Well, as many of you know, there is always something new in the works here at the School.  This past week, I visited the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta to help install a Folk School exhibit featuring work from our resident artists, instructors and students.  This is a great honor for the School and a wonderful opportunity to promote our unique philosophies in noncompetitive learning and the work of our talented artists. The installation will run the entire month of January and will culminate with our first off-site auction, the Atlanta Fine Craft and Art Auction.  This auction is free to the public and will be held at the Woodruff Arts Center on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

The Coca-Cola exhibit is not open for public viewing but you can see several installation shots here.  I hope that you will be able to join us for the auction on the 4^th. Click here to see a full listing and photos of all the items that will be available at the auction.  I can’t think of anything more fun than getting a dose of the Folk School in the big city.  Someone could write a fable…

Our annual Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction last weekend was a success! Folks from near and far came to enjoy the friendly, relaxed atmosphere, the entertaining auctioneers, and most of all, supporting the Folk School’s craft programs. A wide array of fine craft and art items was present in both the Silent and Live Auctions. Bidders were impressed with the high quality painting, quilting, jewelry, metalwork, woodwork, and pottery.

Next up for bid: a forged spider by blacksmithing instructor, Julie Clark

A big thank you to everyone who helped make this event such fun, especially all who attended, our artists who graciously donated their work, our auctioneers, Bob Grove and Tim Ryan, and the hard working staff and volunteers. Thanks to everyone who got in on the bidding; even if you didn’t end up taking home what you bid on, you supported the Folk School! We are waiting to announce a final total of what we made until we have the results of our eBay auctions.

View a Flickr slideshow of more great Auction photos!

Our eBay auctions are now open and will run through November 7th.  We will be adding several additional items during the coming week.  Click here to have a look.

These auctions are part of the Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction that will be held on November 5 at 1 pm in the Keith House Community Room.  Happy bidding!

Whether you’re an artist or craftsperson yourself, or simply appreciate handmade, high quality objects of wood, metal, clay, fabric, and much more, you won’t want to miss out on the Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction next Saturday, November 5. This is one of our integral fundraisers of the year, and proceeds of the auction benefit all craft programs at the Folk School.

Local auctioneers, Bob Grove and Tim Ryan, are sure to entertain you while leading the business of bidding. A silent auction will be held from 1:00- 2:00 PM, which will also give attendees an opportunity to view live auction items. The live auction will last from 2:00- 4:00 PM.

Over 200 items will be available, such as painting, pottery, photography, basketry, woodworking, woodcarving, weaving, blacksmithing, jewelry, book arts, and many more great craft objects. It’s the perfect place to find beautiful and unique gifts.

The Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction is Saturday, November 5 in the Keith House from 1:00- 4:00 PM. Admission is free and open to the public.

Empty Bowls

March 12, 2011

5:00- 7:00 pm

Olive Dame Campbell Dining Hall

Tickets are $25

Empty Bowls is a national and international grassroots movement that aims to help end hunger.  The Folk School has been hosting the event for many years, with Resident Potter, Mike Lalone in charge of the event.

First, select a handcrafted bowl from a collection crafted and donated by area potters. Next, fill your bowl with a hearty meal of soup, salad, bread and dessert provided by the Folk School Dining Hall. Enjoy live entertainment and the company of new and old friends. Take your bowl home with you to keep as a reminder of hunger in our local and global communities.

All proceeds from this event will go directly to the Clay and Cherokee County Food Banks.

Tickets will go on sale February 1 and may be purchased at the Craft Shop, United Community Bank in Hayesville, and the Chamber of Commerce in Murphy. Tickets are $25 (cash or check only.)

A brown bag auction will take place at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $1 each.

Extra bowls may be purchased at the event for $20.

Contact Resident Potter, Mike Lalone, for details: 828-361-2463 or malalone@hotmail.com.

*Thanks to Steve Newton for this year’s poster design.

