Shaker Cheese Basket
2023-03-18 09:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Adirondack Folk School, 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, 12846, United States
The Shakers are known for many unique designs, including the six-pointed star pattern on the bottom of their cheese baskets. Lined with muslin, the basket serves to separate the curd from the why. Today, it may serve as lovely wall décor or a table centerpiece. Students will learn to weave the base, and then build the sides with a continuous plain weave. The basket will be woven with natural colored reed.

Walking Stick with Inlaid Compass
2023-03-18 09:00 - 16:00
Take your next hike or walk around the corner with a unique hand-crafted walking stick. Frank will guide you through the process of taking a piece of ironwood and transforming it into a walking stick that will last a lifetime. The inlaid compass will help ensure you don’t lose your way on the trail! Makes a wonderful gift for the hikers in your life!

Make Your Own Umbrella
2023-03-17 13:00 - 17:00
Students will learn how to make FABULOUS one of a kind, custom umbrellas. These umbrellas are perfect for rain or shine. They are also great for bridal or baby showers. Umbrellas are made using tightly woven, cotton fabric. Basic hand and machine sewing skills are necessary for this project. A list of necessary materials students must bring will be sent out prior to the class.

Rope Bowls
2023-03-17 09:00 - 12:00
These versatile, flexible and washable baskets are fun and easy to make. They are great for gift baskets, or they can be a standalone gift. Students will make a basic, 7″ round x 3″ tall bowl and learn the options to enhance future rope bowl projects.

Open Forge Night
2023-03-15 18:30 - 20:00, 2023-03-15 18:00 - 20:00
Interested in blacksmithing but unsure how to start? Open Forge Night is the place for you! Every third Wednesday of the month during our blacksmithing season, come see demonstrations by expert blacksmith Steve Gurzler. Observing the demonstration is free and open to the public. If you want to try your hand at blacksmithing there is a $20 fee to cover the cost of materials. Safety precautions must be followed – including hard shoes with no open toes, long pants, goggles (supplied) and gloves (supplied).

Rustic Furniture: Sofa or Coffee Table
2023-03-12 09:00 - 16:00, 2023-03-11 09:00 - 16:00, 2023-03-10 09:00 - 16:00
All you need to create a true rustic living room is to complement your Rustic End Table with an Adirondack Sofa or Coffee Table. Learn traditional furniture making while using materials found in this region: Birch bark, twigs, logs and more. You will be guided from start to finish and in the process, you will learn about material selection, basic joinery and the use of hand tools including Japanese saw, wood chisels, jigs and others. This will be a fun and intensive class and you will leave with a fine sofa or coffee table suitable for your “Great Camp” or home.

Tuffet Footstool
2023-03-12 09:00 - 13:00
Make an 18-inch custom tuffet-style footstool. Great for quilters, as it will free you from all those strips of fabric that get stashed about the sewing room. Students can use as many different fabrics as they like. The pattern can be made with 2-64 different strips. The first day is for piecing tuffet top. Students will learn to mark the pattern onto the fabric and begin the sewing. There will be some homework to complete sewing the tuffet top during the weeklong break between classes. The second day students will complete the tuffet top assembly and upholster the tuffet. A list of necessary materials students must bring will be sent out prior to the class.

Beaded Wrap Bracelets
2023-03-10 13:00 - 16:00, 2023-03-10 10:00 - 14:00, 2023-02-17 13:00 - 16:00
Join us as we weave a lovely, beaded bracelet. No experience is needed. Students will have fun creating their own unique custom wrap bracelet.

AFS Sewing Circle
2023-03-09 10:00 - 14:00
Calling all fiber artists! Do you have a project you’re in the middle of? Want some company while you work? Sounds like AFS Sewing Circle is the place for you! Quilters, knitters, and fiber artists alike are welcome to join us every month for an afternoon of quilting and camaraderie. Bring your works in progress, and enjoy sharing your experience and the company of your fellow quilters. Pre-registration is not required. All are welcome!

Sacred Union of Plant & Water
2023-03-04 13:00 - 16:00
Take a “trip in a cup” as we explore cultures from around the world and their tea rituals where a Sacred Union is made between plant and water. We’ll start this touch, smell, feel and taste workshop with a walk outdoors to identify and harvest plants. Then we’ll come into the classroom for a hands-on infusion making experience. As we sip the prepared infusions, we’ll discuss the many roles which tea and plant infusions have played throughout history, their differences, and the benefits of inviting them into your life. This class is a delightful journey for the senses and includes a hands-on component where we will make, and enjoy, an herbal chai tea!

Children's Wooden Roller Coaster Toy
2023-03-04 09:00 - 16:00
Interested in building an heirloom toy for family or friends? This solid wood roller coaster with wooden cars, which you will also build, is sure to bring a smile to their faces! No previous woodworking skills required.

Hardwood Spoon Carving
2023-03-03 09:00 - 17:00
In this class students will design, shape and carve a serving spoon. Skills explored include: making a template and transferring it to a blank, carving and shaping the bowl and back of the spoon, use of hand tools such as gouges, scrapers, coping saws, and spokeshaves, and sanding and finishing techniques. Students will leave class with a beautiful handcrafted hardwood spoon to use in their own kitchens or to give as a gift!

Beginning Bluegrass Banjo
2023-02-26 13:00 - 16:00
Bluegrass banjo is the familiar sound that drove such favorites as the Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song, Rocky Top and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. In this class you will learn enough about the banjo so that you can use a variety of available instructional aids from your home and progress with learning Bluegrass banjo at your own pace. You will be exposed to the basics of playing 5-string Bluegrass banjo, including tunings, left hand chord shapes, right hand rolls, vamping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, chokes, chimes and how to read tablatures. We’ll also look at online sites about banjo practice and instruction. Bring a playable 5-string banjo, two metal finger picks and a thumb pick. Although there will be several handouts, an audio recorder is a good idea.

