Blacksmithing Illuminated
Blacksmithing Illuminated

This workshop will provide an in-depth exploration of intermediate and advanced blacksmithing processes. Students will use sculptural forms and lighting to explore ideas and refine techniques to create unique, illuminating objects. Beginning with an overview of lighting methods, students will design around a mix of familiar and new techniques, pushing their level of understanding while they create new forms in sculptural lighting. This workshop is starting at an intermediate level. Students should have some first-hand understanding of basic blacksmithing processes and techniques.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganBlacksmithing, Haley Woodward
The Infinite School at Haystack
The Infinite School at Haystack

Started in 2019 by Julia Haft-Candell, The Infinite School is an in-person experimental space for ceramic education outside of the institution. Core values of The Infinite School include demystifying the ceramic process; facilitating empowered communities of artists; quality art education outside of traditional institutions; building new ceramic histories; and embracing failure.

For this workshop, The Infinite School will travel to Haystack, offering this experimental space on the East Coast for the first time. As a group, through trial and error, we will demystify aspects of the ceramic medium such as building big, glaze mixing, and multiple firing, question ideas of mastery and genius, and rebel against the rules you've been taught about ceramics. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganCeramics, Julia Haft-Candell
Batik & Dye Painting & Printing Techniques
Batik & Dye Painting & Printing Techniques

Students will paint, screen print, and batik on cotton using fiber-reactive dyes, creating dazzling layers of color. Batik techniques will include using a tjanting tool, stamps, and brushes, while thickened dye will be used for printing and painting. Students can access the Haystack Fab Lab, if desired, to cut vinyl for screen printing or cut by hand. Students of all levels will benefit from these techniques, playing with the crackling effects of wax and the bold possibilities of saturated color. Please note that we will not be printing continuous yardage during this workshop. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganFiber, Addoley Dzegede
Seed, Till, Reap
Seed, Till, Reap

Participants in thie workshop will explore the possibilities of collage through the cultivation of source material. Using the plant world as a model, students will engage various approaches on how to grow source material, where to find it, and how to use it, not just as a springboard to make work from, but also how to incorporate it into the work itself. DIY printmaking processes, cutting as drawing, the relation of text and image, and other collage-based practices will be explored. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganGraphics, Natasha Bowdoin
The Goohaus
The Goohaus

Jillian Moore will share her methods for creating lush, dynamic surfaces in non-traditional materials gleaned from nearly two decades of studio research. Participants in this workshop will use slow curing epoxy resin as a jumping off point with additional time spent exploring other applications for alternative materials in the metals studio. Students are invited to conduct their own experimentation over the course of the workshop as well as bring in any samples of work in progress that they would like to troubleshoot together. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganMetals, Jillian Moore
Joinery for Sculpture
Joinery for Sculpture

Craft and learn in this workshop, emphasizing designing and constructing sculptural objects. This hands-on workshop explores how wood can be used as a medium for creative expression. Working with kiln-dried lumber, students become familiar with a wide variety of hand and power tools and heavy woodworking machinery. Techniques will cover wood selection and preparation, traditional joinery techniques, shaping, and finishing. This workshop offers a nurturing environment for students to produce one-of-a-kind wood sculptures! All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganWood, Vivian Chiu
Civic Crafts & Societal Sloyd
Civic Crafts & Societal Sloyd

In the vision of pedagogical woodworking of the late 19th century, known as "sloyd," Otto Salomon saw craft education as a civic as much as an educational activity. How can we work today with craft as a civic activity and use woodworking to discuss, prototype, and enrich our shared environment? Following craftsman and thinker William Coperthwaite, we will experiment with how to use crafts to shape togetherness and make democratic ideals tangible with "socially valid crafts."

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganVisiting Artist, Otto von Busch

Since 2011, Haystack has invited digital artists, engineers, researchers, and makers from the international Fab Lab network to enrich our community. Collaborations with esteemed institutions like MIT, Harvard, and RISD have fostered a unique exchange at the intersection of digital fabrication and craft. The Fab Lab Residency now emphasizes the creation of impactful projects and experiences, enriching the campus community. Residents—utilizing their expertise—will develop and share innovative demonstrations, workshops, interactive projects, or installations.

Fab Lab Residents augment the summer sessions and do not lead studio workshops.

Read More
Session 1Molly FlaniganFab Lab Resident, Keith Simpson
The Goody Bag!
The Goody Bag!

We are going to be rummaging around for the good stuff in this steel fabrication workshop. We will learn how to construct a volumetric, cohesive whole using drafted patterns and armatures. Advancing our welding skills, making sheet steel malleable through heat, and learning how to grind without losing weld integrity are just some of the delightful techniques that we will explore. Demos will cover welding, plasma cutting, and various surface treatments to articulate personal expression for a heady mix. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganBlacksmithing, Alexandria Carrion
Not Winging It: Calculated Uncertainty
Not Winging It: Calculated Uncertainty

The focus of this workshop is to investigate the relationship between intention, control, and unpredictability. We will go through strategies for planning, designing, and breaking down simple surfaces both in analog and digital formats. This workshop can be a place to try your hand at 3D modeling, 2D illustration, or simply become more comfortable with a tape measure and ruler. We will work through techniques for surface pattern in both greenware and bisqueware, with the workshop ending in a soda firing. The objective of this journey is to find the intersection between the intentional and the unplanned, allowing yourself only at the end to loosen the practiced authority over the work you produce and permitting the firing to take on a portion of that ownership. The first half of this workshop will be about calculated steps, while the second half will be about embracing uncertainty and welcoming the potential that exists beyond control. Previous ceramic skills required: ability to create basic shapes either by wheel-throwing or handbuilding without assistance. This workshop will only cover what happens after your piece is in its leather hard stage.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganCeramics, Sarah Hussaini
Stitching Time & Space
Stitching Time & Space

