The School of Appalachia

The “School of Appalachia” isn’t a single place. It’s an open invitation to retreat into the mountains to think, to learn, to collaborate, and to create. 

A collection of remote mountain sanctuaries and locally owned bakeries, shops, and other small businesses make up the school’s idyllic “campus,” providing tranquil settings to connect with Southern Appalachian heritage in a meaningful way. Seemingly around every bend in the road, artists and craftspeople eagerly share their knowledge and skills with students of all ages. Whether you’ve always wanted to learn how to weave a split oak basket, play the dulcimer, or try your hand at another traditional, contemporary, or even experimental craft, there’s likely a class or opportunity available here.

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Hands-on learning remains one of the greatest legacies of the Craft Revival movement (1885-1945), which helped preserve and promote traditional Southern Appalachian art and craft. Craft schools such as Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, both founded during the revival, continue to draw people seeking to step outside their comfort zones and try something new.

“People are wired to make things, yet there is so much stuff in the world that takes away our attention, or our time, or our willingness to commit ourselves to create,” says  Jan Davidson, director of the Campbell Folk School. While, as Davidson adds, few people will “have the luxury of being full-time artists” during their lives,” learning a new craft here just might be the next best thing. 

Read on to discover the school or program where you can unplug from your typical routine and unleash your inner mountain master.

BUILD A NEW SKILL: John C. Campbell Folk School

Brasstown, North Carolina  ///  folkschool.org

The Campbell School motto, “sing behind the plow,” dates to 1925 when the local area was primarily agricultural. Although most current faculty and students aren’t singing behind literal plows, if they’re lucky, they are “singing in front of the computer screen, under the hood of a car, or over a cook stove,” says director Jan Davidson. 

“The original tenet of the school was to help people remember that there can be joy in art in everyday life,” he says. That joyful spirit makes up an essential component of the school’s non-competitive approach, which encourages students to build completely new skills. “The non-competitive aspect is the heart of what we do,” says Davidson. “We would never think of having any credits, or grades, or tests. That is why people like us. The teachers have more fun, and so do the students.”

Davidson is quick to point out, however, that an all-inclusive approach doesn’t diminish the quality of the lessons taught and pieces produced.“We are serious about everything we do, and hold our teachers and our students to the highest standards,” he says. “If you are seriously interested in baking, for example, you’ll come out of our class being a baker. This is real work, real craft.”

If there’s an art or craft you’ve always wanted to try, chances are good there is a program offered sometime during the year at the Campbell School. Traditional Appalachian options include wood turning, weaving, fiddle playing, pottery, quilting, blacksmithing, and baking. Adding to the authentic mountain experiences are the materials, much of which are grown or found locally.

Says Campbell, “When a tree falls down around here, the wood turners, the wood carvers, and the furniture makers all swoop     in. Instead of being upset that the power     got knocked out, they’re thinking, ‘What a lucky break.’”

What: More than 860 non-competitive programs for adults in craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography, and writing.

When: Year round.

Time Commitment: Weekend, five-night, and six-night programs are available. Participants in the weeklong program typically attend class 9 a.m.–noon and 1:30–4:30 p.m. daily. The weekend schedule includes classes Friday night, all day Saturday (with lunch break), and Sunday morning.

Tuition: $334–$928, plus materials fees.

Stay: On-campus housing options include a campground, dormitory, and shared and private rooms.

Eat: Daily family-style meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are an integral part of the Danish folk school tradition. Lodging rates (excluding campground) include meals. 

Play: Evening extracurricular activities such as contra and square dancing, folk music, and blacksmithing demonstrations are scheduled daily. Don’t miss the Tuesday night dance. 

How: Peruse the course catalog and register at folkschool.org. To request a printed catalog, ask questions, or register via phone, call 800.365.5724 or 828.837.2775.

Insider’s tip: Sit with a different group of people at each meal. “When you’re taking a quilting class and talking to a blacksmith and a poet over lunch, that will change your quilt,” says Davidson. “People translate design ideas from one medium to another simply by asking, ‘What are you working on?’”

Best bets:

• “From Tree to Vessel–Green Woodturning,” October 4–10: Learn how to find and prepare wood for turning; operate a lathe; and create a bowl, platter, or artistic vessel to take home.
• “Intro to Glass Blowing,” November 1-7: Safely master the art of manipulating molten glass, and make marbles, pendants, small glass-blown ornaments, and more.

