This was my second time to teach at the Folk School. I cannot say enough good things about it: the remoteness, the mountains, the staff, the FOOD, the activities, and some very enthusiastic students.

This post is strictly about the weeklong class. Next post will be about the weekend class.

There were other classes going on at the Folk School as well, maybe 6 or 8 others. Anything from making chocolate truffles (we all wanted to be their friends), to paper arts, to blacksmithing, to dulcimer building, and more.
Bear with me as I try to give you a taste of what it is like to be in this magical place.

Coming out of the dining hall one evening I walked past this beautifully lit bunch of flowers. I don’t know what they are called but I’ve seen them all my life. Folklore is that once these flowers show up the first frost of the year is 6 weeks away. Loved the natural spotlight! See the mushrooms? They are carved, probably from some long ago woodcarving class, and randomly placed around the flower beds.

(For the entire post, click here.)

Woodturning instructor, Alan Leland, tells us why he loves teaching at the Folk School:

One of my favorite things about teaching at the Folk School is watching the students grow and stretch their boundaries not just artistically but in all aspects of their lives. I will never forget the time one of our students managed to get my assistant, Melissa, up to join in the Contra dancing- something Melissa would never do on her own. It was such a surprise.

Alan Leland demonstrates a woodturning technique to his class.

Then of course there is all the laughter that seems to follow me around when I am at the Folk School, some created by me, and some just because the students have loosened up and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. To me, both as a student and an instructor, it is all about growing and stretching yourself, pushing your limits, and discovering the multitude of things that you can do with the proper guidance and freedom. Creativity is such an exhilarating and fulfilling thing and to see the students grow and the smiles on their exhausted faces is just overwhelming at times.

Many students who have never tried to do anything creative discover just how creative they can be and soon get swept up in the magic of it all. It never ceases to amaze me when “show and tell” comes around and we get to see and share the week’s work. It all looks so professionally done and is such a wonder to see.

Woodturned Candle Sticks by Alan Leland will be up for bid at the Gala & Benefit Auction June 11.

I must not forget that the Folk School experience is not just about learning a new craft, it is about getting to know each other, making new friends, and most of all, having an enjoyable, unforgettable, and sometimes life changing experience.

Nature Studies instructor, Joel Zachry, will share “bear stories” with us from his book “Bears We’ve Met- Short Stories of Close Encounters.”  Two readings will take place in the Keith House Living Room.  One will be Wednesday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. and the second will be Saturday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and for the author to sign.

Bears We've Met- Short Stories of Close Encounters by Joel Zachry

Joel will share tales from the book and provide interesting and entertaining information about black bears of the Southern Appalachians and what to do when encountering them. This book is a culmination of over 35 years of experiences with bear encounters from the Appalachians to Alaska, where he has guided trips since 1988.

Joel is a retired college biology professor, and he and his wife, Kathy, are the program managers for the University of Tennessee and National Park Service Smoky Mountain Field School in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Together they own and guide for Great Outdoors! Adventure Travel.

Quilting instructor Marilyn Wall first discovered Art Quilts at an American Quilter’s Society show in Kentucky. Employing the folk learning process, Marilyn “blundered through” teaching herself to make her first art quilt, which is still a favorite among those who view her galleries of work. Art quilting takes a mixed-media perspective, which is well suited to Marilyn’s background in photography and painting.

"Love" Art Quilt by Marilyn Wall

SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) defines an art quilt as “a contemporary artwork exploring and expressing aesthetic concerns common to the whole range of visual arts: painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, which retains, through materials or technique, a clear relationship to the folk art quilt from which it descends.”

Register for Marilyn’s November class, “Personal Places- Portraits in the Landscape” which will teach students how to create personal, meaningful quilts, using photographs to tell a story through quilting.

"Uncle Dave" art quilt by Marilyn Wall

We recently had a very interesting first time instructor here, Christa Knidt Newhouse, who taught a weekend class of Bi-Color Brioche Knitting. She also brought with her some amazing double knitted garments that she had designed herself. One particularly impressive piece was a long, knit sweater with an intricate scene of Chicago, which took Christa five months to complete. Christa is a self-taught double knitter, who quickly picked up the process after seeing it in a book. Double knitting produces two layers and a reversible pattern using circular needles and two balls of yarn.

Christa and her husband, Shelby, hailing from Michigan, were delightful to visit with, and were very enthusiastic about their time at the Folk School. Christa’s enthusiasm for her craft was also evident, which provided great inspiration and instruction for her students.

Double knit vest commemorating September 11 by Christa Newhouse

Colorful double knit scarf, mittens, and socks by Christa Newhouse

By Julie  Sibley,  Artist, Designer &  Celebrating 25 years  this year, of being a faculty member at the  John C. Campbell Folk School

Newly arrived to the mountains, in the Winter of 1977 as a Young Harris College art student, I hardly knew what to expect about anything.  The perfect friend for a shy, not overly confident girl was a high-spirited hall mate.  Nan had bright copper curls and freckles to match.  And she always knew how to have fun.  When she suggested that we go to the Student Center one evening to go Folk Dancing, I never questioned it, even though I’d never even heard of Folk Dancing.  Enter: three men from Brasstown with a record player.  Larry Smith, who was a caller, Danny Wilson, and some other guy who was willing to dance.  We laughed a lot that night and it’s still that much fun on the dance floor! Danny is still often seen spinning on the floor too.

