Batik is an ancient traditional technique of fabric pattern design using wax and various tools made of copper, brass, wood, brushes, and dyes.
During this workshop, you will experiment with creating spontaneous designs on pre-framed canvases. You’ll work with different oils such as fish oil, castor oil, cooking oil, and various textile dyes. You’ll take home your own framed artwork.
The workshops can be conducted in English, Dutch, Mandarin, and Indonesian.
Shuen-Li Spirit studied as an art educator in Singapore and officially moved to the Netherlands in 2016. She offers international Batik masterclasses in the Netherlands as part of her commitment to preserving her mixed Chinese-Malay-Indonesian heritage. She is also passionate about ecological sustainability and incorporates reused food products in practicing traditional crafts and upcycling her clothing and bags.
Saggar firing is a fascinating technique within the ceramic process that allows for the creation of unique and intriguing effects on ceramic objects. During saggar firing, the objects are placed in a saggar, in this case made of aluminum foil.
Inside the saggar, organic materials and chemicals are added, such as sawdust, salts, metals, and even hair or textiles. These materials react with the ceramics during the firing process, producing special and unpredictable color effects and patterns on the surface of the object.
Using a raku kiln—a fast and intense method of ceramic firing—the saggar is heated to high temperatures, typically around 900-1000 degrees Celsius. The combination of heat, combustion of the added materials, and the sealed environment of the saggar results in spectacular coloring of the objects.
In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to transform two pre-fired objects using the exciting saggar firing technique. At the end of the workshop, these objects will be fired for 45 minutes in a raku kiln, allowing you to closely observe the entire process. The objects will be transformed by the magical interaction of heat and added materials in the saggar, giving them an entirely new appearance and character. After the workshop, you can take home the artworks you’ve created.
Danielle van Assema is a raku ceramicist passionate about creating ceramic artworks. Her work focuses mainly on raku and saggar firing techniques, where she achieves unique effects and textures. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion by teaching workshops on alternative firing techniques for ceramics. “As an artist, my approach is characterized by the motto ‘the beauty of imperfection.’ I believe that true beauty in ceramics lies in the imperfections and unexpected elements of the creative process.”
Temari is an ancient Japanese needlecraft. “Te” means hand, and “mari” means ball in Japanese.
A temari is a ball decorated with threads in geometric shapes and patterns. In a wrapping pattern, the needle is only used for starting and finishing. The division created on the ball allows for various patterns, you can choose which patterns you want to use, from the displayed pieces. You then select your own yarn colors for the project, ensuring that everyone is able to create a personal temari. There will be ample personal attention for each participant.
About Sandra: “Temari entered my life over 30 years ago and has never left. Over the years, I have had the privilege of teaching many classes both in the studio and especially on location in the Netherlands and Belgium. To support independent development of temari knowledge, I have authored several workbooks. The use of colors continues to fascinate me, as do the geometric shapes of the patterns.”
Moroccan brass engraving, known locally as az-Zuwāq ʿala an-Nuḥās, is an old tradition. The techniques of brass engraving in Morocco, using a chisel and other stamps, and the methods of constructing patterns using a hand-forged divider, date back to early 11th century.
This workshop invites you to be part of this commitment to old techniques and methods that marks transgenerational legacies. This drop-In workshop will showcase the following technical steps:
Hamza El Fasiki is an artisan and author. Hamza has apprenticed under his father at Dar-Attamania Studio in Fes, Morocco between 2011 and 2021. Hamza holds an MA degree on Moroccan Cultural Studies with an academic research focus on the cultural history of Moroccan traditional crafts from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fes. Hamza is specialist in traditional Moroccan geometric patterns, brass engraving and bookbinding and had published academic works in the field and traveled around 16 countries while learning and teaching Moroccan culture.
Slow Flowers is a movement focused on the sustainable and local cultivation of flowers. It centers on choosing blooms that are carefully grown in harmony with the seasons and local environment.
In this workshop, you will create a beautiful small bouquet using Slow Flowers. You will experience how it feels to work with these sustainable flower and plant techniques that minimize environmental impact. The bouquet will be presented in a lovely small vase, allowing you to showcase it beautifully at home.
Instead of imported flowers, which are often grown and transported under environmentally harmful conditions, Slow Flowers emphasizes the use of native and seasonal blooms. This significantly reduces the ecological footprint.
Slow Flowers represent a mindful, eco-friendly approach to flower arranging, where each bouquet authentically reflects nature in its purest form. It pays tribute to local growers and the natural beauty of flowers cultivated sustainably.
This approach is gaining increasing support in society.
Jacqueline de Wit is a vocational teacher of Ecological Floral Design at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant in Eindhoven and Sint-Oedenrode.
