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Get a Handle on It: Stamps as Decorative Surface

with Rich Farrow

$425 More Info

Some throwing experience useful

Among the many amazing facets of clay is that you can make tools with it. That’s one of the exciting techniques you’ll learn during this 3-day intensive. We’ll make 4 different kinds of clay stamps and then learn how to use them to create dynamic surfaces that are unique to your own ‘voice.’ We’ll also work on different styles of handles and do some fancy glazing. You’ll leave with stamps, glazed pots, bisqued pots and an interesting new approach.

A long-time potter in Pennsylvania, Rich Farrow received a BS degree in Mathematics from Moravian, and his MA in Mathematics from Villanova University. He was a journeyman carpenter for ten years and an analyst mathematician for thirty-four years before pursuing a nearly life-long passion for making pots.

Fee: $425 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $55 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-refundable Registration Fee: $40)

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Cattail Weaving Intensive

with Renee Baumann

Next session: July 17th to 19th, 2026

$415 More Info

All levels welcome

This three-day workshop offers an immersive introduction to cattail weaving, you will be exposed to some of the various methods of working with this versatile native plant, then apply them to a larger project. Working in a supportive studio environment, you’ll receive hands-on instruction and individual support as you work on a project of your choice. Suitable for complete beginners as well as experienced makers interested in working more deeply with cattails. All materials provided.

Renee Baumann is a Catskills-based designer, chef, and nature enthusiast with a passion for wild plants and fungi. Trained as an architect and a chef, she brings a creative, interdisciplinary flair to everything she does—whether she’s weaving baskets from local plants, illustrating mushrooms in watercolor, or whipping up delicious meals from foraged ingredients. Renee teaches workshops and techniques working with local fibers, with an emphasis on creating three-dimensional forms from bioregional components. Her work varies from traditional basketry using cattail and willow to sculptural felt and spinning foraged fibers. Renee teaches workshops on identifying and cooking with plants and fungi growing in the Catskills.

Fee: $415 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $45 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Writing as Collage

with Ric Royer

$395 More Info

All levels welcome

This exciting writing workshop will use collage methods to open new avenues of thinking and create fresh material. Participants will explore writing through the tactile and conceptual process of cutting, pasting, and assembling disparate elements to construct textual collages that serve as prompts for their writing. This method generates unique juxtapositions (sometimes via chance operation) and helps writers reflect on their own stories from multiple perspectives. The techniques explored in this workshop are often associated with non-traditional forms of writing like cut ups and chance operations and can easily be used to unlock new directions in any form of writing, prose or poetry, traditional or experimental. Writing As Collage is a writing workshop but is open to artists of all disciplines.

Ric Royer is a writer of performance and a performer of writing. His latest book, Niagara Falls, NY was published by Pig Roast Publishing in 2023. You can listen to him every second Thursday of the month on WGXC Wave Farm Radio with his music collaborator G Lucas Crane. Their show, Suddering Words, is an improvised mashup of various radio show formats, noise and sound poetry, resulting in unlistenable chaos.

Fee: $395 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $25 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Class has begun

Everybody Must Get Stonewared … Again

with Doug Peltzman

Next session: July 24th to 28th, 2026

$660 More Info

Some throwing experience needed

“I love making functional pottery for daily use, every aspect of the process is an opportunity to dig deep. I believe pots can be a powerful conduit for human connection, convey a sense of comfort, curiosity, and play. My choice of clay and glaze are hyper-intentional. The arrangement of slip/glaze, idiosyncratic marks, leaf motifs, horizon lines, circles, and grids represent my interest in seeing the world through a filtered lens, allowing my taste and experiences to bleed into my work. This approach helps to shift perceptions about what pottery can be; a profoundly soulful way to build relationships through a simple pot”. The workshop will include demonstrations, discussions, and a Cone 10 reduction firing.

Doug Peltzman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. Having a voracious appetite for risk, being a skateboarder and artist, Peltzman has been making pots since 2003 and painting and drawing his entire life. After graduating with his MFA from Penn State, he established a pottery studio in Shokan, NY. He has taught workshops throughout the country, was a founding member of Objective Clay (2012-2021), and is one of the principal creators of the successful Hudson Valley Pottery Tour. Doug is a dedicated husband, full-time studio potter, and father of three superbly talented and cheerful children.

Fee: $660 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Waiting list available

Wild Color Workshop

with Lou Thorne

Next session: August 14th to 16th, 2026

$420 More Info

All levels welcome

This workshop offers an introduction to the practice of finding color within our immediate landscape. We'll explore Sugar Maples’ vibrant landscape to find wild materials suitable for artist pigments, engage in ethical foraging, and learn to process these materials into art supplies. We will cover a variety of methods and outcomes, including dye, ink, paint, laking, and more, guided by participant interest and available materials.

