Next year, join us at the Folk School!

Another week has gone by at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Peter taught a beginning ukulele class with an enthusiastic group, who succeeded in making a music video, writing a song, and performing for the Folk School twice! Fun, and they learned to play the uke too! Next May 13th - 18th, join Peter for another beginning ukulele class, and stay for the weekend class, "Join the Jug Band!"

Here is Peter's ukulele class from this week, having just finished recording the music video. You can see it on You Tube. Sleepwalking in a Tiny Home! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCNJAC_hFn8&feature=youtu.be

How fun it is to have friends Peggy and Kay to play music with in Brasstown!

The new printshop at the folk school. Wow. We'll come back some coming year to teach a book arts class in this beautiful and well-equipped space.

The paper making shop adjoins the printshop and bindery. 

Donna took a natural dyeing workshop and she is very happy with her 25 or so new colors.

Next week we start our rambling again, heading up to Universities in Chapel Hill, NC, Farmville and  Richmond, VA, and Baltimore, MD. Whew!

I Sing Behind the Plow

We have just driven the miles and miles across the US. Partly because we have all the appointments in the east, also because we love visiting the John C. Campbell Folk School. First, let's check out the highlights of the last couple of weeks:

Iowa:

University of Iowa, Center for the Book

The show of our work at the University of Iowa Special Collections Library ran July 6- September 13, 2017. It was the first exhibition of our work to celebrate 40 years of making books. Thanks Iowa, for supporting our work. The second show is at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, running from August 7- October 7, 2017.

Gary Frost, from the conservation department at the U, tries to talk Peter into a questionable repair of the wagon.

Always a pleasure to share our work, here with MFA students of the book arts in the University of Iowa paper making class.

Donna knitting beside the Iowa River, flowing by the University

Illinios:

In Champaign Urbana we visited the University of Illinois and among other things saw an amazing book by a little known jeweler named Ernest Rinzi. It is written in code that has not yet been deciphered. The illustrations were composed by arranging his handwriting to create the image.

You can read more about it on the University Tumbler page:
 http://illinoisrbml.tumblr.com/…/ernest-rinzi-all-from-god-…

Cincinnati, Ohio:

Peg Rhein has welcomed us again at her home. She hosted a meeting of the Cincinnati Book Arts Society, with a tour of the wagon, then  potluck dinner and time for sharing work.

Here is Donna showing the book, "Sometimes I Pretend" at the CBAS gathering.

Parked for the night beside Peg's sunflower garden: so lovely.

Kentucky:

Berea, Kentucky is a town that is dedicated to craft work, filled with stores featuring the work of Kentucky's finest artisans. On the edge of town, at the Kentucky Artisan Center we found the work of fine press printer Gray Zeitz of Larkspur Press. Displayed in a glass case, just like the jewelry, was one of his letterpress printed and handbound books that feature the poems of  Frederick Smock, poet laureate of Kentucky 2017 - 2018. Gray exclusively prints Kentucky poets and he's been doing it for years. 

Beautiful letterpress books printed by Larkspur Press

We have been visiting libraries across the country, but near Berea we found a very different kind of library:

McHargue's Mill in London, KY

The library of mill stones

 North Carolina:

"I Sing Behind the Plow." That is the motto of the John C Campbell Folk School. We enjoy our work! And this week we have toiled away, learning the craft of cordwaining (that is the archaic description of a shoe maker). The instructors this week were Peggy and Chuck Patrick, of Old Time Way, and we recommend taking a class from them if you can!

Donna on the left, Peter's boots on the right.

Amanda, Donna, Sarah, Rhonda and Kristen in their new handmade shoes!

Cheers! Come join us for a glass of wine in the caravan when we come through your town!

Folk School campsite