On Sunday, Jan Reek Natuursteen will demonstrate how to work with Belgian bluestone. In this demonstration, the back of the stone will remain rough, just as it comes from the quarry, while the front will be worked on.
The text on the stone will say: “Do work that suits you, and you’ll never feel like you’re working. The chain at the top symbolizes the good and bad days and aspects of your profession, but at the center (in the heart) remains the love for your craft. From this, you will derive much satisfaction.”
Throughout the Sunday, Dorrith de Beer will demonstrate the entire process of making leather bags, covering every step involved. Dorrith de Beer is a professional leather bag maker and a vocational teacher at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant in Eindhoven.
Making your own leather bags is not just a creative and practical activity, but also a way to blend personal expression, sustainability, and craftsmanship into a tangible product. These are all skills you can learn in our Professional Leather Bag Making Course for (young) adults.
Creating your own leather bags offers various rewarding aspects that make both the process and the final product special:
Creative Freedom: When designing your own leather bag, you have complete control over the design, materials, and finish. This allows you to create a unique bag that perfectly matches your personal style and needs.
Developing Craftsmanship: Making leather bags requires precision and patience, enabling you to continually improve your skills as a craftsperson. The process of cutting, sewing, and shaping leather can be deeply satisfying, especially as you see your technique and finishing improve with each bag you make.
Uniqueness: A handmade leather bag is truly one-of-a-kind. Even if you use the same pattern multiple times, there will always be small variations in the leather and finish, making each bag special.
Sustainability: Handmade bags are often of higher quality because you can select the best materials and ensure careful construction. As a result, these bags last longer, contributing to sustainability.
Karel Goetghebeur is a saxophone repairer and builder from Belgium. He is the owner of the saxophone brand Adolphe Sax & Cie. In 2012, more than 80 years after the world-famous brand ceased to exist, Karel obtained the rights to the name Adolphe Sax and decided to revive the brand.
He prefers not to make plain shiny saxophones, but unique instruments with their own character. He is currently involved in a recycling and peace project where he is making a limited edition set of saxophones from recycled bomb shell casings from WWI and WWII. These shells were melted down in Zutphen.
In this introductory workshop, Karel will guide you through better maintenance, diagnosis and solving of basic problems of your instrument. We’re going to talk about pads, resonators, dampeners, and more! With a cleverly made “leak light” we search for “leaks” and we check how we can fix them. After the workshop you will receive a “leak light” to better identify (and fix!) problems in the future.
Tip: feel free to bring your own saxophone!
Since time immemorial, people have used earth pigments to add color to their surroundings. Pigments were mixed with different binders and fillers to process these dyes in different ways.
Come and work with these beautiful natural colors and create your own artist materials at the Ambacht in Beeld Festival.
Chalk paint is a matt natural paint, which you can use on both walls and furniture and which you can very well make yourself. Come learn how to do this and mix your own paint. This paint is nature-friendly, you know exactly what is in it and you create your own colours!
During this 1.5-hour workshop, you will learn how to make the base for your paint. then you get to mix different pigments into your perfect colour and make your first jar of paint.
You get to mix 3 different colours and take them home.
Includes:
All paint materials
A wood sample to try out your paint on
Recipe on paper
Twirre van Kraaijenoord is the founder of Handmade Heaven, she is a creative designer and uses different crafts and techniques in her designs. She followed a course for Trompe-l’oeil painting in which, in addition to painting marble and wood, the craft of oil paint was also taught. She has done research into natural dyes for textiles. Twirre has continued her search for natural colors and now makes her own extracts, paints, inks and pastels. In the television program “The secret of the master” which can be seen in October, she makes the artist’s material with ingredients from the master!
During the workshop, you will learn the basics of engraving. Glass engraver Alie Winters has been engraving on commission for companies and individuals for 37 years.
You will start with a trial piece on a flat glass plate. Then you can get used to the equipment and get an idea of what you can achieve. You will then design your own drawing, to be engraved on a drinking glass. You can use various types of cutters which all have a different function. Before you know it, you will go home with a beautiful, self-made creation.
You will use engraving machines and will also receive protective equipment to use. Participation is at your own risk and participants must follow safety instructions.
Engraving dates back to prehistoric times. Engraving is the predecessor of etching. Unlike etching, where the drawing is obtained by acid action, engraving involves scratching the drawing directly into the glass. An engraver uses a hand pen with a diamond stylus.
Alie Winters of Lemsterglas engraves by hand. She learned the trade as an apprentice from master glass engraver Jaap Deen in Sloten and is happy to share her knowledge during the Ambacht in Beeld Festival.
Festival address:
NDSM Loods
NDSM-Plein 85
1033 WC Amsterdam
Postal address:
Stichting Ambacht in Beeld
Kalf 158
1509AH Zaandam
The Netherlands