LEARN FROM A MASTER: Penland School of Crafts

Bakersville, North Carolina  ///  penland.org

Penland believes in the power of immersion. Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains northeast of Asheville, days and evenings are spent learning by doing—whether in class, in open studios, or in mealtime discussions with artists and fellow students across all mediums. Surrounded only by art, nature, and fellow artisans, students can avoid real-world distractions and focus intently on their craft.

“Total-immersion, single-subject workshops are a uniquely effective way of learning,” says Penland communications and marketing manager Robin Dreyer.

The intensity of the Penland approach attracts a renowned and continually changing faculty; most instructors are full-time studio artists or teachers in degree-granting art schools. Workshops and instructors change annually, so the courses offered depend on who is teaching that year. These master artists and craftsmen are able to devote a significant amount of one-on-one time with each student in classes of 12 students or fewer, on average.

The Penland model also encourages collaborative learning among students. Most workshops are open to people of all skill levels, including beginners. Dreyer says there’s no reason for newbies to feel intimidated by taking a class with more experienced students. “Beginners learn from being around people with more experience, and an advanced student might be surprised and inspired by the work of someone who doesn’t quite know the rules yet,” Dreyer adds. 

While traditional craft, most notably weaving, was the school’s initial focus when it opened as a crafts cooperative in 1929, Penland expanded its scope long ago. “We are also constantly trying to expand and blur the boundaries of craft,” Dreyer says. 

Today the course catalog includes a range of learning experiences, from documentary media to sculpting with hot glass. Whichever program you choose, prepare to be challenged and to work hard.

What: Nearly 100 workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and other media.

When: Summer (divided into seven sessions from late May through late August), plus spring and fall “concentrations” (eight week programs).

Time Commitment: One, two, or two and a half weeks in summer; eight weeks in spring and fall. Classes start at 8:30 p.m. on the Sunday you arrive.

Tuition: $585 to $1,302 (more for hot glass workshops), plus meals and housing.

Stay: On-campus housing is either “standard” (larger rooms located, in some cases, in newer or renovated buildings) or “economy” (smaller rooms in older buildings). Options range from dorm rooms (4–15 people) to single rooms with private bath.

Eat: On-campus housing rates include nutritious meals, sometimes featuring ingredients grown on campus. Meal plans are available for students staying off campus. 

Play: Before or after your session—or during the middle weekend of a two-week workshop—drive about 30 minutes east to the Linville Falls trailhead located at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 316.3. Follow one of the three hiking trails (easy, moderate, and strenuous) to see the three-tiered waterfall cascading into Linville Gorge.

How: Go to penland.org and choose “Summer 2015 Open Workshops” to see which August classes still have openings. Or review the list of upcoming workshops by studio or session. Wait lists are available for all full classes. Register online, or call the registrar at 828.765.2359, ext. 106. Sign up early; some classes fill quickly.

Insider’s Tip: It’s easy to get lost if you’ve never been to the campus. Use the directions on the Penland website (not GPS), and arrive before dark. Pack comfortable clothes, sturdy shoes, an umbrella, and a flashlight. 

Best Bets:

• “Shake Hands with Hammers,” October 18-24: Tom McCarthy, a renowned artisan of wearable art and owner of Tom McCarthy Jewelry, teaches an introductory class on forging and the directional stretching of metal with hammers. Learn how to create spoons, rings, bracelets, and brooches in silver.
• “The ABCs of VANDY: Letterpress and the Small Book,” October 4-10: Steve Miller, coordinator of the University of Alabama Master of Fine Arts in the Book Arts Program and a master bookmaker, offers the opportunity to learn the art and craft of making books by hand.

CREATE AN HEIRLOOM: Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts

Gatlinburg, Tennessee  ///  arrowmont.org

When the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School opened in Gatlinburg, then a remote Smoky Mountain community, grateful parents gifted their children’s teachers with handmade baskets, woven textiles, and other traditional Appalachian crafts. By 1926, the school opened the Arrowmont Shop to sell the locals’ handcrafted wares. In 1945, summer workshops were added so that anyone with an interest in traditional craft could come to the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to live and learn in a secluded, wooded setting.

From that initial summer program, Arrowmont has grown into a 14-acre, national art and craft education center. Nationally recognized artists lead the school’s more than 130 summer and fall courses, and adults (ages 18 and up) of all skill levels are welcome to spend a weekend, or a week or two, creating in the collaborative and idyllic cocoon that is Arrowmont.

There are workshops available in every medium from bookmaking and metals to glass and photography. Included in the offerings are opportunities to create authentic Appalachian heirloom pieces such as wooden and clay bowls, and wood benches with woven fiber seats.

What: Create an heirloom-quality, traditional Appalachian piece such as a wood-turned bowl or split oak basket.

