This year, Smoky Mountain Living presents John C. Campbell Folk School artists and their 12 crafts for the holidays.
John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, provides experiences in non-competitive learning and community life that are joyful and enlivening. The Folk School offers classes for adults in craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography and writing.
The school is intended to nurture and preserve the folk arts of the Appalachian Mountains. Founded in 1925, the Folk School’s motto is “I sing behind the plow.”
John C. Campbell was an educator and reformer who with his wife, Olive Dame Campbell, toured Southern Appalachia to survey social conditions early in the 20th Century. After his death, Olive and colleague Marguerite Butler began forming the Folk School in 1925.
The school was based on the Danish Folk School style, where students and teachers form a community that worked together to help each other advance in various crafts.
Charles Watson
Charles Watson became interested in woodturning after participating in a furniture-making class and attending Rude Osolnik turning workshops. Charles is a member of the American Association of Woodturners.
“I can be inspired by an interesting piece of wood which can cause my imagination to visualize what art form can be created from it. Creating wood turnings are often the result of commissioned work requests.
“Many times, I find wood materials that have been discarded that can be given new life as a woodturning. I am often inspired to create pieces that are a combination of different types of wood that I select based on their colors, grains, textures and contrasts.
“I was both professionally trained and self-taught. I took several classes and then furthered my education in woodturning by being an assistant teacher, volunteering in the organization of woodturning symposiums, and attending woodturning conventions.
“There are several factors that can determine the length of time it takes to complete a turned piece: The variety of wood; whether it is dry or green; as well as the different forms that can be turned. A small, simple open bowl form using dry wood can be turned and finished in a couple of hours, whereas a large hollow form with accents using green wood can take from several days to a few weeks to be completed.”
Marcia Bugg
Marcia Bugg was the Folk School’s resident potter for 15 years and has been a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild since 1979.
“I enjoy making functional pottery that I want to use. I also want others to use it.
“I tried various clays and firing techniques while I was studying ceramics in college, graduate school and after I first set up my own studio in Greenville, South Carolina. I settled on working mostly with porcelain and stoneware by the time I moved to the Brasstown area.
“I first learned to make hand-built pottery at the University of Georgia where my teacher was Eulala Amos. I spent lots of extra time in the clay studio making pots when one day Miss Amos asked me what was my major focus in the Art Department. When I told her it was sculpture her response was “What a pity.” I thought about that for a few days before asking her what it would take to major in ceramics. She took me to the head of the department next to her office, and I proceeded to change my major.
“My husband and I like to garden and travel when possible. I also enjoy taking the occasional class at the Folk School when I have the time and something has piqued my interest.”
Carolyn Anderson
“I just love making things with my hands. I have always loved making and creating. I love reading and seeing handmade creations. I appreciate all the work that goes into a piece of art.
“I buy a lot of my wood from up North. I order some from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Northern trees grow much slower, and it is better to carve with. Sometimes I find pieces of wood in the forest or on my walks. Several people give me wood.
“I took classes at Tri-County Community College, John C. Campbell Folk School, and I have taken classes from my friend Helen Gibson. I am a member of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild, and I am a Brasstown Carver. I have demonstrated at the Folk Art Center in Asheville and have demonstrated several years at the Fall Festival for John C. Campbell Folk School. I have won the carving contest a couple of times at the Southern Highland Craft Guild, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville.
“It takes several hours to finish a piece … It depends on how big the project is; what you are carving, detail, and finishing.
“I live in Brasstown with my husband David. We live in the Greasy Creek section of Brasstown. I am involved in church, do volunteer work, I do lots of volunteer work at the community center in Brasstown. I do gardening, canning and preserving the veggies we grow.”
Karen Stack
Karen Stack, a lifelong maker of things, is also a lifelong learner whose interests have led her to explore many avenues—leatherwork, silversmithing, music, knitting, spinning, quilting, and more. With her creative time currently dedicated to leatherwork, she has a fascination for making detailed, functional, and beautiful leather items.
“Often, motivation to create my leather goods comes from a need for a specific item either for a customer or myself. Designing a functional and beautiful item to suit a certain set of parameters is exciting to me.”
“For the most part, I am self-taught. Leatherwork is not my first or only craft. I’m a life-long maker. All the various mediums I have worked with have taught me skills that influence my leatherwork. It’s a kind of distillation of concepts and ideas combined with technical hand skills that all relate, somehow. I was fortunate to have had an education in the fine arts as well as commercial arts as a young adult.
“Time spent on a piece varies widely. If a piece includes a large and detailed tooled design, it can take many hours just creating the concept drawing and then tooling or embossing it onto leather.
“I recently moved into a tiny house with my husband. We are looking forward to growing our own veggies and raising chickens for eggs in the spring. I like hiking the trails nearby and visiting waterfalls.”
