Posts in Session 3
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
Reimagining Historical Furniture: Sculptural Use of Traditional Techniques
Reimagining Historical Furniture: Sculptural Use of Traditional Techniques

Have you ever wanted to make a piece of furniture that is a little bit strange, or suggestive of a place out of time? Or maybe you want to use traditional techniques in unusual ways? This workshop is for you. In our two weeks together, you will learn how to build a small table, think plant stand or bedside table, and then embellish it using historical techniques that we will cover in the workshop. We will also look at contemporary artists who use these kinds of techniques in subversive ways and discuss the provenance of some of these traditions. Students will leave with a small table of their own design, comfort on many of the machines in the woodshop, the basic skills for continued experimentation in wood, and ideas about how to strategically use historical techniques in their work. More advanced students can tackle more complicated builds and carved surface embellishments. All levels welcome.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganWood, Stacy Motte
Way Finding
Way Finding

What is a found object? Finding objects means discovering new ways of meaning making. Our investment will be in the process of finding itself. “To find” means to retrieve something lost, but also "to be situated," "to deem something so," for "something to be the case that…" suggesting a search for a conclusive answer or determination. We will explore strategies for working with found objects which foreground the task of finding itself as one which is deeply situational, subjective, and at the heart of our own curiosities and creative impulses. Work with found objects involves negotiating with an inanimate interlocutor. Individual objects have their own lived histories, use values, presences, auras—they are already speaking and arrive with their own agendas. Working with findings entails negotiating and collaborating to form new meaning beyond what we could achieve independently.

Read More
Session 3Molly FlaniganVisiting Artist, jina valentine

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 3Molly FlaniganFab Lab Resident, Lara Henderson