Podcasts about southern highland craft guild

In this episode we learn about the John C. Campbell Folk School, located in Brasstown, North Carolina. Founded just over 100 years ago in 1925, the John C. Campbell Folk School was inspired by the Danish Grundtvigian folk high school tradition and established to serve the culturally distinctive, but economically depressed mountainous region of southern Appalachia. Today, it is one of the oldest and largest folk schools in North America and the guiding inspiration for dozens of younger folk schools around the country, including the Driftless Folk School here in Viroqua, Wisconsin.In this conversation I speak with JCCFS instructor and Programming Development Manager Annie Fain Barralon and Executive Director Bethany Chaney about this inspiring history and about what it is like to participate in a multi-day course in folk arts, craft, music, or dance on their beautiful campus in far western North Carolina. We talk about who attends and teaches these courses, as well as about opportunities for young people to spend longer periods at the Folk School such as their Work Study and Student Host programs (see links below). Finally, Annie Fain talks about what it is like to work as a creative artist in the context of a living folk arts tradition, walking the fine line between original innovation, cultural exchange, and loyalty to heritage.Annie Fain Barralon is a native of the crafts and music/dance community of Brasstown, North Carolina and the John C. Campbell Folk School's Programming Development Manager. She teaches a variety of classes at the school including book arts, clawhammer banjo, and several styles of dance–Appalachian clogging/flatfooting, English waltz clog, Northwest Morris, and Bal Folk (learned when she married into a French family). Annie Fain plays banjo and banjo uke for the all-woman string band, Blue Eyed Girl, and has danced with both Loafers Glory Clog Morris and the Green Grass Cloggers. She sells her handmade books, greeting cards, and original watercolors regionally and is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Bethany Chaney is Executive Director of the John C. Campbell Folk School. Prior to joining the Folk School, Bethany served more than 25 years in a variety of non-profit and public service roles, specializing in resource development, strategic planning, and community and economic development programming. She is an award-winning writer, a former NC Arts Council Fellow, and an avid maker of pine needle baskets, a craft she first nurtured as a Folk School student. In 2025 she was named by Country Living Magazine as a Top 100 Design Influencer as an arts advocate. John C. Campbell Folk School - https://www.folkschool.org/JCCFS Work Study & Student Host Programs - https://www.folkschool.org/programs/student-host-and-work-study/Find a Folk School near you! Folk School Alliance - https://www.folkschoolalliance.org/Driftless Folk School - http://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/Thoreau College - http://thoreaucollege.org/

Dorann Nelson is a lifelong creative who found her artistic groove fashioning Halloween figures in the Appalachian Mountains. Her art took a backburner while she raised her family and worked as an interior designer/architect for the Department of Defense. Dorann worked on everything from designing a general's office to expanding an aircraft hangar. She only had time to do art in the wee hours of the night, hence the name of her business, Moonlight Artistry.  After years of career relocations, Dorann and her husband settled in the Asheville area of North Carolina. Dorann designed and built her dream studio and got to work creating mixed media. She started out in Christmas, but found Halloween is her true calling. She describes her version of Halloween as quirky, mysterious, and whimsical.   She cofounded a figurative artist group, GoFigure Guild, which has become her creative tribe. GoFigure pushes each member to continuously grow their skills. Their desire to educate and delight is evident in their exhibits at the library and show-and-tell sessions with kids.   Dorann is enamored with using unique materials such as: old wigs from Goodwill, rotten picket fences, and paper towels. She sees faces in trees and scepters in roots. Her daughters tease her that's she's a Druid.   Dorann was one of the producers of the Spirits of Autumn art show. The show was paused because of the pandemic, but Dorann hopes it can return someday. While it's difficult to produce a show and make work for it, Dorann admits she works best under stress. Dorann ended the interview by encouraging ALL of us to not be afraid to succeed.   Please visit Dorann's web site:  https://www.moonlightartistry.com  Some of the things Dorann mentioned during the interview:   Art Doll Special Edition Magazine Fall 2021  Arthur Rackham artist  Harry Lauder's Walking Stick Plant  Mood Fabrics  Sabrina Gruss art  Southern Highland Craft Guild 

With the mastery that comes from 30 years in glass-blowing, Michael Hatch still experiences the process as a rush! In this interview, Michael gives us a look at what makes the medium unique and so exciting to him. Michael and his wife Hilary Hatch are the owners of Crucible Glassworks, in Weaverville, NC, where Michael creates vessels such as jugs, vases, and tumblers, as well as sculptural pieces.  Hilary handles the business end of things, freeing Michael up to focus on the creative side. Michael is available to teach glass-blowing to interested community members, and he offers demos at his Weaverville studio on a regular basis.  He has created a portable furnace, giving him the freedom to demo at events.  He is also a board member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, so as a bonus, he talks about the Guild's history and admission process. To connect with Michael and see some of his work: SCROLL DOWN the page! visit his website at crucibleglassworks.com follow his Facebook page and his Instagram Highlights of this episode include: what keeps Michael excited about the process of glass-blowing after 30 years Michael giving us an inside view of what it's like to work with a medium that is "trying to get away from you" the intensity of working with a team to create a sculptural piece hearing this artist talk about his appreciation for not only his own medium but for the work of other fine artists what it was like for Michael to be on the jury for the Southern Highland Craft Guild for people applying for new acceptance, and what exactly the jurors are looking for Resources mentioned during the show: Southern Highland Craft Guild Penland School of Crafts Examples of Michael's work:   Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save

This week's show explores the Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville, we preview Charlotte Restaurant Week, meet the family behind the Straightaway Cafe in Black Mountain, check out the outdoor drama Unto These Hills in Cherokee, and Deborah Holt Noel visits Shutters on the Banks boutique hotel in Kill Devil Hills.

This week's show explores the Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville, we preview Charlotte Restaurant Week, meet the family behind the Straightaway Cafe in Black Mountain, check out the outdoor drama Unto These Hills in Cherokee, and Deborah Holt Noel visits Shutters on the Banks boutique hotel in Kill Devil Hills.

Doreen Bennett Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Raukawa, Te Arawa and Te Wainuiarua. My life’s work is reflected my belief to restore traditional values, beliefs and practices as the basis for our Maori families to forward in today’s world. Mashu White Feather of the Chickamauga, Ani Gaduwa Tsalagi (Cherokee) and also Osage.  Our guest tonight - Melanie Tallmadge Sainz Melanie Tallmadge Sainz (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin) is a visual and performing artist, cultural arts presenter, and social justice advocate. She currently holds the title of Founding Director of Little Eagle Arts Foundation, an incubator for new and emerging Native artists that promotes the arts, creativity, and community. Melanie’s professional experiences include Education Specialist at The Heard Museum, Education Assistant at the Arizona Community for the Arts, Art Department Chair at Phoenix Country Day School, and professional teaching artist for Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. Melanie is married to jazz bassist Felix Sainz, Jr. and mother to their two adult children, Amado and Felisia Sainz. Melanie held the title of Miss Indian America XXVI in 1980, and she earned her BFA and post-graduated coursework in Art Education from Arizona State University, and a Minority Business certificate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her art has received awards at the University of Wisconsin, The Heard Museum, William King Regional Arts Center, Southern Highland Craft Guild, American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery, and The Eiteljorg Museum. Her work is dedicated to the human virtues of physical, mental, spiritual and emotional balance and encourages others live in harmony with all living things.