Rustic End Tables
2023-02-26 09:00 - 16:00, 2023-02-25 09:00 - 16:00
The Adirondack Style is unique. It combines traditional furniture making with the materials found in this region: birch bark, twigs, logs and more. Found in the earliest Great Camps of our region, the skilled craftsmen who made this unique furniture were inspired by the world around them. In this class you will be guided from start to finish: from the selection of the materials and their preparation, to the joinery required, as well as the aesthetics that will help you make a fine end table suitable for your Great Camp or home.

Silver Metal Clay Exploration
2023-02-25 09:00 - 17:00
Explore the many ways that you can use silver in a metal clay formulation to create jewelry designs of your own. The newest way of working with silver is metal clay which can be shaped like clay to produce uniquely textured surfaces, resulting in durable beautiful silver jewelry. Students will learn metal clay working techniques and make pendants, earrings, charms and rings. Fresh leaves will also be used to create a silver piece of nature. The class will also cover techniques for setting and firing stones directly in metal clay. Each student will leave with at least four finished pieces of jewelry. No previous experience necessary.

Copper Embossing
2023-02-24 09:00 - 12:00
Learn the discipline of Metal Working known as Embossing. Students will transfer an image of their choosing from a paper template to a sheet of copper by using various sizes of stylus and other hand tools to create a textured picture. Students will find that copper is a very workable material. Your finished piece will fit in with any Adirondack decor or even in a rustic birch frame! This piece is 8″ x 8″.

Winter Landscapes & Waterways Photography Tour
2023-02-19 10:00 - 18:00
Winter weather, snow and ice offer a wonderful diversity of moods for outdoor photography. Ice forms into an endless variety of shapes and patterns along lake shorelines, streams, and rivers that can be enhanced with a soft covering of snow. Snowflakes and ice provide great options for macro photography. With sunset at 5:30pm, we’ll be working with golden hour light in addition to sunset color and afterglow possibilities. Spend a day photographing the beautiful winter landscapes in the southeastern Adirondacks with Carl Heilman as your guide and mentor. After meeting briefly at the Folk School for an introduction and to cover any initial questions, the rest of the day will be spent photographing at several nearby locations. There are many beautiful winter vistas within a half hour of the Folk School to take best advantage of the dramatic winter landscape. This nature photography tour is designed for those who are already comfortable with camera basics such as the relationship between aperture, shutter and ISO settings.

Perfect Pictures Every Time
2023-02-18 10:00 - 18:00
Understanding photography basics is the key to taking control of your camera and knowing you got the shot when you were taking it. If you would like to take your skill level from shooting in Auto to having full control over your camera, this intensive class is for you! A step-by-step PowerPoint presentation helps teach the basic principles of photography including: camera options and set-up, peripheral equipment, image exposure and histograms, and will touch on shooting for HDR and working with motion, depth of field, and composition. The class is paced to allow time for questions and interaction, with about half of the day in the classroom experimenting with the cameras, and the other half spent in the field, practicing camera techniques and shooting options. A comprehensive handout will include all the major points covered in the presentation. While the class instruction is mostly landscape based, these techniques and principles can be applied to all photographic situations.

Introduction to Woodturning
2023-02-18 09:00 - 12:00
To every season turn, turn, turn! This course is for people who have an interest in learning how to turn. The emphasis will be on learning how to use the lathe and tools safely and correctly. In this class you will learn the basics of creating spindle-based objects. Then you will use your new-found skills to create a candlestick and a wooden pen. Friends and family will be truly impressed! You’ll need to take this class before moving on to the more advanced turning classes.

Introduction to Chip Carving
2023-02-12 09:00 - 16:00, 2023-02-11 09:00 - 16:00
This course will introduce students to the traditional craft of chip carving – a type of woodcarving in which a small knife is used to incise decorative floral and geometric designs into basswood or butternut. The design is created by the removal of small pieces (chips) of the wood. Chip carving is an ancient, traditional craft. Chip carved plates, jewelry and keepsake boxes, trays, breadboards, furniture and other items can make wonderful gifts and also decorate the home with traditional motifs. Some previous carving experience is helpful, but not necessary. Students will learn to carve a variety of practice designs already drawn on a board and may complete a round ornament as well.

Hanging Hardwood Splint Snowflake
2023-02-11 13:00 - 16:00
Students will weave these striking snowflakes from hardwood maple and cherry wood splint. Several patterns may be woven, depending on the chosen splint. Students will weave one large 10″ diameter snowflake, and two smaller 7″ snowflakes, which make a beautiful grouping hung together on a tree or in a window. Additional kits will be available for sale.

Create Your Own Hardwood Cutting Board
2023-02-11 09:00 - 13:00
Come create a beautiful 12″-18″ hardwood cutting board during two, half-day sessions. The class will discuss the types of wood being used, such as sapele, purple heart, African cherry and hard maple. The wood will be cut to size on a table saw. Then, using a joiner, students will make sure all pieces are the same size before gluing the various pieces together and allowing them to dry overnight. On the second day, the class will use planers to ensure that all boards are level and the same thickness. Students will then use a router to create a well and handles. Finally, the boards will be sanded.

Woven Hanging Hearts
2023-02-11 09:00 - 12:00
Spend the morning crafting these lovely hanging hearts, sure to brighten your holiday decor or perfect for gift giving. The hearts are woven from hardwood maple splint and are hung from hand-dyed silk ribbon in various colors. Students will weave two large and two smaller hearts. These hearts can be filled with small items. Additional kits will be available for sale.
