CROCHET OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WILL POWER

In Sa Llavor, students learn to make a loom with their hands in Nursery, to knit with two needles in the First Cycle of Primary school and in the Second Cycle they learn crochet. We start with the chain and single crochet. The crochet is held in the dominant hand and the yarn in the other. The two hands carry out actions that complement each other and have to perform a very precise task. While with knitting the children strenghten feeling and emotion, with crochet they  awaken will power. This term, the third graders are knitting crocheted caps and bags to carry their water bottles to the forest. The fourth graders have already finished their hats and are starting to make a flute bag.

2021-03-25T12:05:33+00:00March 22nd, 2021|

INFINITY IN THE HANDS

"Embracing infinity in the palm of your hand" William Blake Endless are the possibilities offered by clay modelling, one of the oldest artistic activities of mankind. The so-called "art of the gods" awakens us as human beings and makes us dream as creator gods. Our hands become wonderful instruments, capable of granting harmony and beauty to matter. From the forces of expansion and contraction, present in nature and visible in the concave and convex, we have modelled the movement fixed to the forms. Modelling strengthens our will, teaches us to overcome difficulties, to transform and create, to develop learning that can be applied in many life situations

2021-03-24T12:37:46+00:00March 22nd, 2021|

ELIAS BONET: THE ART OF THE LUTHIER

My name is Elias Bonet Monné, I am the father of Aimar, Violeta and Janic; and I make guitars. A work that is known by the name of luthier, which is a very old French word, which used to designate those who made lutes (Luthe). But we also like to be called "guitar makers". In my case, I dedicate myself exclusively to building my own guitars. I don't do restorations or repairs, which are very nice jobs but they don't have so much to do with what motivates me: the search for sound. With each guitar that I make, I go one step further to arrive at this ideal sound, which only exists in my head, and that with each step I take, it also moves a little further away. In fact, every finished guitar raises new questions. Another very important premise for me when working is that quality is above quantity. I build only twelve instruments a year, one at a time, without industrial processes, enjoying each of the details and processes that must be done to turn a handful of woods into a finished guitar. From preparing the woods to applying shellac. I feel lucky to be able to dedicate my time to a job that I love. Working with your hands, continuing to design, constantly reflecting on what you are doing, living with musicians from all over the world, with the cultural richness that this implies. On the other hand, in my case it is a very lonely job, which has pushed me to travel to fairs and festivals, where I have been able to meet, above all, colleagues with whom to share knowledge and doubts. Socialize work, well, so necessary to know if what you do is useful, or not. In this case, if the guitar sounds good, or not.

2021-03-22T11:23:23+00:00March 22nd, 2021|

MIGUEL ÁNGEL CASTILLO: BUILDING WITH YOUR HANDS

After finishing my professional training as a restorative mason, I realized that very few professionals knew the oldest techniques and materials with which the towns and cities of our country have been built since ancient times. Fourteen years ago I successfully finished the first legalized straw bale house in Mallorca, since then every time I finished a house I realized that the techniques and materials used had much more possibilities than I knew, so I began to train in ancient techniques with the best masters in the country and currently I am dedicated to finishing the homes with 100% mineral and natural materials. Working with ancient materials connects you with the past, allows you to make unique finishes with lime, clay, Mallorca sands, artisan plasters, etc. And, in the end, make contemporary homes with local materials without an ecological footprint. The finishes are made in the atelier, for each home there is a different finish, the light, the materials, the shapes, everything influences each work and each inhabitant of a home. I am part of a network of artisans nationwide who have recovered old gypsum kilns in different parts of the Peninsula. All my materials are manufactured by family-run business and small groups of artisans. I am Miguel Angel Castillo and you can see my work through the networks. www.weareland.es

2021-03-26T09:07:54+00:00March 22nd, 2021|

WILD MARIGOLD OIL

Within the area of natural sciences, the students of the Second and Third Cycle of the school have joined an activity of the Forest Project where they have had to act as authentic alchemists of nature. First they have collected the yellow wild marigold flowers, Calendula arvensis, that have begun to bloom lining the forest. They have put them all in their glass jars and then they have poured the organic oil they had brought from home - olive oil, sesame oil, jojoba oil, hazelnut oil, ... -. Then they have shaken the jar up and down, mashing the mixture well. Once at home, students should leave the jar on the windowsill, away from direct sun, and each day turn it around, alternately leaving it with the lid up or with the lid down, so that all the flowers are soaked in oil. After forty days they will be able to strain its contents, throw the flowers and store the oil in a place protected from light. Calendula oil, Pau told us, has many beneficial properties for the skin, helps heal burns, wounds, is healing, moisturizing, soothing and softening.

2021-03-26T09:05:18+00:00March 22nd, 2021|

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

"If the eye were not solar in nature, how could we see light?" J.W. Goethe The miracle of light creates and undoes forms, the embrace of shadows give body and volume to the intangible. The study of light and shadow has fascinated mystics, artists, scientists, and philosophers, joining in admiration and reverence for this divine phenomenon. To draw and capture light and shadow on paper requires observation, contemplation, perseverance, care and patience, as well as the development of a delicate and precise manual technique. Using only pencil and charcoal, 3rd Cycle of Primary students have learned to create volumes from the contrast of light and dark, light and shadow. Developing sensitivity towards subtle shades of grey and contrasting effects, they have drawn spheres, cubes, pyramids and cylinders in the natural world, conveniently placed to highlight lights and shadows. It is a beautiful feeling to catch a ray of light and a shadow on paper. We share some inspiring quotes from the students about the process: "There are no lines, only light and darkness. The forest is black as night. A ray of light, all joy. In the depths of the sea everything is darkness, except for the lantern fish." "Light and darkness give shape to drawings. Light and shadow give perspective." "The darkness makes the light stand out, like the clouds in the blue sky." "There are no lines, there is only shadow and light and shapes, nothing else. Without light there would be no shadow, without light there should only be darkness. That is why you need light, the light that goes from one side so that there is shadow on the other. Without light you cannot draw ". "The light falls on the forms. Below is darkness. And in the middle there is shadow." "The darkness makes the light stand out, like when a human being writes his words on a white sheet." "Without darkness there is no light and without light there is no darkness."

2021-03-26T09:04:27+00:00March 22nd, 2021|
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