Géraud Barralon
“I like to approach [music] like a craftsman, looking for the feeling of elements fitting together. The notes and the words already exist, I’m just trying to find a natural order. There is a lot of comfort in that sensation and it’s probably what motivates me the most.
“In general, the lessons always come from the outside, someone inspiring, trying things that don’t work, making mistakes, feeling the discomfort and adapting to never feeling that discomfort again. Some songs require a dedicated lifetime to be played decently.
“I am originally from France. I’m the lucky father of two children and it’s a pleasure to raise a family in such a beautiful place as the Appalachian Mountains. I’m also working as a craftsman/business manager for the Kelischek Workshop in Brasstown.
“I have been the director and the string band instructor for the Folk School Junior Appalachian Music Program for four years. It is a pure joy to work for that organization, and the students are benefiting tremendously from that opportunity.”
Annie Fain Barralon
Annie Fain is a native of the craft, music and dance community of Brasstown, and the Folk School’s former music and dance coordinator. She teaches a variety of classes at the school, including book arts, clawhammer banjo, and several styles of dance: Appalachian clogging, English waltz clog, Northwest Morris, and Bal Folk (learned when she married into a French family). Annie plays banjo and banjo uke for the all-woman string band, Blue-Eyed Girl, and has danced with Loafers Glory, Clog Morris and the Green Grass Cloggers.
“Since I can remember I have felt ‘called’ to make things. It is a very strong, deep feeling that I couldn’t ignore if my life depended on it. Words can’t describe it exactly, but I do enjoy honoring the feeling rather than ignoring it. When I do, all kinds of good things happen.
“One of the best parts about working in mixed media is that the sky is the limit for materials and your personal take on putting them together. I do make my own walnut dye as the first wash for my paintings. Painting on pure white is daunting to me.
“I allow my paintings to be very labor intensive if they need to be. I spend many hours on layering and patterns made with very tiny brush strokes. I have a promise with myself that I will take as long as I need to until I am very sure it is finished.
“Rather than having a life outside of being an artist … it’s all wrapped up as one life. The triad that speaks to me most is music, dance and art, and all three overlap with everything else, including how I approach being a mom to our two sweet boys, the foods we cook or how we design our living space.
Annie will teach ‘Introduction to Appalachian Clogging’ March 27-29, 2020.
Dennis Barber
Dennis Barber is the chef and owner of The Copper Door, an old gas station lovingly remodeled to become a critically acclaimed restaurant in Hayesville, North Carolina. Dennis has over 30 years experience in hotel and restaurant food service at locations including The Westin Canal Place, New Orleans, The Petroleum Club of New Orleans, and Canyon Cafe in Atlanta.
“I was trained through the American Culinary Federation. Primary instructors/mentors were a German executive chef, a Swiss banquet chef, a Bavarian pastry chef and a French fine dining chef.
“Menu and recipe planning generally takes several hours. Production can be anywhere between 15 minutes and six hours.
“I have one day off on Sunday and attend church with my wife. We both love to sing and are members of the choir and a quartet. My wife is fluent in French and Spanish and we like to travel and be immersed in the local culture. I speak enough of both languages to get by. I’ve taught cooking classes at the Folk School since 2012.
Dennis will teach ‘The French Kitchen’ January 19-24, 2020.
Helen Gibson
Helen Gibson, the Folk School’s resident woodcarver since 1990, is a Brasstown Carver in the famed local tradition. She studied with Jack Hall and is one of the few instructors who still carves and teaches the Brasstown Nativity figures she illustrates in her books, Carving the Nativity and The Animals of the Nativity.
“I make my living carving, but I also greatly enjoy the creative process of making something pretty with my hands.
“I use mostly bass wood because the color is even and it’s a good carving wood—not too hard and not too soft. I get the wood cut, dried, and ready to carve from a man in Minnesota.
“My mother carved and that’s where I got started. I learned to carve the nativity from Jack Hall.
“I can carve a nativity piece in a day. Most pieces take about four or five hours, but that doesn’t include sanding and finishing.
“I enjoy being part of my community and being active in church. I was born and raised in the community of Pine Log in North Carolina. I’ve taught woodcarving classes at the Folk School for over 20 years.”
Helen will teach ‘The Brasstown Creche’ April 26-May 2, 2020
Martha Owen
Martha Owen is the Folk School’s resident artist in spinning, knitting and crochet, feltmaking, dyeing and surface design. Her adventure in spinning began at this very school in 1978. Since then her extended family has included sheep (mostly Corriedale, Shetland, Romney) and Angora rabbits (French). A banjo player known to tell a story or two, Martha’s interest in sheep and wool, music and dance has carried her quite literally and joyfully around the world.
