Residential Programs

Write a letter telling us about yourself. What are you searching for? What do you wish to learn? Why do you wish to try the experience of the Folk Art Guild? Include educational and work experiences and two letters of recommendation. Resumes, slides and portfolios are appreciated but not required. Trial visits and tuition fees are arranged before any final decision is made. E-mail your information to us at: learning@folkartguild.org

For those interested in shorter stays at the Guild, internships are offered. Application procedures include a letter as described above, and at least one trial visit to acquaint the applicant with our internship program and community.

Internships vary in content, length, and availability. Though work as helpers in craft shops is usually part of an internship, those seeking serious training in a craft should apply for our apprenticeship program. The fee is $175/week for interns living at the Guild. Those living elsewhere may inquire concerning a fee adjustment. As with apprenticeships, a limited number of scholarships are available each year.

Our pottery apprenticeship program has a more in-depth aim than lessons. Learning skills in pottery follows a slow progression over the apprenticeship, and includes making clay, wedging, hand building, and throwing repetition ware. At the beginning apprentices are not expected to produce saleable work, but help with studio chores such as cleaning, loading and unloading kilns, mixing glazes, building fires, and packing pots for shipping. 

Once an apprentice learns to throw, they are encouraged to make multiples of 50 to 100 mugs, bowls, and other production items. There is a magical point that occurs in repetition throwing. When the body learns to shape the clay, the feelings are alive and engaged, and the mind is free to join the search for a better form, a more relaxed body, and a finer attention. This attention aids the process of becoming present and alive in all ones’ parts. Often the pots grow more and more beautiful as a result, in a natural process like a plant reaching for the sun. There is also a great deal of freedom to pursue shapes, sizes and function in many kinds of pottery.

All pots belong to the Guild. Beginners are encouraged to throw out and reclaim their early attempts and later to glaze and fire their more successful pots in order to understand the process from the beginning to the end. The standards for saleable work are high, but functional pottery is needed and appreciated in the community kitchen.
Some apprentices live full-time at the farm; others live nearby and come full or part-time. The fees are dependent upon these factors and are specific to the individual. Some scholarships are available each year.

Participants in this program work alongside Guild members in our organic gardens, orchards, kitchen and farm. Although work in craft areas may be included, the emphasis is on agriculture. Skills acquired may include vegetable and tree fruit (apple, peach, plum, cherry) growing, food preservation, building and maintenance, plant identification and more. This program will begin May 15 and end August 15, with allowance for individual circumstances. Fee is $175/week for living expenses and training.