EASTERN BORDER
with LIENE MACKUS
Workshop PROGRAM
An immersive woodworking workshop delved into the profound connection between participants and nature. Focusing on the local and personal, the workshop transformed trees from living organisms into meaningful creations of wood. It rediscovered the beauty and significance of woodworking as matter, metaphor, and philosophy. In Latvia, forestry, a cornerstone of the economy, saw primary commercial species including pine (Pinus sylvestris), birch (Betula pendula), spruce (Picea abies), white alder (Alnus incana), aspen (Populus tremula), and black alder (Alnus glutinosa) utilized. This ‘hands-on’ workshop explored a variety of effective construction techniques using easily available tools, materials, and processes. Basic tools and material were provided to complete one project.
the working GROUP
No information available at this time.
Pedagogical Approach — Fact Sheet
Workshop title: Eastern Border
Author/coordinator: Liene Mackus
Duration/time span: 4 days
As part of the YES Masterclass #3 program, the workshop Eastern Border offered participants a materially grounded and philosophically rich experience in woodworking, positioned within the broader thematic frame of amplifying voices and challenging power. The workshop invited students to explore wood as both material and metaphor, engaging deeply with the ecological, cultural, and political layers embedded in Latvia’s landscape and forestry traditions.
Context and program
Materials and methodologies
Held at Adatu Fabrika, a revitalized industrial site in Kuldīga outfitted with both professional tools and open-air workspaces, the workshop created a dynamic environment where manual craft, environmental awareness, and personal expression intersected. The workshop manager provided expertise, demonstrations, and hands-on assistance to students.
Can a material carry memory, and if so, how do artists make this visible through form? Can manual craft be a form of resistance against disconnection from nature, labor, and tradition?
Key issues
Results and observations
Participants experienced a profound reconnection with the material reality of wood, working directly with raw, locally sourced species (pine, birch, alder, etc.). Through hands-on processes like sawing, planing, sanding, and joinery, participants engaged with material histories, prompting reflection on how craft fosters embodied knowledge and ecological atonement. The tactile, rhythmic labour countered digital fatigue and offered a meditative entry into artistic production.
Hoadley, R. Bruce. (2000). Understanding wood: A craftsman’s guide to wood technology (2nd ed.). Taunton Press.
References
Information provided and reviewed by each workshop coordinator. Content may be revised or updated.