The Folk School

Next up: in July, three kinds of printing with three different instructors!

- July 11/12 - Block Printing on Fabric with Tiffany Nicholson

- July 26 and August 2 - Hand Colored Relief Prints with Sara Tabbert

- July 7 - Botanical Eco-Printing on Fabric with Marianne Stolz

Whether printing on fabric or paper or using carving tools or local plants, we think printmaking is some of the best making. Come join us! Find information about these and all our upcoming classes at https://folk.school/

Back to baskets! We have just two spots left in the popular Forager’s Basket class that takes place on July 11-12. If that’s not possible in your schedule (or in addition!) you might consider Bottoms Up! A Woven Bark Covered Flask, held the following weekend of July 18-19.

Both classes are led by visiting instructor Karen Magnuson and assisted by our wonderful Programs Coordinator Kadey Ambrose. You’ll have lots of great leadership and laughter.

Also, related to the second class, remember that all month Ursa Major Distilling is donating $1 from every “Folk School Frolic” cocktail sold to support our community programming.

Link to all our summer classes here: https://folk.school/classes/class-list/

🪚KIDS WOODWORKING ALERT! 🔨

We are offering five-session woodworking classes for kids in August - and with two different age groups!

These workshops run from August 3 to August 7, with classes for younger (ages 5-8) woodworkers in the morning and older (ages 8-12) woodworkers in the afternoon.

While constructing wooden projects ranging from boats to trucks, dolls to boxes and more, children ages 5-8 will develop woodworking skills with basic hand tools. Students begin by making a simple project (a paddle boat) while learning tool usage and safety procedures.

There are a limited number of full scholarships available for this workshop, for more information please contact [email protected]

This class is part of The Folk School’s Instructor Development Program and Cohort, helping train new instructors in kids’ woodworking. Visiting instructor Alex Brede and the adult participants in the development program will all be there to guide the way.

Find full information on these classes here:
https://folk.school/classes/class-list/

Our Executive Director Kelsey Bearden Eagan recently sat down with Jo Heckman of Jo's Table Alaska to talk about The Folk School. You can listen to their conversation here: https://jostablealaska.com/the-folk-school-what-is-it-2/ and read the blog post here: https://jostablealaska.com/the-folk-school-what-is-it/ Thanks to Jo and Kelsey for helping to spread the word about what we’re up to - and please share with your Folk-School-curious friends and family!

Want to learn more about the full range of perennials that thrive in Fairbanks? Join instructor Cyndie Warbelow on Saturday, July 11 from 10-12 in her gardens for Perennial Gardens in Fairbanks: How to Choose Plants and Plans.

The goal of this class is to replace the overwhelm of choosing perennials with confidence and excitement about designing gardens that provide color and interest throughout the growing season. Cyndie will discuss bloom time, flower color, plant height, and foliage texture and form to create successful perennial garden designs.

Not many better ways to spend a couple hours of a summer Saturday!

Find this and all our other classes here:
https://folk.school/classes/class-list/

Great class alert x 2!

- Block Printing on Fabric with Tiffany Nicholson of will take place the weekend of July 11/12

- Introduction to Whittling: Form and Whimsy with Marianne Stolz will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings from June 22 - July 8

Both classes offer ways to transform ordinary materials into extraordinary objects - find information on these and many other classes at https://folk.school/classes/class-list/

Today we found instructor .hahm getting students lined out for her always-popular Painted Quilts class. What a spectacular day to work outside! Hopefully we can share images of the finished projects soon.

Looking for a new way to explore making cloth beautiful using local plant materials? If so, we invite you to register for Botanical Eco-Printing on Fabric!

Join artisan Marianne Stolz on the evening of Tuesday, July 7 to create beautiful dyed and printed t-shirts or fabric using everyday materials and leaves from the forest.

You’ll begin by soaking fabric in a rusty vinegar concoction, then head into the woods to collect common local leaves. Back in the studio, the leaves will be layered onto the fabric, bundled tightly, and steamed.

The combination of vinegar, iron from nails, and the tannins naturally present in some plants creates a chemical reaction that results in striking botanical prints and rich organic color.

Find this and all sorts of other exciting summer classes here: https://folk.school/classes/class-list/

While we have baskets on the mind, here’s another great offering in our summer series:

Join visiting instructor Karen Magnuson on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 for Bottoms Up! A Woven Bark Covered Flask.

Learn to weave with barks of western red cedar, maple or willow to create a striking, one-of-a-kind cover for a stainless-steel hip flask. The basketry skills learned in this class - plaiting, twilling, twining, three-strand twine, and the diagonal folded rim - can be applied to Alaskan species such as birch, willow, and cattails and can be adapted to a variety of shapes and uses!

Find this and all our other summer classes at https://folk.school/classes/class-list/