Enfilade

From the Traditional Architecture Group:

Understanding Period Plasterwork: A Workshop with Philip Gaches
Gaches Workshops, Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, 25–26 April 2024

Registration due by 1 March 2024

There are three distinctly different periods of plasterwork in the UK. The use of plaster on ceilings began toward the end of the 15th century, flourished with 16th-century Elizabethan masterpieces, and blossomed in the 17th century with more complex Jacobean work. By 1700, fashion was changing with more influence from Europe, and Palladianism swept in with its beautiful balance and precision, a style that continued through the Georgian period and its neo-classicism. By 1850, however, a new method was introduced: cheaper, quicker fibrous casting, which is installed dry. Though inferior to all that came before, fibrous cast plaster still remains the most popular method of creating ornamental plasterwork.

Philip Gaches has taught traditional plastering in Myanmar, Afghanistan, and across Europe during his 45-year career, from which he has gained a huge amount of experience that he brings to his courses. In the two-day Understanding Period Plasterwork course, he will guide students through the three periods of British plasterwork, using a combination of presentations and practical demonstrations—after which participants will create, with Philip’s guidance, their own pieces of plasterwork from each period, underscoring the differences between materials, methods, and designs.

Course fees are £350 per person / £250 (full-time student rate). Included are Gaches aprons for each student, along with all tools, materials, and PPE. To register, please send an email to admin@traditionalarchitecturegroup.org before 1 March 2024 for payment instructions. Students should include proof of school/university registration.