Dominio Vale do Mondego Karin Sligting & Eelco Schaap Quinta da Portela 6300-095 Faia, Guarda, Portugaltel +351-271 926 276 / 968 225 489 [email protected] www.dominiovaledomondego.com
RESIDENTIAL FELTING WORKSHOP in PORTUGAL
at ecological domain Dominio Vale do Mondego
with NICOLA BROWN 14 - 20 June 2014
Dominio Vale do MondegoThe Domino Vale do Mondego is an estate with a working organic/biodynamic farm, a composition of 6 traditional Quinta’s consists of approx. 22 hectares of pasture, agricultural land, forest, olive groves, orchards, and gardens. The farm owns a flock of the rare Bordeleira sheep, specific for this region. On the estate there are several traditional farm buildings /houses, built with large granite stones. A small country road leads up to the estate, which is beautifully situated in a luscious green valley.
WhoEelco Schaap born in 1953 in Wageningen, The Netherlands, the city of the Agricultural University and Research. During his youth he was surrounded by agricultural scientists and nature lovers. Eelco followed the professional school of biodynamic agriculture Warmonderhof. He has been a professional spokesman of biodynamic agriculture in the Netherlands for 35 years. He founded the Institution Biologica, set up numerous projects with farmers, producers and wholesale companies within a European context. Has been advisor and certifier in Europe as well as the United States and the Caribbean. He has an extensive network within the fields of organic and biodynamic agriculture, nature conservation and green politics. Eelco is married to Karin Sligting. They have 3 children: Storm (8), Armida (19) and Deirdre (20). Since they moved to Portugal Eelco´s´main focus is the revival of the traditional farm along biodynamic principles, the production of healthy food and nature preservation
Karin Sligting, born in 1959 in Amsterdam, studied English and Spanish at the Free University of Amsterdam and has a MBA at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. She has always been involved in the organisation and communication of new initiatives, mainly in the field of art and theatre. She was director of a large medieval castle in the Netherlands and initiated art, nature and educational projects. She managed several professional theatre companies, staging large open air spectacles and was responsible for communication & external affairs. In Portugal Karin started the Angel Art festival on their domain, a week long summer open air festival with open air theatre, dance, comedy, music and art workshops. Furthermore, she has set up an artist-in-residence programme and together with Eelco they offer during the year a programme with art & nature workshops, masterclasses and meetings.
In Nicola´s words: ”During this week long fel9ng extravaganza explore with Nicola the wonders of crea9ng beau9ful wearable art and func9onal felt using the wool from the rare Bordeleira sheep. LiCle known outside the Serra da Estrela region the Bordeleira is a milk sheep whose wool felts easily into soG, supple and strong fabric, perfect for total beginners and experienced felters alike!
We’ll start our fel9ng experience crea9ng some basic flat felt and small three dimensional pieces such as purses and vessels using ready prepared natural wool tops. This way Nicola can demonstrate how rewarding and simple it is to convert raw fluffy wool into strong and tac9le felt while experienced felters and those wan9ng to hone their skills will have fun playing with the wool and planning larger projects to create during their fibre filled holiday.
Over the course of the week par9cipants will have the opportunity to watch some sheep being shorn and may each choose their own raw fleece to work with. Nicola will show and help everyone felt this raw wool into a gorgeous shaggy hearth rug, a cushion cover or a piece of wearable art such as a shoulder bag.
The direc9on the week will then follow will be totally dictated by the par9cipants! Nicola will be there from morning to evening each day to share techniques and help everyone design, layout and felt larger individual projects, these pieces may be felted from either raw or ready prepared wool. Nicola’s samples and the ini9al experimenta9on will spark ideas; par9cipants are also free to work on purely art pieces should they choose and may want to incorporate natural found objects from the domain such as s9cks and stones into their felt. Since the Bordeleira are milk sheep it could be fun to combine the wool with cheese cloth to create light and airy nuno felt scarves, we will also have access to large pots so dyeing some of the finished felt or raw fleece could be another exci9ng way to experiment and learn new skills.
