El Felze *
An
exciting three
days
workshop,
that will guide you to
photograph the art
and craft in and around the Gondola
Photo Skills:
Advanced
Workshop dates:
The workshop
dates are based on student
presence in Venice
Details -
Fees - Commitment - Topics
PDF file
Some information on the places that we
will visit and what we will photograph
*
In Venetian vocabulary
Squero
is the workshop where small wooden boats
are made. The dark and asymmetrical form
of the gondola begins in the cantier,
the template of the boat, with the two
vertical elements, aste or dritti
(stems), onto which the timber and the
bottom of the boat are fixed. The aste,
the ordinate (sections), the
corbe and
the volti (parts of the frame), the
sanconi (curved elements of the frame),
the piane (straight parts of the frame),
the sercio (bulwark). The names and the
pieces and the types of wood multiply as
the boat is gradually formed.
*
The
Gondola
is not just a boat. It is a dynamic
system in which the boat, the water and
the gondolier participate: the movement
in the water gives symmetry to the
asymmetry of the boat, balance to the
imbalance of the boat, man and oar. The
Gondola itself is the product of another
complex system, the result of
contributions from very different
trades: it is the
Boat,
the
Oar, the
Forcola, the
Brass Horses,
the
Felze,
the
Ferro,
the
Cushions,
the
Shoemakers, the
Carved
and
Gilded
Decorations,
the seating for the passengers, the
Hat
and the
Clothes
of the
Gondolier.
*
El felze was a removable cabin placed at
the centre of the gondola, a shelter for
the passengers in winter, at night or in
case of wind and rain; it was only used
on the boat when necessary; it had a
front opening with a small door, small
side windows and a curved roof. The
structure was complex and richly
decorated in wood and metal. It was made
by the felzeri and other craftsmen. Once
every gondola, expensive or modest, had
a felze, but a few decades ago it fell
into disuse because of its
incompatibility with the modern-day
function of the gondola.
*
Text are
kindness of the Association El Felze
(translation
from italian by Adrian Smith)
Weddings
and
Photography Workshop in Venice Italy
