with Cicelia Ross-Gotta
Saturdays June 6th, 13th, & 20th, 2-4 pm
at PS1 Close House (538 S. Gilbert)
sliding scale: XXXXX
This three part workshop welcomes you to explore the ideas of brokenness through contemplative repair. Participants are invited to bring a personal object - anything from a toaster to torn jeans, a broken remote or some curb-find in need of fresh paint - where we will discuss brokenness. How do we know when something is broken? Or if something is (or can be) beyond repair? Drawing on the concepts of interbeing and interconnectedness, we will look at how fixing one thing is simultaneously fixing another (inter-repair). We will use writing prompts, discussion and mindful mending to conclude our time together with, hopefully, at least one thing that was better than it was before.
Participants will need to bring a notebook, writing utensil, and a broken object they are interested in fixing or transforming. Other repair materials (e.g. glue, thread, paint, etc) will be determined in conversation, but will not be needed the first day.
Open to ages 14+.
Registration deadline: June 5th
*PS1 workshops are pay-what-you-can thanks to support from Hills Bank and individual donors. XXX is the true cost of the workshop, and we encourage participants to select the cost that they can afford, or pay a little extra to support future sliding-scale fees.
TEACHING ARTIST:
Originally from Kansas, Ross-Gotta relocated to Iowa City from Seattle in 2020 after earning an MFA in sculpture from the University of Washington. In her practice, Ross-Gotta uses text, textiles and performance as ways to explore vulnerability and the human condition. In 2022, she co-founded PALI, The Performance Art Lab of Iowa, which in turn gave birth to the Typedancing Collective, an interdisciplinary performance featuring poetry zines and dance accompanied by the sounds of typewriters and other obsolete office equipment. Recent projects include curating an exhibition of "failed" artworks for The Vestibule Gallery in Seattle and a deep dive into the world of garment sewing.