To sum it up, this fel9ng holiday is a unique opportunity to learn or improve your fel9ng skills under Nicola’s guidance, seize the opportunity to work with wool from the rare Bordeleira sheep, enjoy crea9ve 9me with others and spend a wonderful week filled with food, drink and fibre in the beau9ful natural environment of the Serra da Estrela!”
NICOLA BROWN - CLASHEENInspired by nature and the beauty of the Irish landscape Nicola Brown creates sculptural pieces, rugs, wallhangings and wearable art using a variety of wet felting techniques. Nicola started felting in August of 2007 with tutor Carmen Sanchez and since then has attended workshops in Ireland, Germany and Denmark with international artists and feltmakers including Anita Larkin, Mehmet Girgic, Sigrid Bannier, Annette Quentin-Stoll, Lyda Rump and Anna Gunnarsdottir.
Group exhibitions to date include ‘Breaking Out’ at the National Craft Gallery 2008-2009, the ‘Winter/Christmas Exhibition’ at KOZO Studio and Gallery 2008, the Blueprint Exhibition at Eigse 2009, ‘The Nine Stones Artists’ at the Norman Gallery 2009, the Earthworks Exhibition during the Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 2009 and ‘Sculpture in Context’ at the National Botanic Gardens September/October 2009. Nicola is a member of the Crafts Council of Ireland, Feltmakers Ireland, the International Feltmakers Association, the Nine Stones Artists and the South East Textile Group.
In June 2012 Nicola held her first Residential Felting workshop in Portugal at Dominio Vale do Mondego. This was such a success that she came back in 2013. With the planned workshop in June 2014 it is a fact that Nicola has become a regular visitor at the Dominio.
Programme:Day 1 : Saturday 14 June: Individual trip to Portugal.Arrival in the afternoon at Dominio Vale do Mondego in Faia and welcome by Eelco Schaap and Karin Sligting. 3-course dinner in the Lagar Lounge. Stay in a studio.
Day 2 : Sunday 15 juni:Breakfast Buffet. Naturewalk on the domain with Eelco. Before lunch introduction to the workshop.Lunch on the terrace. Followed by the first felting workshop. Dinner by wonderful Portuguese cook Fernanda
Day 3 : Monday 16 Juni: Breakfast BreakfastAll day Felting Workshop 2-course lunch3-course dinner
Day 4 : Tuesday 17 Juni: Breakfast All day Felting Workshop 2-course lunch3-course dinner Day 5 : Wednesday 18 Juni:Breakfast Visit to a traditional wool weaving factory/museum in Meios.Felting workshop3-course dinner.Possibility to continue Felting during the evening
Day 6 :Thursday 19 Juni:Breakfast Morning free / optional walk through the Vale do Mondego over caminhas antiguas and Roman pathsLunch. Felting Workshop. Dinner Possibility to continue Felting during the evening
Day 7 : Friday 20 June:Breakfast All day Felting Workshop 2-course lunch3-course dinnerAt the end of the day closure of the workshop with a small exposé.
Day 8 : Saturday 21 Juni:After breakfast deprture for the airport.
In co-operation with the participants the programme may be adjusted with for instance an excursion to the historic centre of Guarda, the theatre, horseriding, local market etc.
impression of the workshops June 2012 and 2013
exposition in the Pavillion at the end of the week
AccommodationDominio Vale do Mondego offers the following accommodation in the Vila Portela, the small hamlet of traditional granite buildings.
The Studios have all different interiors, basic and tasteful.
They have good beds, towels, bath robes, art and books.
Each studio has 2 beds (either twins or double), own entrance and private bathroom.
The Farm
The traditional farm or Quinta is formed throughout the centuries, many characteristics of its agricultural past are still present. In the past 5 years we have cleaned the terraces from overgrowing bramble bushes. The total terrain is now fenced, so that the sheep may roam freely and safely on the terraces. For guests there are trails and paths to stroll along historic waterbasins, fruit trees and secluded hiding places in the shade.
The farm covers a total area of 22 ha, directly bordered by the Mondego river, which has ample water throughout the year. It has traditional olive groves situated on centuries old terraces, bordered by historic walls, an orchard with cherry, pear and apple trees, pastureland and an horticultural area.
The farm owns a flock of 50 traditional Serra da Estrela sheep, the so-called
“Bordeleira”. It furthermore produces a large quantity of Extra Virgem olive oil, vegetables, fruit and herbs.
