All Hail the Tinsmiths
Tinsmithing. It doesn’t have the glamorous appeal of blacksmithing, with roaring fires and...
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Category: Hear from Students
Capturing Stories Through Photography: The Art of Visual Storytelling
Instructor Karen Kasmauski and Photography Student Abby in the Folk School Vegetable Garden Most...
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Falling in Love with the Folk School:
Sparrow’s Music & Dance Mentorship Experience
As a musician, maker, and mountain gal, the John C. Campbell Folk School has tugged at my heart...
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Recreating a 1933 Doris Ulmann Photograph with Lesley Darling
Last fall, I and eight other craftspeople joined John C Campbell for the second session of the Traditional Craft Mentorship program. During this four-week program, we lived, ate, and crafted on campus (socially distanced of course). While we wait patiently for the Folk School to open in person later this year, I thought I’d share a story about just one adventure that befell us in October.
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Margaret Dugger’s Perspective on Mentorship
My experience at the Folk School left my heart renewed. The mentorship program was a unique opportunity, and in a year of cancellations, it was a breath of fresh air. I applied to it because I wanted the luxury of being a student: studying history, taking an in-depth look at a few topics, and being able to weave for a month with other weavers. I am at a stage in my career where it feels best to apply to everything I am qualified for and to run with any opportunities given. I ended up falling in love with the Appalachian mountains again and learning so much about what I thought I already knew.
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Fire and Light
The Sunday sun was sinking behind the Blue Ridge Mountains when my husband Randy and I arrived at the world-renowned John C. Campbell Folk School. It was the beginning of a week of classes set against the backdrop of purple mountain peaks and green valleys dotted with hay bales.
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From the Writing Studio: The Blacksmith’s Wife
Earlier this fall, Donna Glee Williams taught a writing class at the Folk School: “Write What You Don’t Know.” In the class, students took inspiration from life at the Folk School to find prompts for writing stories, pushing past the boundaries of their own experiences. Don M. Benson, Sr., a student in the class, shared the following story he wrote, taking inspiration from the craft of Blacksmithing. Enjoy his story below!
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Listen to These Folk School Stories
I realized soon after joining the Folk School this summer that this was a unique place brimming with stories. Stories about what happens here, stories about learning a new skill or technique. Stories about how a week at the Folk School has transformed lives, created rich new relationships and empowered students and instructors to make new discoveries about themselves and others.
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Quest: Pottery, Printmaking & Family Vacations
I met Tom Quest over meatloaf dinner in the Dining Hall on Sunday night. We quickly discovered that we were enrolled in the same class: Jim Horton’s “Great American Poster” printmaking class. I discovered Tom is a professional potter and he got his start in clay years ago at the Folk School. He and his family often come here for vacation. This particular week, his wife and daughter were taking felting & dyeing together. I sat down with him to learn a little bit more about his pottery, our class, and why the Folk School is a great place for a family vacation. Enjoy our interview!
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Sienna’s First Class: Enameling
Read a sweet interview 18-year-old Sienna Bosch from Fort Collins, CO who took the class “Beginning Techniques in Enamel” with Christie Schuster. She was here with her mom, who was in printmaking class, and her dad, who taught woodturning. I sat down with her and talked about her experience. Enjoy our interview!
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Playing all Day at John C. Campbell Folk School
To have the freedom we had as children: to explore, to try new things, to dabble, to be alright with not being good at it, to immerse ourselves and relinquish all responsibilities for awhile… sound good? Since 1925, John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC has been answering the call of adults who want to have fun learning about music, art, nature, crafts, gardening, cooking, storytelling and writing.
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