From August 21 to 28 the Institute of Design Technologies of the Materials Science and Applied Chemistry in cooperation with the International Relations Department of Riga Technical University is organizing an international summer school in the field of wooden design and art «A Journey Beyond the Traditional Wooden Craft and Art» with 13 participants from 6 countries – Austria, China, France, Greece, Tunisia and Latvia.
The participants of the summer school guided by the woodcraft experts will obtain a deeper understanding in topics like wooden design, Latvian identity and ethnographic symbols and will gain a practical experience in designing and creating wooden objects using historical woodworking tools.
On the premises of the Institute of Design Technologies, students will master working with woodworking machines processing sewn timber and creating dismountable five-piece Latvian ethnographic symbol. During the three-day stay in Vienkocu park in Ligatne, participants will learn how to use manual woodworking tools while processing round timber and creating wooden vessels.
In order to expand gained theoretical and practical knowledge, the participants will visit one of the oldest open-air museums in Europe – Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia –where they will get acquainted with the cultural heritage and traditions of historical tribes, as well as the aesthetic principles of the 17th up to the beginning of 20th century.
The participants will also have a chance to observe the unique wooden architecture of Paper Mill factory village of Ligatne and to try papermaking in the House of Fairy tales. Within one week, the participants of the summer school will visit several places in Latvia – Riga, Ligatne and Cesis -, thus obtaining a well-rounded image of Latvia and its culture.
