Meeting with Carolin Schelkle and Nazaré Soares, participants of the Verpejos art residency program “Shepherds and Spindles”
On August 25, Sunday, at 3 p.m., we invite you to a meeting with Carolin Schelkle and Nazaré Soares, participants of the Verpejos art residency program “Shepherds and Spindles”.
Verpėjos art residency is located in a traditional homestead, in the village of Kabeliai, Varėna district. In the months of July and August, two artists invited by a competition became the hosts of the homestead.
During her time at the Verpejos residency, Carolin Schelkle was exploring different ways of processing local sheep wool, as well as traditional crafts and materials in the region. Another part of her work was learning more about the local network related to sheep wool and how it could be possible to build a production line to process Lithuanian wool locally into valuable products in the future.
To illustrate the potential and beauty of local sheep wool, a colour palette using various native plant dyes was created, as well as different applications were explored by experimenting with various processing techniques and material combinations. As an outcome, a collection of clothing pieces and accessories were created from wool and other local materials. It includes newly created piece as well as old pieces found at the farm stead of Verpejos that were reawakened by mending and transforming them into something new.
Carolin Schelkle is a Designer and Material Researcher from Lake Constance, Germany, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Product- and Communication Design from the Free University of Bolzano, Italy and a Master of Product Design from écal (Ecole cantonale art de
Lausanne), Switzerland. Her work is led by exploring the life of products and raw materials and is driven by curiosity, field studies and cross-disciplinary research. The investigations cover a broad
range of typologies, including materials, processes, products, spaces and exhibitions, materialized through extensive experimenting, sampling and prototyping. The research results either in the record of a process itself or in a commercial product, encouraging a deeper understanding of the materials, products and environments that surround us. During the past view years she dedicated a significant part of her research to local sheep wool, exploring different ways of processing and applications in various contexts in order to re-valorise the abandoned fibres.
Instagram: @carolinschelkle
www.carolinschelkle.de
In Verpejos, Nazaré is focusing on the notions of inter-zone and borderlands wandering, thinking water while learning shepherding. She is meeting the bodies of water of the
regions and researching into hollow tree beekeeping tradition. She uses linen and wool, known for its highest healing properties among fibers, to establish connections with the land, water and its memory. Also, she is crafting ritualistic sound instruments and water combs from local wood.
For the final presentation, she will hold a sharing circle for water tasting and storytelling. Please bring a bottle of drinking water from your well or spring. You are also welcome to bring water from your nearby stream, lake or other body of water and tell a personal experience, legend or important story. In the end, all the water will merge into one.
Carolin Schelkle and Nazare Soares residency is funded by Culture Moves Europe.
Cover picture credits: Nazare Soares