When: Workshops, June–October.

Time Commitment: Weekend (Thursday evening–Sunday) and one or two weeks (Sunday evening–Saturday).

Tuition: $340 to $995 (woodworking, wood turning, glass, and some painting classes cost more), plus materials fees, meals, and housing.

Stay: On-campus housing options include single, double, triple, and dormitory rooms. No camping is allowed on campus; however, students can stay in local campgrounds or other off-campus housing.

Eat: On-campus housing rates include three daily meals. Meal plans are available for students staying elsewhere. 

Play: Arrowmont’s main entrance is on the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg, less than two miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Sugarlands Visitor Center.

How: Go to arrowmont.org and choose “Workshops and Classes” to browse the online catalogue and read course descriptions. To register, call 865.436.5860.

Insider’s Tip: In April, Arrowmont hosts an interdisciplinary Legacy Weekend focused on Appalachian culture and heritage. Open to all skill levels, the weekend includes workshops, guest speakers and storytellers, music, social gatherings, gallery openings, and hikes. 

Best Bets:

• “Split Oak Basketry/Passing Down the Tradition,” September 20-26: Learn how to weave a split oak basket from a white oak tree, and hand-carve a handle sturdy enough to haul a lifetime’s worth of picnics, apples, or books.
• “Sculptural Basketry with Bark and Vines,” October 22-25: Develop a better understanding of basketry as an art form by weaving locally harvested kudzu vine, poplar bark, and others natural materials into an original sculpture.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ART ADVENTURE: The Bascom 

Highlands, North Carolina  ///  thebascom.org

The Bascom was founded on the belief that creative expression transforms lives. What began in 1983 as the Bascom-Louise Gallery, inside Highlands’s Hudson Library, has grown into a six-acre, parklike campus located on a former horse farm. Regional artists, local residents, and visitors gather to experience art during the day or for an evening event, and then return home or stay in area inns, resorts, and rental housing.

This non-residential approach is particularly conducive to creating custom art experiences. Though the Bascom also offers a monthly calendar of adult educational programs in mediums such as ceramics, painting, drawing, journaling, and photography, those who want to customize an experience to fit their interests and schedule can choose among the center’s Art by Appointment and Open Studio options.

With Art By Appointment, you choose the subject, day, and time, and the Bascom creates a private class for you or a group. ABA sessions can be a one-time class or can continue over a period of time. Any workshop topic offered at the Bascom is fair game, as are printmaking, jewelry making, screen-printing, and other arts and crafts.

The Open Studio option is available to Bascom members for a weekly, monthly, six-month, or yearly fee. During Open Studio hours, participants can use all of the tools and equipment in the Bascom’s Adult Education Studio and the Dave Drake Studio Barn, a working operational clay facility. There also are free and low-cost classes for Open Studio participants.

Construction of the current Bascom campus was only completed in 2009, but historic structures include an 1838 barn reinvented as a museum-quality main building and gallery, a rebuilt barn turned studio space, and a early 1800s covered bridge relocated from New Hampshire. Each building includes repurposed materials and design elements such as wood flooring made from planks salvaged from historic barns.

What: Art By Appointment or Open Studio programs.

When: Year round.

Time Commitment: Flexible, ranging from a one-time private or small-group class to ongoing lessons over an extended period.

Tuition: Varies depending on medium, supplies required, and time arranged with instructor. Open Studio ranges from $50 a week to $900 a year.

Stay: There is no housing on campus. Lodging options in Highlands include the luxurious Old Edwards Inn & Spa (oldedwardsinn.com); mountaintop cabins, tree houses, and lodge rooms at Fire Mountain Inn (firemt.com), and bed and breakfasts such as 4-1/2 Street Inn (4andahalfstinn.com).

Play: On campus, explore the Horst Winkler Sculpture & Nature Trail, which passes through meadows and woods before connecting with the Highlands Plateau Greenway, a five-mile (and growing) network of walking trails connecting natural areas and historic sites in the town of Highlands. In Highlands, hike to the Sunset Rock overlook for panoramic views of the town below.

How: To arrange an Art By Appointment experience, call the Education Department at 828.787.2865. To learn about Open Studio and other classes and workshops, go to thebascom.org.

Insider’s Tip: Bring snacks and drinks. The Bascom offers lunch service only from May to October.

Best Bets

• Landscape Photography: Walk the Bascom campus and surrounding trails while learning to take better nature photos of forests, rivers, wildflowers, and waterfalls. 
• Clay: Design your own tableware or traditional folk pottery on the wheel or with your hands.