North House Folk School

This April, more than 90 active North House instructors and recent alumni of the Artisan Development Program and Internship gathered on campus for a weekend of connection and learning we call the Instructor Retreat. Like professionals in many fields, there’s so much to learn from one another to continue to grow as craft educators. Thanks to donor and foundation support, North House has hosted this unique gathering for the last 14 years, and it’s become a significant moment in the annual folk school calendar. 

The instructor retreat brought together over 90 instructors from across the country

This year’s special guest was Dr. Anne Kirketerp, author of the book Craft Psychology: How Crafting Promotes Health. The core of her work is something that is self-evident to most North House instructors and students: doing crafts of all kinds can contribute significantly to personal well-being, and ultimately offers purpose, fulfillment, and joy. 

Dr. Kirketerp’s book and presentations helped us define and describe more precisely how this big idea plays out in our classrooms and lives. For example, it’s easy to say that craft connects us to one another. Wearing a scarf my mother has woven, drinking coffee from a beloved mug thrown by an old chum, using a knife made by a dear friend: I’ve always known that these things make me feel warm and fuzzy, but I haven’t deeply explored why it's meaningful to have objects made by hands I know. 

Dr. Kirketerp teaching a workshop on craft psychology

Dr. Kirketerp delved into how craft fosters a sense of interrelatedness that’s not just a nice feeling, but an essential part of psychological well-being. The scarf, the mug, the knife hold me in a relationship with the makers that exists beyond time, not only connecting me to family and friends but also something even bigger: to tradition, culture, and my place as a human on the earth in this moment. When students come to North House to learn and make, they are tapping into this bigger psychological need to feel connected to others and ultimately, all of humanity. Whew! That’s a lot to take on in a weekend!    

Beyond digging into big ideas, the Instructor Retreat was full of the sort of things that make for a good gathering anywhere: delicious food, time for connection and conversation, singing, dancing, games, and laughter. We heard about the work to revitalize cedar mat weaving in the Grand Portage Nation from instructor April McCormick. With Resident Artisan Dr. Mathilde Yakymets-Lind, we explored how the tools of historical craft research and folklorists can be accessed by anyone. We played with techniques from improv comedy as teaching methods with Joe Walewski, and we even stacked several cords of wood for this summer’s wood-fired pizza bakes. 

Learning about cedar bark mats with April McCormick and Erik Carlson

The next time you take a class at North House, ask your instructor about their experience at the  Instructor Retreat. Ultimately, this gathering is about shaping and stewarding the culture of this special place for everyone who comes here (or aspires to come here eventually!) to nurture our collective wellbeing. It’s a joy and an honor to host, and we’re grateful for the investment of time and energy our instructor community makes in being together.