Courses

Create yourself a comfortable living space: a spare bedroom, office, studio, sauna or whatever else you can dream up.  The 18-foot yurt is an excellent shelter option that provides comfortable living arrangements for all four seasons. Working with skilled yurt builders, you’ll build a simple yurt, complete with a door…

Since at least 300 AD, the birch bark and sod roof has been the most important roof type in Scandinavia for heated homes. The sod both insulates and protects the waterproof bark layer from sunlight and wind. This combination can last 50-70 years before the birch bark needs replacing. The…

The Norwegian countryside is scattered with eye-catching wooden structures with sod roofs, steeped in the history of families making their living in the beautiful but harsh landscape. Reaching back centuries, each structure was designed and constructed for a specific purpose: storing grain, livestock, textiles, or even serving as the wedding…

None of us are getting out of this alive, so we may as well bury ourselves in our work!  Put your hands to work making something truly useful while also building a strong base of woodworking skills. The above-ground applications of your resulting project are numerous – a bookshelf, coffee…

Considering when and where to start on that big cabinet project you want to build and install?  Start here.  Before you jump into a big project, learn the basic techniques, tools and equipment used by both traditional and contemporary cabinet makers.  As a class project, each student builds a pine…

Pockets full of pebbles from the shores of Lake Superior? Ready to turn them into jewelry? Pebble drilling has long been a popular course at North House, but not all pebbles are meant to be drilled. In this three-day class, students will learn several different ways to capture and display…

Woodenware has been embellished since Ancient Egypt: by adding color, pattern and texture, a finished piece reflect the taste, culture and interests of you, the maker. We will look to natural world for inspiration and also learn how to navigate the extensive collections of folk art available in digital archives…

How about carving a wooden figure for the upcoming holiday season--either as a gift for someone special, or for yourself (since you are special too, right?). Harley, who says 'if you can peel a potato, you can carve a figure', will lead new as well as experienced carvers through the…

Create beautiful and useful things for your kitchen using simple hand tools and birch wood. Participants in this course will be introduced to the Swedish traditions of ‘köksredskap,' or the process of carving functional utensils, including butterknives, small spoons or bread boards. Students will start by splitting a green log,…

The spoon is in the eye of the beholder. A crooked branch can become a perfect ladle; a slight bend makes a lovely eating spoon. Enjoy three days of handwork in this greenwood carving class focused on ladles and spoons. Working with birch, you’ll use simple hand tools and carving…

Traditional northern craft meets Don Draper? Fedoras are definitely back in fashion, DIY is all the rage, and in this fun course you can combine them both. Put a northern twist on a southern hat weaving tradition and make a woven cattail hat to protect yourself from the sun during…

With more than just aesthetic appeal, cedar-strip boats are known for being lightweight, strong and quick to build. Gain the know-how and confidence to complete a boat project in your own backyard through seven days of hands-on instruction building a tandem canoe with other students. Techniques involve setting up the…

Enjoy the contrast of light and dark wooden strips, the quiet lapping of water on wood and the pride of craftsmanship that stems from building your own cedar-strip boat. From start to finish, cut thin cedar planks and learn to assemble an appealing pattern for your canoe or kayak. Students…

Celestial navigation is one of the oldest of all forms of navigation and for thousands of years has guided mariners safely across the trackless oceans of the world. It is a traditional craft that is rich in both history and romance. With the advent of modern electronics, one can now…

Once you've mastered the Noon Sight, it is time to spend a day with the sun, taking sextant sights throughout the day and advancing your position on the chart. This course will take students beyond the noon sight and teach them how to find a position by taking sextant sights…