2011 John C. Campbell Folk School Catalog

The new year brings a brand new, exciting Folk School catalog! This catalog runs through December 2011, so you can use it as a convenient reference of classes for the whole year. If you’d like to receive a copy of our catalog, click here. If you are local, or visiting us, please stop by the Keith House to pick up catalogs for yourself and your friends. Can you think of a shop, school, gallery, or office that could put a few catalogs out? Help us spread the word about our favorite Folk School!

The catalog cover features a painting entitled Garden Gate at the Folk School by painting instructor, Robin Popp. The gracefully curving wrought iron gate, a welcoming portal in our vegetable garden, was constructed by Walt Hull’s blacksmithing class in 2007.

Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems by Nancy Simpson

We are excited that our very own Resident Writer, Nancy Simpson, has written a new book of poetry!  Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems was published by Carolina Wren Press in July 2010 as the first work in their Carolina Laureate Series.  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 literary magazines.  Through her position as the Folk School’s Resident Writer, Simpson has bolstered our writing program by recruiting some of the finest writing instructors in the region.

A reading and reception will take place in the living room of the Keith House on November 4, 2010 at 4:45.  Those attending will have the opportunity to purchase the new book, which is also available for purchase through our Craft Shop.

Nancy Simpson

This month, while you’re waiting in the checkout line at your grocery store, flipping through magazines, you just might come across the Folk School. The October issue of Whole Living, in the “Smart Travel: Teaching Trips” article on page 24, recommends the Folk School as a destination to “channel your inner blacksmith, woodcarver, or weaver” and  has included a photo of a Folk School blacksmithing student at the anvil.

WNC‘s September issue focuses on “Back to Basics” and portrays a handful of teachers who teach cooking, canning, gardening, sewing, and woodworking skills. Two Folk School instructors—Barbara Swell (cooking) and Frances Juhlin (gardening) are featured and the Folk School is mentioned throughout the series of articles that begin on page 58.

Printed on the spine of the magazine, is a quote from Barbara that reads “I hope it becomes cool again to be a homemaker.” For most of us at the Folk School, it already has become cool to be homemakers. Hmmm, would that mean that this 85-year old Folk School is ahead of its time?

John C Campbell Folk School Cloggers perform at Fall Festival

Appalachian blogger and neighbor, Tipper has posted an exciting opportunity to win 4 tickets to this year’s festival on her blog Blind Pig & the Acorn. To find out how to win, visit her colorful blog about Appalachian life and read her reminiscence of attending Fall Festival as a young’un, and now, as a mother sharing it with her family. Good luck!

Click here to find out more about Fall Festival.

Next month a couple of very serious craft organizations, Craft Retailers & Artists for Tomorrow (CRAFT) and Craft in America will launch American Craft Week. Slated for Oct 1-10, this week aims to heighten the awareness of craft in America and explain how craft enriches our lives and contributes to our national aesthetic and economy. Anyone can join in the celebration by promoting craft in their local area. The American Craft Week website offers a fun list of ideas that individuals and organizations can do to get involved and help promote craft. The website also lists a schedule of American Craft Week events by state.

The American Craft Week organizers are also partnering with the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC to hold an interactive conference “Crafting a Nation” on October 8 & 9. “Crafting a Nation” will focus on jobs and education by exploring how craft practitioners are a valuable national resource and an integral part of the American economy, running micro businesses, producing products unique to our nation and important to our economic growth in the twenty-first century. The conference welcomes all craft enthusiasts as well as those new to craft. It is free and open to the public. Our director, Jan Davidson will be moderating the panel discussion “Schools, Guilds, and Apprenticeships: How To” on Friday the 8th. More information about the conference can be found here.

We’ll be joining this celebration of glorious craft during our Fall Festival on Oct 2 & 3. The festival features 225 craft vendors, 30 artisans demonstrating craft and mountain life skills, continuous music and dance on 2 stages, lots of delicious handcrafted food, and fun activities for kids. In the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring the Fall Festival here on our blog and on our Facebook page, and who knows, there just might be a chance to win a family pack of tickets to this year’s festival ;-)