From 1985 Folk School Newsletter, Plow Shares

The thing I remember the most about going to the Folk School dances in those days was how everyone welcomed you.  They wanted you to feel at home there and just be yourself.  Not until recent years, when I would read Ellie (Danny’s Mom) Wilson’s book, My Journey to Appalachia did I understand the significance.  Ellie recounts how Olive Campbell held afternoon teas and the great importance she placed on offering hospitality to guests.  By the time I read her book and understood the full meaning of hospitality at Brasstown, I had grown into a bold, occasionally sassy, and always colorful person. The type of person Jan Davidson refers to at Morning Song when he says, “As you can see, we have had no problem in finding folks with lots of personality to teach here!”
After not so many visits back in the early 1980′s, a dream began to form in my mind as I got to know some of my new friends in Brasstown.  Laura Sprung was the Hostess who lived at Keith House for years and had great parties upstairs in her quarters. Tom Ellis, enamelist, and Tom Beaman, metalsmith, were Resident Artists who had studios on campus that I got to visit.  I was encouraged to believe that I could teach there one day. I just didn’t know enough about anything – yet.
I left the mountains for awhile to finish my college degree.  In the summers I would make lengthy visits to the mountains and to Brasstown.  Keith House even still smelled the same: wood, Murphy’s Oil Soap, and happy people.  The rope, as big as my arm, which was coiled on the floor and attached to the wall by the upstairs window was no longer there.  Neither was the sign which read, “In Case of Fire – Use Rope.”  The new fire escape had lovely landings for watching the mountains.  Equally delightful, for many years, was the part of Student Orientation where everyone living in the Keith House that particular week was instructed to go upstairs for Important Information. They got to see the room that had the outside doorway, which opened onto the fire escape. The best part was that this room had two beds in it, and the two occupants living in there that week were told, ”if you wake up and people are running through your room, you get up and follow them!”  This was yet another example of the creative and entertainingly graceful way in which Folk School Staff adapted to changing times.
In the Spring of 1986, I was to teach my first class at the school, having been hired by Chris Spicer, Program Director, to lead a weekend Batik on Silk class.  We had the classes in the kitchen area of Orchard House, partly because I worked with non- toxic dyes. My roommate was Susan Leveille, a weaver who also still teaches at the Folk School. By this time, I already had six years of teaching experience.  My dream was fully formed and alive!

Mill House, ca. 1980

Now that I was a faculty member, I was part of the inner workings that created the magical sense of creative wonder about the place.  A large ingredient of this experience has to do with acceptance. I may not know anything about your craft form, or especially love it – however, I respect the time, energy, and effort you have invested in developing your skills.  We respect and admire the love, care and passion with which you go about creating a hand made life.  Students who see a highly skilled artisan form something on the wheel, or whatever their hands dream of creating, always ‘see’ how easy it is to do.  Until, that is, they try it themselves and realize the effortlessness is developed from years or even decades of practice. I like to tell my students, “the only difference between me and you is that I have been doing this for 30 years!”  So many times I have been privileged to witness a complete beginner light up with joy over newly acquired skills.  I’ve been around so long that some of my former Little/Middle Folk School students are now faculty members. Other painting students have become fine teachers in their own right.  Retired people find a source of never-ending fascination springing from their own inner depths.  It is with great satisfaction that I get to be part of a timelessness in traditions that lets folks bring new creations into the world.

Gypsy Wagon makes a two week stop in Brasstown

The new year brings many interesting new instructors and classes to the Folk School. Book Arts and Ukulele instructors, Donna and Peter Thomas, from California, might top our “interesting” list. Teaching two classes this Spring, they will be traveling to the Folk School in their Gypsy Wagon.

The Gypsy Wagon Hits the Road

Book and paper artists for many years, the Thomas’ have equipped their traveling studio (“gypsy wagon artists’ bookmobile”) with book making supplies. The idea for the Gypsy Wagon came in the 1970s, when the couple was working at a Renaissance Fair, teaching paper making and book binding. They built a small wagon as their booth. They improved upon this model, taking three years to build the now traveling Gypsy Wagon. The Thomas’ travel the country teaching classes, creating books and prints, and making music.

Bookmaking Supplies Inside the Gypsy Wagon

Sign up for a class! Peter and Donna will be teaching Small-format Artist Books-Structure and Content March 27-April 2.

Peter will be teaching Beginning Ukulele the following week, April 3-8.

The Thomas’ extend an invitation to visit the Gypsy Wagon (which will be parked at the Campground) during their two weeks here.

Donna and Peter Thomas

Photos and information provided by Peter Thomas.

