News
Spring Workshops offered at the Appalachian Center for Craft
A variety of spring workshops are now being offered at Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee. The workshops being offered for February are as follows:
February 19 - Forge Steel Letter Openers with Jay Replogle, 9a.m. - 4 p.m, cost is
$125. Forge and finish your own letter opener while learning how to operate a coal
forge and several basic forging techniques. No previous experience necessary. All
materials are included in the course. Please wear cotton clothes; closed toe shoes
are required.
February 19, Feb. 26, March 5 and March 12 - Introduction to Hand-building with Jonathan
Strong, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., cost is $250. Gain an introduction to clay from its raw
state to its finished form. The primary focus of this course is hand-building including
pinch pots, whistles, coiled forms, stamps, and slab-built forms. You'll learn to
use these techniques to create your own pieces and glaze and prepare them for firing
on the last day of class. Included in the course fee are 50 lbs. of stoneware and
a basic pottery kit. Please bring an apron or old towel and a small bucket for water.
Participants must return to campus when the course is complete to pick up their fired
work.
February 19, February 26, March 5 and March 12 Crash Course in Floor Loom Weaving
with Rebecca Smith, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., cost is $250. Learn all about floor loom weaving
with step-by-step instructions on preparing a warp, dressing a loom, and weaving cloth.
Unpack the how of weaving and learn to read basic drafts and demystify the loom. While
uncovering the intuitive language within the structure of weaving, we'll talk about
traditions, modifiers and the magic of the warp and weft of it all. Participants are
asked to bring their own scissors, ruler, slippers or socks, sketchbook/notebook,
pen/pencil, and assorted weft yarns (please wait until after the first class to bring
yarn).
February 19 - Decorative Papers for Your Artwork with Claudia Lee, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
cost is $125. Spend a day making original, decorative papers to use in all your art
projects. Work with pigmented pastes, wax resist, India ink, masking, gesso and more.
Learn to apply these techniques in your home studio! No previous experience necessary.
All materials are included.
February 19 - Create a Glass Heart with Fae Palentyn, offering three separate one-hour
sessions, 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., cost is $60. Learn to shape hot glass from
the furnace. Gather glass, add color and use tools to form the shape that your heart
desires. No experience is necessary for this one-hour workshop. All materials and
shipping the final piece to your home are included in the fee.
February 26 - Introduction to Suminagashi (Japanese Water Marbling) with David Heustess,
1 p.m. - 3 p.m. via Zoom, cost is $50.Explore this amazingly beautiful technique and
begin your journey to designing papers and fabrics for anything from book arts to
garments. Suminagashi is a very simple set up - suminagashi inks, a tray of water
and paper or fabric - but the array of patterns and designs are endless. No experience
necessary and this technique can be done almost anywhere. See the website for a list
of materials needed.
March 5 - The Art of Pyrography with Myra Orton, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. via ZOOM (Deadline
for registration is Feb. 18.). Cost is $125. Gain experience in learning how to wood
burn a design board, a rustic tree branch Christmas ornament, and a wooden sunflower
coaster. This class is filled with in-depth instruction and guided hands-on time.
Skill level is beginner to intermediate. See the website for a list of materials needed.
The Appalachian Center for Craft is a campus of the nationally accredited School of Art, Craft & Design within the College of Fine Arts and is located at 1560 Craft Center Dr, Smithville, Tennessee. To register for these workshops, visit https://epay.tntech.edu/C20205_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=94.
