Courses

Those of us in the rocky, Northern climes know that the world is a cold hard place. Luckily there’s a felted solution: the wool seat cozy. Add a beautiful and warm wooly cushion to your favorite chair, car seat, canoe or take it with you and sit in snug serenity…

Felting is based on three main principles: flat, sculptural and open form. Featured international guest instructor Karin Flatøy Svarstad will explore all three of these techniques in this three day workshop, using birds as inspiration, though students will be free to take inspiration from whatever forms they like. Karin is…

The kitchen is a great place for handmade wool items. Potholders, tea cozies, cup cozies, placemats, hotpads, table runners, dish scrubbies, felted soap balls-- all these projects use the basic method of taking wool batting or roving, adding designs with a felting needle (or not), add water, soap and agitation…

Join featured international guest instructor Karin Flatøy Svarstad for an exploration of wool varieties and felting techniques, resulting in a wearable (or not, your choice!) hat. This felting technique is easy to learn, opens the door to innumerable creative possibilities and can be used to make bags, shoes, slippers or…

Get ready to experience fun with fibers! Join skilled artists from the Northwoods Fiber Guild to create hands-on fiber projects designed specifically for kids and a helpful adult. Students will choose and create their own fiber crafts such as tapestry weaving on a cardboard loom, felting wool containers, Suminagoshi Japanese…

The axe is perhaps the most indispensable of all tools in the north woods. A sharp axe, skillfully wielded, makes tasks from splitting kindling to carving spoons and canoe paddles a pleasure. In this course, students will begin with a hand-­forged axe head, then make a hardwood handle and fit…

Explore the many flavors of rye breads using seeds, spices and fruit to make traditional breads such as Limpa, Pumpernickel, and Raisin Rye. Practice techniques that will allow you to work with a potentially difficult dough. We’ll explore the history and characteristics of this nutritious grain, using pre-ferments and soakers…

This course is designed to teach fly fishers how to tie a core group of flies that will enable them to catch more fish anywhere in the US and Canada. The flies have been field tested by the instructor through over fifty years of fly fishing on streams and lakes,…

Bring a favorite North Shore image to class: four-legged, swimmer, winged, rooted, or creepy crawler. You’ll use that image as the subject of your bead embroidery and make your own unique beadwork on felted wool (material provided). Your piece can be made into pin for a wearable work of art,…

Photography is more than quick snap shots of friends and family. Photography is a rewarding way to explore and discover the world, and engages ones curiosity, creativity and imagination. Merging art with craft, science and math, photography engages the mind completely.  As the modern iteration of the ancient craft of…

Have you always been interested in gathering wild foods but just weren't sure where to start? This class is a great first introduction to spring edibles as we focus on just five common, nutritious and often abundant plants. These early risers sprout up almost as soon as the snow is…

Learn blacksmithing through making several small household items from the Viking age. This class will utilize traditional hand forging techniques to produce everyday iron items typical of those found in the archeological record from 9th century Sweden. Over the course of three days, students will forge a cloak pin, a…

Ten centuries may have passed since the Viking age, but some things remain the same:  the components of knife-making: fire, steel, skilled knowledge and effort and the usefulness of a small pocket knife. This class will utilize traditional hand forging techniques to produce small Viking age knife blades typical of…

Explore one of the mysteries of yore: the Viking Age noise maker. Originals have been found in Viking burials across northern Europe and several of these are currently on display in the Swedish History museum in Stockholm. What the exact original purpose was for these artifacts? Some experts suggest that…

It is said that Freya, the Nordic goddess of love wagered all to acquire the beautiful "Brisingamen" necklace fashioned by dwarves. The medieval texts do not describe what the necklace looked like but we can imagine that Scandinavian filigree work was a signature element. Using twisted fine silver wire we…