“I learned to spin at the John C. Campbell Folk School in 1978. I had sheep and angora rabbits by 1980. We were renting a farm that had a good fence and David, the young energetic husband, said, ‘Martha, look there’s a fence, you know how to spin, why don’t you get a few sheep?’
“I grow sheep and rabbits for their wool. I grow various breeds that make different “styles” of wool. Then I make the best choice on product by what kind of wool is coming off my animals. You can raise wool of many types right on your own farm from rug wool to against-the-skin wear.
“I took a two-week class at the Folk School in spinning and dyeing, moved pretty far out into the country - southern West Virginia - and tried to practice what I had been taught.
“It takes a year to get the wool from the sheep, and I have to keep it alive the whole time! So, a long time. There are so many steps in what I choose to make. I take a shorn fleece, wash it, dye it, card it, spin it, and knit. I also sell yarn! Let me teach you! This is really slow fashion, with a lot of satisfaction and comfort included.
“I am a resident artist at the Folk School. I’ve taught classes at the Folk School for over 20 years. I also teach at other venues around the country, and used to have my own wool supply shop where I taught short sessions weekly. We have a big life otherwise playing music, telling stories, gardening and chasing sheep.”
Martha will teach ‘From Simple to Swing: Hand Knitters Designing Sweaters’ February 2-8, 2020.
Barbara Joiner
Barbara Joiner has taught clay and jewelry classes for over 25 years. She studied clay at the University of Illinois, silversmithing at Indiana University, and she has an MFA degree from Southern Illinois University. Barbara’s work is in many collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and has won awards throughout the U.S.
“I have made things with my hands as long as I can remember. It’s in my genetic makeup. Whenever I had free time as a kid, I always chose to make something with my hands—clay when I was about five, copper enamels when I was eight and silver jewelry when I was in high school.
“Since I like to make pieces that lots of people can afford, I primarily use copper and sterling silver. If I use gold it is only as an accent and it is in the form of bi metal, which is a very thin layer of gold fused to a sterling base.
“Besides the jewelry class I took in high school, I took jewelry and clay as electives in college. As resident artist in jewelry and metals at the John C. Campbell Folk School, I have had the opportunity to learn even more from some incredible jewelry and enameling instructors who have come to teach there.
“First and foremost, I love spending time with my silly pug, Poppy. I love to read, play the dulcimer, and take walks with my friends. Taking a yearly trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota to visit my sister, traveling the back roads of the North Carolina mountains and eating out are also some of my favorite pastimes. I’ve taught classes at the Folk School for over 20 years, and am a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.
Barbara will teach ‘Colorful Combinations with Metal and Enamels’ February 2-8, 2020.
Paul Garrett
Paul Garrett is a full-time artist-blacksmith who has been working with metal since 1978. He is owner/operator of the Ironwood Forge and has experience in projects ranging from architectural to functional to artistic. He has attended, taught, and assisted many classes at the Folk School and is the school’s resident artist in blacksmithing. His mission as an instructor is to teach good basic techniques and habits early to ensure a rewarding experience for each student.
“I look at shapes all around me, both in nature and the man-made world, for ideas and try to see how I can forge them in iron and incorporate those new shapes into artwork.
“I work primarily in iron for its strength and economy, but occasionally … materials such as copper or bronze, and even forging projects entirely from aluminum for its corrosion resistance outdoors.
“Projects range from minutes for simple things to hours, weeks, and even months on more complicated projects. An average smaller piece might be 2-3 days.
“I like to spend time outdoors, camping, mountain biking, and traveling when time permits. I wouldn’t say that I am a health nut, but I do spent time in activities involving exercise. I’ve also taught blacksmithing classes for almost 20 years at the Folk School.
Paul will teach ‘Arts and Crafts Ironwork: Lighting’ February 23–29, 2020.
Dana Hatheway
Dana Hathaway is a self-employed custom woodworker who makes fine furniture. He holds a BA in industrial arts/woodworking from Berea College and has been a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild since 1984. Dana was the Folk School’s resident artist in woodworking for 15 years and established the Windsor chair program at the school in 1989. His philosophy is “learning by doing,” using both traditional and contemporary tools and methods.
“I love designing and creating furniture and accessories from native American hardwoods. Most wood is purchased from hardwood dealers and some from local vendors.
“I was inspired to work with wood by my good friend, Slimen Maloof (Sam Maloof’s son) at Penland, North Carolina, in 1974. After Penland I assisted Mike Wright at the woodshop at the John C. Campbell Folk School. My love of designing and making things out of wood is a lifetime commitment. The art of woodworking is inspired by the natural beauty of the trees and the infinite grain patterns of the wood. I’ve also taught woodworking classes at the Folk School for over 20 years and I am a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.
Dana will teach ‘Elliptical Pedestal Table: Intro to Fine Woodworking’ February 2-8, 2020