressing the spirit of wabi-sabi.
Click here to download the full brief of the symposium (PDF file).

Sustainable Bronze Casting: For several years, Holger has been experimenting with Bronze Age casting technology, developing from this contemporary sustainable bronze casting methods. Supported by an Arts Council SIAP grant, 5,000 years old methods are adapted to cast small scale sculpture, using carbon neutral fuels and local, abundant materials. More about the technical research on the Casting page. Holger has given a series of 3-5 day workshops to groups including secondary level schools, university students, adult education and community groups. These practical workshops give the participants hands-on experience of this ancient art, bringing Bronze-Age archaeology and local history alive. Usually, the group researches, designs and makes small sculpture and jewellery objects in bronze by using the lost wax method. Taking current environmental issues into consideration, the participants work as a team creating and using carbon-neutral pit furnaces together with abundant and regenerative materials: clay, charcoal, wax, sand, horse dung - gaining valuable and fun experiences through all stages of the process. Below is a video of a workshop at Marble Arch Caves, Co. Fermanagh for students of the Foundation Course at South West College. (Click on arrows for full screen)

© 2009, South West College, Enniskillen

Curach Making: Workshops at Yarner Trust, Maghery, Lugo and the World Archaeology Conference in Dublin aimed to reconstruct, develop and build currachs, similar to those in the Donegal area. Keeping within a sustainable ethos, the boats are constructed from regenerative, recycled and local materials, offering an affordable and environmentally friendly leisure boat alternatives. The workshops provide the participants with currach building skills and historical knowledge about Irish boat building traditions. See images below and on the Boat Making page.

The Ritual of Bread Making, Oxford Island, 2007:
In the Artspace of Craigavon Borough Council twenty MA students of the University of Ulster engaged in a humble and now often ignored ritual of our lives: the making of bread. In groups they created a unique area for baking bread including a shelter, table, utensiles, bench and oven. The design was functional yet beautiful and poetic; the materials inexpensive yet tactile and honest; the objects biodegradable yet lasting and repairable. The work used traditional manufacturing techniques from sail making to cob building and bodging, avoiding power tools and high tech approaches. The bulk of the materials were sourced locally and had a low carbon footprint.

Celebrating the October Wind, Oxford Island, 2008
As an island in the Atlantic, Ireland is a wind-swept country and our life-style has always been determined by the presence of wind. Let us react positively to it, harvest the wind, celebrate it! Under this motto, 25 students of the Univerity of Ulster gathered near Lough Neagh to create lightweight structural and tensile objects that engaged in a playful or purposeful way with the wind. Particular attention was paid to economy of materials: keeping materials, fixings and fittings to the absolute minimum, using a maximum of tensile and pressure forces of the materials themselves. The object were ofsubstantial size and all involved motion in some way. Most important of all, they were beautiful and poetic!

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