Domestic Revolution

Domestic activities are not for the faint of heart. They are for the powerhouse inside of you, the factory within a human being.

Domestic Revolution is an interactive workshop series focused on different areas of domestic life: food, sewing/mending, bike maintenance & repair, and power tools. This series considers how everything we do can be a full expression of our most highly-capable selves, making the world exactly as we would like to see it and making ourselves the super-people to enable it. Domestic Revolution makes each garment fit perfectly to our bodies and our needs; it makes our worlds built for their ultimate functionality and productivity; it makes our lives as seamless and smooth as possible. This is not arts & crafts. This is an opportunity for you to be The Maker of your own life.

Workshops are free of charge, except for material fees, which vary. Reservations through brown paper tickets is required, as space is limited.

Thursday, October 25th, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Food: Protein Bar Deconstructed with Nora Lidgus & Raina Dimmitt
Materials fee: $9
Reserve your space for Food here.
This workshop breaks down something we do every day – eat. As a follow-up to the Food Part I class, our chefs will teach you how to make a portable snack that keeps you healthy and full in your busy daily life.
[EXPAND Expanded Class Description]We’ll be in the Flux kitchen making a delicious snack for the busy but health conscious New Yorker: PROTEIN BARS! This workshop takes what we discussed in Food Part I into the kitchen for a hands-on workshop. Learn how to make a quick snack from local ingredients, all the while letting each protein bar ingredient tell it’s own story of it’s life and time pertaining to our city. Maximum class size is 15 people. Registration for each class is separate; while we recommend attending both workshops, they can be enjoyed separately as well.

Nora Lidgus is currently the head pastry chef at Radish. A 2008 graduate of Institute of Culinary Education, in New York City, she’s been working her way up ever since. Nora is a self-described Pastry Ranger. Raina Dimmitt has been working as a pastry chef for six years, and is passionate about making sustainable, healthy food accessible for urban kids.[/EXPAND]

Saturday, October 27th, 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Knapsack Building Workshop with Amy Golembeski
Reserve your space for Knapsack Building here.
Learn how to use basic materials to design and create a backpack that fits the custom needs of each craftsperson.
Free!
[EXPAND Expanded class description]We will start with a basic pattern for a drawstring-satchel knapsack and embellish it with pockets, loops, and straps to suit the designers’ tastes. Participants will learn how to transfer the pattern onto fabric, cut the pieces, and sew them together. Participants are encouraged to bring old buttons, scraps of fabric, feathers, beads and any other beautiful materials that are not being used yet to their full potential. Maximum class size is 10 people.

A native of Brooklyn, Amy Golembeski has been altering and sewing clothes since she was listening to the Backstreet Boys. She made her backpacks throughout school and enjoys finding fun and unusual fabrics to work with.[/EXPAND]

Bicycle Maintenance Workshop with Eric Petersen
Thursday, November 1st, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Materials fee: $8
Reserve your space for Bicycle Maintenance here.
Learn basic bicycle maintenance and what’s going on as you ride: we’ll go through everything you can do with a multi-tool and flat repair kit.
[EXPAND Expanded workshop description]In this workshop you will learn basic on the road bike maintenance. You won’t be a master mechanic by the end of this workshop, but a bike will no longer be a terrifying or confusing piece of machinery. We will explore the basic mechanisms that make most bicycles work: tires, cables, and bearings. Skills taught include using a multi-tool and how to repair a flat tire. Materials fee covers gloves, chain lubricant and stuff to take home (inner-tube and tire levers). Maximum class size is 8.

Eric Petersen has been working in the bicycle industry for 6 years as a mechanic, sales person, and now as the manager of Silk Road Cycles in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Along with commuting daily, racing occasionally, and touring, his interest in cycling borders on the obsessive. To him, cycling can mean independence.[/EXPAND]

Power Tools Demystified: Brainstorm & How-To with Jo Q. Nelson
Saturday, November 10th, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Materials fee: $5
Reserve your space for Power Tools here.
Bring your questions and quandaries to this introduction to hardware and power tool skills needed for projects around the apartment.
[EXPAND Expanded workshop description]This workshop will delve into the world of DIY projects and all the questions that arise: How does this power tool work? What would I use to hang an object on this surface? What materials are best for my projects? How do I waterproof this thing? How do I make this contraption stick on a 40 story building?

This class is based on your questions, so send them in with your class registration! Whatever project you’re working on, bring that question to class. Between Jo’s expertise and the collective knowledge of your peer students, we’ll get your DIY project off the ground.

The workshop also uncovers resources available in New York and online to assist you in future projects that you don’t even have questions about yet: how to find someone to help you build something, how to find online and free community classes to teach yourself new skills. Bring any specific power tools you have questions about, however, no specific questions or tools are required to attend the workshop. Maximum class size is 10.

Jo Q. Nelson lives and works in New York. Her work is a hybrid of built environments, fantasy proposals and collaborative projects that look at the interactions that occur in social spaces, how people relate to the spaces around them, and how spaces influence how people relate to each other. She holds a MFA in Combined Media at Hunter College, NY, NY and has shown her site-specific installations in numerous galleries, including Smack Melon, Flux Factory, and Scaramouche Gallery, and participated in numerous residencies and festivals.[/EXPAND]

Domestic Revolution is organized by Flux Artist-in-Residence Aliya Bonar. This educational series is generously supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.