North House Folk School

Join North House in celebrating the first 5 years of the Artisan Development Program with a gallery exhibition hosted at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais and the American Association of Woodturners Gallery of Wood Art in St. Paul. 

Craft has the power and potential to improve our quality of life, not just for the maker, but also for those who interact with handmade objects. Inherent in the materials and processes of traditional craft is a slower pace, an attention to landscape and season, and a reflection of knowledge carried forward over centuries. To sell and to purchase craft objects is to believe that these qualities have value beyond utility.

The makers featured in Living with Craft are past or present fellows in North House Folk School’s Artisan Development Program, an intensive residency during which they are literally ‘living with craft’ for two years. Participants live in Grand Marais, Minnesota, where they are provided with studio space, housing, and funding to seek mentorship, learn new techniques, develop teaching skills, and cultivate their craft practice—all in pursuit of creating a sustainable life and career as a maker. Designed to support the development of the next generation of traditional craft teaching artisans, the Artisan Development Program began in 2017, and has seven alumni and four current participants.

Along with displaying their bodies of work, each maker in the exhibition was offered a simple wooden IKEA chair and an open invitation to alter, improve, or transform it through their chosen craft.

North House Folk School is an educational nonprofit organization devoted to enriching lives and building community through the teaching of traditional northern crafts. Students journey from around the region and the nation to learn a wide variety of handcrafts from more than 150 teaching artisans. Courses range from a day to a few weeks, and most welcome students of any experience level; all that is required is a desire to learn. In 2022, North House celebrated 25 years of folk school education on the shores of Lake Superior.

Participating Artisans:

• Laura Brown
• Emily Derke
• Marybeth Garmoe
• Elise Kyllo
• Mike Loeffler
• Christine Novotny
• Angela Robins
• Josh Tolkan
• Nate White

Tib Shaw, Curator

View More Images at the Johnson Heritage Post Website.

Johnson Heritage Post
November 11 - December 4
115 W. Wisconsin St.
Grand Marais, MN 55604 

American Association of Woodturners Gallery of Wood Art
January 8 - February 5
75 5th St W, Ste. 222
Saint Paul, MN 55102