Lou Thorne is a multidisciplinary artist and pigment worker. Her current practice focuses on collaborations with hyper-local materials typically considered invasive, excessive, or otherwise undesired. She lives in the Oblong Valley (Mohican, Munsee Lenape, and Schaghticoke lands).

Fee: $420 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $50 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Savor the Moment: Introducing Oil Painting with Food Still Life

with Mia Brownell

Next session: August 7th to 10th, 2026

$540 More Info

All levels welcome

Join us for an immersive introduction to oil painting. Using the historic and vibrant world of food ‘still-lives’ as our inspiration, learn the fundamentals of capturing light, color, and form as we build layers of oil paint to create exciting depth and illusion. Participants will be introduced to approaches that consider the rich narrative threads weaving together food, culture, and human experience. Receive lots of individual attention and engage in group discussions as we practice daily painting methods. Perfect for beginners and those looking to refine their skills.

Mia Brownell’s paintings use the illusionistic conventions of traditional food still-life painting to explore larger conversations about being human. Referencing 17th-century Dutch realism and the swirling forms of molecular imaging, her work considers food as more than sustenance, examining how it is grown, processed, marketed, consumed, and how it functions as a cultural signifier. Through illusionistic depictions, she probes questions of identity, values, and the parallels between microbiology and the social constructs that shape who we are. Mia is a Professor of Art & Design at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

Fee: $540 (Course Fee: $440 + Lab Fee: $60 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Flat to Functional: Slab Built Pottery Forms

with Jen Allen

Next session: July 24th to 28th, 2026

$650 More Info

All levels welcome

Using some of my hand-building templates as a starting point, students will learn how to design and create their own templates while transforming flat clay slabs into functional pottery forms. This class focuses on form development, template-making, surface texture, and thoughtful assembly/alteration techniques. Students will gain practical strategies for translating ideas into repeatable forms, strengthening problem-solving skills, and building confidence in slab construction.

Jen Allen is a studio potter, educator, and mother based in Morgantown, West Virginia. When she's not creating pottery, teaching, or designing templates, you’ll likely find her in the woods with her pup Margot, or at the hockey rink, cheering on her kids' teams.

Fee: $650 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $60 [first bag of clay included] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Waiting list available

Visible Mending

with Megan Piontkowski

Next session: June 19th to 21st, 2026

$420 More Info

All levels welcome

Visible mending not only makes our clothing unique and extends wear, but it also lets others know that we have fixed our clothes. This visible alteration carries meaning in a fascinating number of ways. At the very least, mending can communicate personal aesthetics and care. It might even inspire others to take up mending as well! Students will learn a variety of mending techniques that will excite the senses and expand on how fashion can be made personal.

Megan Piontkowski is an artist and illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a BFA from Montclair State University, and her MFA in Painting and Drawing from Brooklyn College. Her book, Feminist Ships, celebrates the lives and achievements of women sailors. Piontkowski discovered visible mending a few years ago and has been off to the races ever since.

Fee: $420 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $50 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Stained Glass for Beginners

with Lisa Gnos

Next session: August 21st to 23rd, 2026

$420 More Info

All levels welcome

During this dynamic workshop students will learn different techniques of the art of stained-glass. Starting with a small 5-piece project without borders, students will learn how to cut, grind, foil, and solder stained-glass. Students will design and create a larger project learning how to set size and fit pieces together properly. The goal is to have fun and take home two beautiful projects!

Lisa Gnos has been an artist working with stained-glass for over 25 years. Her passions to create and teach have led to owning her own studio. Gnos’ practice includes repairing church windows, custom jobs, mosaics, and fusing glass in kilns. She enjoys repairing and painting antique clock dials, hiking, kayaking and working for a local dentist as an RDH.

Fee: $420 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $50 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Japanese Knotweed Craft: Biodesign, Stewardship & Ecosocial Practice

with Timothy Furstnau

Next session: August 15th to 17th, 2026

$415 More Info

All levels welcome

This workshop focuses on creative uses for itadori, aka “Japanese knotweed,” including dyes, marquetry, bio leather, and bio composites. Working with the Sugar Maples campus landscape, participants will get hands-on experience in biomaterials techniques. The Streambank research project focuses on non-chemical management methods and uses of the plant’s dried biomass to support ongoing ecological restoration. We will learn best practices for ecological stewardship that draw from both traditional and emerging fields. Agroecology, bio design, regenerative agriculture, biocultural restoration, alternative ecologies, and critical ethnobotany will be explored.

Timothy Furstnau is an artist, designer, and curator based in the Catskills of New York. He is co-founder of the studio FICTILIS, Museum of Capitalism, Writ Large festival of screen-based text art, and Hudson’s Toolshed Exchange tool lending library. Furstnau teaches circular economy and studio courses in the Integrated Design program at Parsons School of Design and leads workshops on art and ecology, biomaterials, and land stewardship at the residency project Deurendis.

Fee: $415 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $45 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)