A needle pulling thread through fabric may be a means of construction or an act of embellishment. Stitching has a broad range of expressive and conceptual potential within cross-cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts. We will consider hand stitching as an event in time while exploring its impact on space, the body, and the community. Exploring different pliable planes and stitching techniques, related readings, presentations, and conversations, students will stitch a series of samples and develop personal and/or collaborative work. Basic cutting, piecing, embroidery, couching, shibori, kawandi quilting, and many forms of applique will be demonstrated. This workshop aims to reimagine the act of stitching for our present-day context. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganFiber, Susie Brandt
Textravaganza! A Social Practice & Print Exchange Crash Course
Textravaganza! A Social Practice & Print Exchange Crash Course

Are you social practice-curious? Design and conduct a quick-turnaround participatory research project engaging the Haystack cohort. You’ll learn how to turn this source material into experimental text-based artworks in papercuts, rubbings, collagraphs, and linoleum relief prints to exchange with research subjects and classmates. Along the way, you’ll engage in fun, experiential community-building exercises—useful facilitation tools for your social practice toolbox. No prior experience in social practice or printmaking is necessary, but interest and/or experience with lettering will be helpful. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganGraphics, Christine Wong Yap
Let’s Make a CAD/Jewelry Sandwich!
Let’s Make a CAD/Jewelry Sandwich!

Explore the boundless potential of the brooch by learning Computer-Aided Modeling, 3D printing, laser cutting, and hydraulic press forming. Whether you are an experienced jeweler, an artist seeking to infuse tech into your craft, or simply curious about 3D printing, this workshop is the gateway to expanding your studio toolkit. Embrace an opportunity to experiment in an environment that celebrates an open, hybrid approach to making. We will employ 3D printing and computers within the metals studio and Haystack Fab Lab. While Haystack does have access to a limited number of computers, it is recommended that you have a laptop with Rhino 3D installed. Don't worry–Rhino offers a complimentary 30-day trial, so aim to install it just before the workshop commences. Prior familiarity with computers/CAD and basic skills in sawing, filing, and soldering are encouraged. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganMetals, Arthur Hash
Get a Grip
Get a Grip

Through exploration of form, surface treatment, and adornment we will create “tools” that do not quite fit expectations of the everyday objects around us. We will begin by looking at unconventional and functional modifications, and explore the endless forms and functions that tools provide. Demos for techniques in connecting and transitioning disparate materials as well as shaping and surface adornment will be presented. By exploring and experimenting with these methods you will create unique sculptural “tools” of your own design. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganWood, Chloris Lowe

Since 2011, Haystack has invited digital artists, engineers, researchers, and makers from the international Fab Lab network to enrich our community. Collaborations with esteemed institutions like MIT, Harvard, and RISD have fostered a unique exchange at the intersection of digital fabrication and craft. The Fab Lab Residency now emphasizes the creation of impactful projects and experiences, enriching the campus community. Residents—utilizing their expertise—will develop and share innovative demonstrations, workshops, interactive projects, or installations.

Fab Lab Residents augment the summer sessions and do not lead studio workshops.

Read More
Session 2Molly FlaniganFab Lab Resident, Elliot Clapp
The Art of the Curve
The Art of the Curve

This workshop will focus on the techniques and tools required to fashion elegant curves in steel. Starting at the anvil and forge, we will explore steel’s malleable qualities and work towards forming compound shapes applicable to utensils, furniture, and sculpture. Students can expect to learn forge work, hot and cold bending, joinery, jig making for multiples, layout, and design. We will jump-start the session with short exercises before transitioning to student-driven projects, all the while refining the art of the curve. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganBlacksmithing, Marc Maiorana
One Tough B*tch
One Tough B*tch

Porcelain is one tough b*tch, as this material can be both fragile and resilient and can tell powerful stories. This workshop will disentangle personal and historical histories to find empowerment through handbuilt porcelain vessels, adornment, documentation, and performance-based works. We will explore how ceramic pots share the language descriptors of the body—lip, neck, shoulder, and foot while our physical body keeps the score. Basic clay and handbuilding experience required.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganCeramics, Jennifer Ling Datchuk
Letting the Material Guide You: Experimental Weaving Techniques
Letting the Material Guide You: Experimental Weaving Techniques

In this all levels workshop, students will learn the basics of floor-loom weaving on four harnesses and explore unconventional techniques and materials. From creating a first sampler to a final art piece, a tactile world of stripes, fringe, rep weave, weft distortions, and more will be covered. Weavers will be introduced to fibers from the artist’s studio and will be encouraged to incorporate found materials from Deer Isle, culminating in lively forms which push the boundaries of traditional weaving. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganFiber, Molly Haynes
Crafting Transformation of the Everyday
Crafting Transformation of the Everyday

Explore the art of transformation with Stephan Hillerbrand. Combine found objects into sculptural pieces, photograph them, and stitch them into the images. Discover the hidden beauty of the found object, spark conversations on sustainability, and repurpose discarded materials into artistic statements. Dive into art, sustainability, and the creative potential of everyday objects. All levels. welcome.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganGraphics, Stephan Hillerbrand
Rethinking Stone Setting
Rethinking Stone Setting

Rethinking Stone Setting is a survey of numerous stone setting techniques. Students will learn prong setting, bezel setting, flush setting, and more. It is in the learning of these techniques where students will begin innovating within the mechanical bounds of each setting to support unique approaches for making jewelry. Explorations in material-smithing, alternative “stones,” and “breaking the rules” within each technique will be emphasized in this workshop. Be prepared with child-like curiosity as convention unfolds into creative exploration. Some experience in soldering and basic metalsmithing skills is encouraged but not required. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganMetals, Sarah “Spee” Parker