Monday afternoon in the cooking studio, my class had just gathered around the table to examine our first batch of bread–French baguettes–when we heard banging noises outside.  One of the work-study students bobbed in the window; the work-studies had been outside all day, shoveling paths through the snow to every building on campus.  (The Folk School staff told me they don’t use many snowy pictures, since they scare off potential students from the southern states, but it would be hard to describe last week’s Science of Bread class without mentioning the snow.  Don’t let it scare you off!  It rarely snows in Brasstown.)

“Should we invite them in?” I asked.

“Yes!” everyone replied in chorus.

So I stuck my head outside and a minute later, the tired work-studies tramped in, stomping their boots by the door.  “Oh, it’s so warm in here!” they said, stopping to raise their hands to the flames snapping in the wood-fired oven.

One of the work-study jobs is to keep the woodpile stocked; they came by everyday after that to ask if we needed more wood, and to see what we were baking.  By the end of the week, the class was churning out not only simple French baguettes and sourdough boules, but sticky buns, challah, walnut-blue-cheese sourdough, “Bob’s Birdseed Bread,” and a cheddar-dill loaf made with sprouted wheat flour, brought by a student from her own mill.  Some of the recipes were mine, but most were found by the students in the cooking studio’s library of cookbooks.

The aim of the class was not so much to make dozens of recipes, but to examine the bread-making process that underlies all recipes.  We started with simple breads, interspersed with mini science lectures about fermentation and gluten chemistry.  (For example, many bakers don’t realize that over 6% sugar in a recipe will dehydrate yeast and slow down fermentation; for sweet breads, a special “osmotolerant” yeast is used.)  We discussed kneading techniques, effective shaping, and what happens to dough in the oven.  (Many people are surprised to learn that traditional European breads bake at the high temperature of 460.  Since bread expands in the first ten minutes in the oven, and most heat is lost from a home oven when the door is opened, it’s important to find ways to re-heat your oven quickly–like preheating to 500 or using a pizza stone.)

Students had a choice of continuing with my recipes or choosing their own.  One student, who’d just bought her Midwest town’s bakery, looked for recipes she could use to grow her business.  (Her Facebook friends began pre-ordering heart-shaped baguettes for Valentine’s Day after she posted a picture of one we made in class.)  The mill owner tried my recipes with her flour, hoping to better understand her customer’s needs.  The avid home baker branched out into complicated recipes, while the woman who’d never baked before made biscuits, brioche, and a yeasted cornbread, practicing things she could take to dinner parties.  I chose to make Sourdough Dog Biscuits with the leftover sourdough starter.

By Friday afternoon, we were worn out.  We’d assembled display baskets and trays of food for the student exhibit, held with the other classes in the Community Room.  When the time came, we trudged up the melting path, carrying our creations to the table outside the exhibit where other students milled around, waiting to eat.  By the time the ceremony began, the slices of bread, focaccia wedges, and buns had been devoured.  We wrapped the leftovers and put them in the work-studies’ freezer.

A crowd gathered on Thursday in the Keith House Living Room to hear the Folk School’s Resident Writer, Nancy Simpson, read from her newly published book of poetry entitled Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems. The cozy Living Room with an assortment of refreshments provided a welcoming opportunity to come in from the cold, settle in a chair, and listen to poems read with the inflection that the poet intended.  One appreciative listener commented that she had read a certain poem a dozen times, but never really “got it” until hearing Nancy read it aloud.

Nancy explained that “living above the frost line,” according to old timers, means living on the mountain, where the autumnal killing freeze is a least a few days delayed.  In this short amount of time, growing continues, in spite of the inevitable freeze to come.

Nancy Simpson is the founder of North Carolina Writer’s Network West, and her poems have been published in Southern Poetry Review, the Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and other noted literary magazines.  Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems was published by Carolina Wren Press, as the first book in their new Carolina Laureate Series.  The new book can be purchased at the Folk School’s Craft Shop.  Nancy will be teaching a poetry class at the Folk School April 10-16, 2011.  Click here for a complete listing of Folk School writing classes.

The campus was decorated with Scottish flags last week during Scottish Heritage Week.  With the blacksmiths learning ironworking techniques of ancient Scotland, the woodcarvers chiseling Celtic motifs,  the cooks boiling broths on the open hearth and making hagis and bannocks – it’s a wonder we didn’t all start talking with Scottish accents.

We did have a few people to speak with to work on our Gaelic, Norman Kennedy being one of them.  Throughout the week he made appearances in Martha Owen’s spinning and dying class telling stories, to David Brose’s ballad class singing some of the old songs, and to Maureen Ryan Griffin’s writing class reciting poems.

But at the waulking demonstration all of these things came together when Norman took a seat at the head of the table and explained the tradition of wetting woven fabric and beating it on the table while pushing it in a circle, all the while singing songs to keep everyone working at the same rhythm.  He wrestled up some volunteers and they gave it a try.

Norman Kennedy leads a waulking demonstration

After a few beat driven songs, the fabric shrunk slightly and became a softer more tightly woven piece of cloth.  It’s strenuous work for one, but when done together with a song it’s easy to forget that a job is being done.

Norman will be back to the School again for the Spinning Clinic January 23-28 with Martha Owen.