Courses

Autumn brings a riot of color to the landscape of the North Shore. This workshop is your opportunity to capture a bit of the season with beads. Each participant will bring an autumn image to inspire their design. From your image you will create a unique “bead painting” embroidered on…

Composite canoes are light, efficient and paddle like a dream. But canoe country granite can chew them up if you’re not careful. It can seem a bit daunting to use modern resins and fabrics but fear not. We’ll take the mysteries out of repairing that faithful paddling friend safely, with…

Spend a wonderful evening in the kitchen as you learn new cooking skills and share great culinary fun with other students who love to cook. In this hands-on cooking class, you’ll prepare and enjoy a delicious summer evening meal, including wine pairings and craft brews. Take home a recipe packet featuring…

Spend a day aboard the Hjørdis and learn the basics of sailing a 50’ gaff-rigged schooner on Lake Superior. This course offers a mix of in-class preparation and on-the-water experience: topics include points of sail, seamanship, rope-work, sailing terminology and boat handling technique. Wind, weather and waves vary greatly on…

You can make a fine light sparkling hard cider as good as any in the world with a minimum of equipment, some apple juice, and time. Come join in the fun as we begin one batch by pitching the yeast and finish another batch by bottling. Participants will all take…

Popularized today by many historical reenactors of the fur trade era, the throwing axe is a weapon that is deeply embedded in North American history. Akin to the hatchet, it offers the ability to split and chop wood but is also designed to be used as a hand-to-hand or throwing…

A pair of sandals that fits just right is a highly prized possession—and all the better if they are attractive and one-of-a-kind. Create a pair of custom hand-stitched leather sandals to enjoy for years to come. Students will spend some time sketching ideas and discussing execution, working from a few…

Combining blacksmithing and jewelry-making, this course offers an opportunity for beginning and advanced students to develop their skills as they forge and craft a Damascus ring with a silver liner. Students will begin by forging a piece of damascus steel, a particularly beautiful and ornamental steel filled with folds and…

Highly prized for centuries for its uncanny strength, ability to hold an edge, and distinctively beautiful swirling and flowing patterns, Damascus steel is art—forge welding at its finest—as you combine different types of steel, forge them through fire, and hammer into one solid billet. Like a baker uses kneading and…

From fireplace tools to shelf brackets and kitchen racks, decorative ironwork can highlight any part of the Northern home. This course will enable beginner and intermediate blacksmiths to work alongside master blacksmith, Michael Jones, to design and build their own unique piece of ironwork. The course will start with a…

Decorative and functional ironwork has a long history throughout the North Country. Hinges, gates, fire place tools, or even the humble candlestick: the most ordinary of objects becomes a striking work of art. In this class, students will work with blacksmith, Michael Jones, to create their own unique candle holder…

Up north, there's a saying that there's no bad weather, just the wrong clothes. In this course, you'll outfit your hands to protect them from the elements by designing a comfortable and warm pair of deerskin mittens to wear during the winter months. The mittens are ideal for daily wear,…

There are many designs for the sawhorse, as it is one of the most important tools a timber framer or woodworker has in the workshop. Der Zimmererbock is the traditional version of a sawhorse used and taught throughout Germany, where instructor Gerald David did his training in the timber framing.…

If you have ever dreamed of building your own small home, shop, sauna, studio, or cabin, this course is for you. Designing a space according to your own values and needs is a creative and satisfying endeavor. Instructor Mark Hansen has been designing and building small shelters for a variety…

Join us for a day of exploring the world of drink-able medicine, aka herbal tea. As participants learn several techniques for making medicinal drinks, Monarda will weave in herbal wisdom, knowledge and stories. We will start the day with a plant walk, learning how to identify common weeds and wild…