The ecological farm operation is bio-dynamic agriculture. We combine a great natural environment, with a mixed farm operation – dairy sheep and horticulture (vegetables & herbal gardens) including olive groves and fruit trees – and create a healthy farm-organism. The farm has certification bij Ecocert Portugal - accredited by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture – based on EU regulation 2092/91 since the fall harvest of 2008. Demeter International has also inspected the Quinta and has certified us in 2010.
Olive production: The farm has a plantation of 1.500 olive trees, varying in age between 40 and 3 years. The ‘extra virgin’ organic olive oil is pressed by a certified lagar.
Nature Park Serra da Estrela
The Serra da Estrela is the largest nature reserve of Portugal, comprising approx. 100.000 hectares. Near the highest peak of Portugal there is a small winter sport station, so even in winter it is attractive to, specifically to Portuguese visitors.The quietude of the region, the abundance of water, exuberant nature, the rare species of fauna and flora and authentic farms & villages make the region attractive to both nature and culture lovers, exactly the kind of visitors that the Dominio Vale do Mondego likes to attract.
There are walking, biking and horseriding routes on ancient paths following the caminha antigua and/or the caminha romana. The caminha antigua runs on our farm. There are several trails running in the Vale do Mondego into the Serra da Estrela.
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Price € 695,- p.p. on the basis of a shared double studio € 795,- p.p. by single use of a double studio
The studios are convenient, completely renovated with details like the traditional granite stone walls. They have good beds, bedlinen, towels and bathrobes. Private bathroom, own entrance and small terrace.
The residential Felting arrangement includes a welcome drink, 6 days Felting workshops of 7 hours per day by Nicola Brown, 7 nights in a studio, every day an extensive breakfast, 2-course lunch with wine, 3-course dinner with wine, coffee, tea, natural water, we use organic, biodynamic and local ingredients in our kitchen. Unlimited use of the raw wool of our Bordeleira sheep, max 1 kg of the washed natural and coloured wool, use of atelier, naturewalk with Eelco, excursion to the woolfactory in Meios.Exclusive flight, transport from and to airport, insurances
Early reservation is by downpayment of 15% of the total amount. 3 months before the workshop, we request a payment of 50%, 1 month before the start of the workshop, the remainder of 35% has to be paid.
Cancellation costs up to 3 months before the start of the workshop are 10% of the total amount. From 3 months up to 1 week cancelling costs are 50%. From week cancellation costs are 100% of the fee. It is possible to propose an alternative participant. Number of participants: - minimum 6 persons, maximum 12 persons
- we cancel the workshop at less than 6 persons.
For questions and reservations, please mail to:
Dominio Vale do MondegoKarin Sligting & Eelco Schaap
Quinta da Portela, Faia, GuardaPortugal
tel. 00-351-271926276telm. 00-351-938750730
email: [email protected]
www.angelfestival.com
early bird
discount of
€ 65 when registering &
paying 1st installment
before 1 sept. 2013
Tips:
We are at an altitude of 700 meters in the Serra da Estrela mountains. Which means that when the sun shines - which it does a lot - it is nice and warm. So take easy clothes for during the day. However, sometime even in June we might have a cold wind blowing in the valley, so take warm vest, a raincoat (you never know) and warm pyama.
Good walking shoes are recommended because this is rough
LocationDominio Vale do Mondego is situated in the Beira Alta district in the centre of Portugal. Spain is at a distance of 45 km.
If you come by air, there are 3 possibilities:
to Porto - with TAP, Ryanair and Transavia
with a rental car it is a 2 hour drive on good, quiet motorway
the bus to Guarda takes 3 hours
the train to Guarda takes 3,5 hours
to Lissabon - with KLM, TAP & Transavia
with a rental car it is a 3 hour drive on good, quiet motorway
the bus to Guarda takes 4 hours
the train to Guarda takes 4,5 hours
from Guarda you take a taxi to the Quinta de Holandes, which 15 minutes, costs max € 20,-
for the bus, see : www.rede-expressos.pt
for the train, see: www.cp.pt
If you need help, send us an email!
We will send you detailed descriptions of the directions In Porto and Lisbon.