Touchstone Workshops
Spencer Prather
Jes Clark (they/them) is the farmer and weaver at Willow Vale Farm in Stanfordville, NY. Jes weaves traditional and contemporary functional pieces and the basket forms created are a result of their conversation with each stick of willow. All of their willow is grown without pesticides using regenerative practices and with loving care. Jes has been teaching weaving since 2018 and has taught hundreds of students ranging from absolute beginners to experienced weavers looking to refine their craft. They have taught at the Stowe Basketry Festival, for the Northeast Basketmakers Guild and NBO, at the New York Botanical Garden just to name a few, and also privately in one-on-one tutorials.
Gretchen Schermerhorn is a printmaker, papermaker, and textile artist, and is the executive director of Southern Graphics Council International, one of the largest membership organizations dedicated to the art of printmaking. She received her MFA in Printmaking from Arizona State University, and since then, has completed artist residencies at The Women's Studio Workshop in New York, Columbia College Center for Book and Paper in Chicago, Seacourt Print Workshop in Northern Ireland, California State University and the Robert Rauschenberg Residency in Florida. Her prints, installations, and works on paper works have been exhibited around the country and internationally, and her work is part of the Montgomery County Public Art Trust, Anne Arundel Community College's print collection, and the Janet Turner Print Collection. She has received individual artist awards from both the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She has taught workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Snow Farm-New England Craft, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Women's Studio Workshop, and the University of North Texas and is currently part of the teaching faculty at Johns Hopkins University and MICA, where she teaches Printmaking and Book Arts.
Cheryl Capezzuti is a sculptor and puppetmaker who is best known for her work producing the First Night Pittsburgh Parade in downtown Pittsburgh on New Year's Eve. Her puppets, ranging in height from 8' to 15', are seen throughout the region at events and celebrations. Recently she produced the parade the National Puppetry Festival. She has received recognition for her work from the Jane Henson Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation and many more. You can check out her work at www.puppetsforpittsburgh.com.
David Jarvinen is a self-taught mosaic artist who came to the mosaic art form through his ceramic tile contracting business. David began teaching classes as a substitute for a clay artist in 2006, which led to providing materials in his ceramic tile store, leading to instructing more and more classes that had a focus on techniques and materials used. He understands the difficulties with manipulating mosaics and is very good at helping participants get past hurdles encountered with this type of art. David has installed many commissions and murals in the Phoenix and Tucson, AZ area through 2023.
Ann is a Professor of Art and Graduate Coordinator Emeritus from Eastern Illinois University. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Sculpture Department, and her BFA from the Colorado State University Fibers Department. She is very active teaching sculptural twining workshops around the world. Ann has recently taught at the Fibre Arts Australia and Fibre Arts New Zealand. Coddington is an active member of the National Basketry Organization and serves on the Exhibitions Committee.
Hey folks, my name is Adam Kenney and I am the Executive Director of Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA. Touchstone is a residential craft school located in the Laural Highlands. We operate over eight studios in various craft forms, but our flagship studio is definitely the Hart Moore Blacksmith Studio. It's one of the most comprehensive facilities in the region dedicated to the art ans science of moving hot metal. I started last July and am looking for ways to make Touchstone a more valuable resource for blacksmiths in the region (and beyond). I will be posting links to workshops and special events we have coming up in 2012. Since I Forge Iron is such a popular and visible online platform to talk about all things blacksmithing I thought it might be a good fit. Go to www.touchstonecrafts.org to check the place out, or click here to look at the catalog of workshops.
Best,
Adam Kenney
Touchstone Center for Crafts
In October 2019, twenty years after the closing of Bethlehem Steel, Touchstone launched the inaugural ten-day Festival UnBound, using the arts as a vehicle to explore questions of community and identity: Who are we, now that the Steel is gone? What are the challenges ahead, and what are the values that hold us together as we shape our future?
Six years later, Festival UnBound has evolved into an annual five-day celebration full of arts-infused events, performances, and hands-on workshops for all who call the Lehigh Valley home. Featuring visual arts, live music, participatory dance, original theatre, workshops, and more, the Festival is a unique, hyper-local smorgasbord of arts taking place from October 2-6 at venues throughout Bethlehem, with Festival pop-up events occurring throughout the rest of the year and into 2025.
Originally called the Pioneer Crafts Council, Touchstone was founded in 1972 on a former campground. Its first executive director, Lynda Wagner, went on to become the executive director at nearby Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright home that is now a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Most students and visitors come from within a five-hour drive, including many creatives from the greater Pittsburgh area, but for its five-day workshops, Touchstone casts a wide net. Participants arrive from cities like Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and beyond, drawn by instructors from all over the country.
After 10 years of the program, which typically serves about 60 teens each year, Touchstone staff has been gratified to see many youngsters return as adults, taking classes, interning, or teaching there themselves.
The center typically books its workshops a year in advance, so the pandemic was a giant challenge. With input from its artist community, Touchstone launched a new artist residency program, with stints of two to four weeks for a weekly fee, including single-occupancy lodging, a common kitchen space, solo studio access, and plenty of room outdoors to socialize safely.
Another unexpected benefit is giving a taste of the experience to people who not only lack familiarity with art workshops, but might find rural settings intimidating. By offering virtual tours, they can break that barrier.
Stay up-to-date on events, workshops, webinars, and other news from Touchstone Psychology and Irina Wen, PhD.
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Touchstone Center for Crafts is a nationally recognized craft school located one and a half hours from Pittsburgh. Touchstone offers a unique getaway for beginner to experienced artists. With 7 fully equipped studios on 150-acres, Touchstone offers the perfect setting to immerse yourself in your craft, try something new, realize and expand your creative potential, be inspired by nature, and the opportunity to be part of a creative community.
The first thing we did was to ask our network of professional and teaching artists what they need. From these discussions, artist happy hours were formed, artist residencies were reimagined, and virtual workshops offered. During 2020, we continued with our internship program, offering emerging artists professional development opportunities and the chance to give virtual demonstrations from the studios. Our virtual offerings will continue, giving us the opportunity to continue to reach a wider audience.
Most of all, enjoy doing what you do. Participate in one of your own workshops, enjoy a performance or exhibition. At Touchstone, we enjoy watching how others become inspired by our instructors, by learning new techniques or collaborating with other participants and this motivates us in our own practice and inspires us to continue to advance our mission.
Our art and writing retreats, workshops, and classes offer you the opportunity to take a break from your busy life and immerse yourself in the creative process. We invite you to join us for one of our upcoming hands-on programs. Touchstone Retreats offers you the chance to immerse yourself in the creative process of sharing your stories through art and writing. We facilitate art and writing retreats throughout the Pacific Northwest. Family Heirloom Arts also offers workshops and classes to help you learn techniques for creating narrative images, bringing your story to life through the written word, and getting started on your own illustrated heirloom book. Create work to treasure throughout your life and share with future generations.
Check out our schedule of upcoming programs and contact us to register. Do you want Lisa to facilitate one of these workshops for your family or community group? Lisa can come to you and present any of the workshops listed on the offerings page, or she can design a custom workshop just for your group. Lisa is co-founder of Touchstone Retreats, offering you the chance to immerse yourself in the creative process through our art and writing retreats offered in Portland, Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Touchstone Retreats also offers custom retreats for organizations, providing specialized programing for staff retreats, spiritual and meditation programs, and community groups including caregivers, educators, counselors, artists, writers, and social justice activists. Artist residencies for schools and educational organizations offer students of all ages the opportunity to create art and writing about their family stories over the course of several sessions.
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