OPEN DOOR

2023 Workshops Included

BLACKSMITHING | Nicholas Rossi
Basic Chef Knives

In this fast-paced workshop students will complete a Japanese influenced chef knife. Every aspect of Knifemaking will be covered in detail; shop safety, design, forging, basic metallurgy, and handle construction. The goal will be for every student to leave with a razor sharp chef knife ready to put to work in the kitchen! Some forging or metalsmithing experience would be helpful, however hardy and intrepid beginners are welcome.

Nick operates Nick Rossi Knives full time out of his studio in Vassalboro, Maine, where he creates dynamic, one-of-a-kind cutlery. Nick’s work is most influenced by Japanese, Southeast Asian, and Scandinavian design as well as architecture, fine art, and nature. Nick is a certified  Master Bladesmith in the American Bladesmith Society, a member of the Maine Craft Guild, the Maine Craft Association, the Portland based Metals Collective, and a member of the New England Bladesmith Guild. Nick teaches workshops and gives demonstrations all over the country.

CERAMICS | Rebecca May Verrill
Bold Surfaces

Students will dive into the decorating process on earthenware tiles and fresh individualized forms, to create dynamic, layered, wheelthrown, and handbuilt work. The primary focus will be creating unique paper stencils for use in masking, water etching, and basic analog image transfer. Using colored slips and underglazes, Rebecca will demonstrate many of the techniques used in her work to create crisp lines and high contrast, bold, and layered contemporary surfaces. Students will not be firing work during this short workshop but will leave with decorated greenware and instruction on how to fire and complete the work at home. All skill levels welcome.

Rebecca May Verrill is a native Mainer, lifelong learner, and career educator. She has been teaching art for more than twenty years throughout the country, from Pre-K through college courses and adult workshops, with all ages and abilities in between. She received an MFA in Ceramics from SUNY New Paltz in 2013 and exhibits her work regionally and nationally through shows and galleries. She currently maintains a private studio in Portland, Maine.

FAB LAB | Jake Horsey
Crafted with Digits

An introduction to using CAD software and CNC machine tools for crafting simple, beautiful objects for the home. The first day of the workshop will be an overview of the software, machines, and materials involved in this process. The second day will be hands on work with demo projects that allow each student to experience the key steps in going from digital models to physical forms. The remainder of the workshop will then be spent finishing the demo projects to take home. Appropriate for those interested in incorporating CAD/CAM processes to their existing workflow or anyone simply looking for initial exposure to these technologies. The focus will be on using Autodesk Fusion 360 and the ShopBot CNC Router in the FabLab

Often working at the computer, always daydreaming about being in front of a milling machine, Jake Horsey is a mechanical designer and product engineer that mostly cares about how soon he can start prototyping an idea. He runs a small product development firm, lives in Sargentville, Maine, and would live on a boat if it was large enough for a small machine shop.

FIBER | Jennifer Lee Morrow
Curating, Transforming, and Joining: A Collage Workshop

Do you have collections of things that attract you but remain stuffed in drawers and boxes? Bring your paper, fabric, photos, lightweight found objects, bibs and bobs; alter them by cutting, painting, and layering; combine them with glue, stitching, nailing, and stapling; and develop work that goes beyond the expected into deeper personal expression.

Jennifer Lee Morrow is a mixed media artist with a strong interest in paper and textile techniques. She was raised near Niagara Falls and lived in Rhode Island and Kansas before moving to Maine in 1991. Still “from away” after thirty years, she lives and works in a converted shoe factory in Saco, Maine. Morrow received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from the University of Kansas at Lawrence.

GRAPHICS | Nancy Nicholson
Drawing Beyond Boundaries

There is no right or wrong way to draw. That said, equipping yourself with some techniques and skills can help you find confidence in making a drawing using your personal voice. In Drawing Beyond Boundaries, we will explore different ways to approach a drawing, using mark making, line quality, adding, and subtracting to create an interesting conversation on the page. We will use a variety of tools including pencil, charcoal, and pen along with varied surfaces.

Nancy Nicholson is a visual artist who creates works in paper and glass. After graduating from the Boston Museum School in 1985, Nancy worked with several studios custom designing, fabricating, and conserving stained glass windows, with a specialization in glass painting. She is currently Manager of Exhibition Installation at the Museum of the City of New York and continues to work in her studio on a series of life size portrait drawings.

METALS | Douglas Wunder
Making Beautiful, Wearable, Sculptural Jewelry with Titanium

This workshop is intended to familiarize students with an understanding of titanium (Ti), it's physical and working properties, as well as how to transform titanium into a piece of jewelry. Students will learn how to draw visual concepts/designs and then how to properly develop them into metal objects using the techniques of piercing, sawing, and cold connecting with riveting. Titanium coloring techniques and surface texturing will also be explored, to add dynamic and impactful contrasting elements. 

E. Douglas Wunder gravitated toward metalsmithing and jewelry design as a student at the University of Iowa, developing a unique style focused on abstract imagery with the use of titanium and cold connections. He graduated in 1989 and started his career by wholesaling jewelry at galleries, museum gift shops, and special-interest stores. During the late 1990s Doug transitioned into selling jewelry directly to art patrons at arts and crafts events. He has shown his work at top-rated craft shows and art festivals across the country. Doug also enjoys conducting workshops with colleges, art centers, schools of fine art and craft, and metalsmithing guilds.

WOOD | Jenna Goldberg
Fun with Bandsaw Boxes

Bandsaw boxes are a simple way to make wooden box structures without the burden of complicated joinery. Students will learn the basics of how to cut, glue, and manipulate the material. We will also explore simple surface design treatments such as image transfers, different color and painting techniques, texture, and surface carving. The workshop will include demonstrations on the safe use of machinery as well as how to sharpen chisels and carving tools. Personal exploration of form, surface, and imagery is encouraged.

Jenna Goldberg has a BFA in illustration from University of the Arts in Philadelphia and studied Furniture Design at San Diego State University and The Genoa School before receiving an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1994. She completed an artist residency at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado, and has taught at Penland School of Craft, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Anderson Ranch Arts Center. She was an instructor in the Industrial Design Department at RISD. Jenna has switched gears in the recent past and now has Rhode Island's most self deprecating T-shirt company.

WRITING | Bill Roorbach
The Writer as Maker, the Maker as Writers

In this safe and supportive generative workshop we’ll have fun talking about writing as a craft and a practice. Through prompts, exercises, and informal sharing, we’ll come up with lots of big ideas and make a number of great starts at stories, essays, and poems, and even plays and screenplays, all of which to carry forward into our lives as writers. Inspiration, practice, promise!

Bill Roorbach is the author of ten books, including the memoir Summers with Juliet, bestselling novels Lucky Turtle and Life Among Giants, and the Flannery O’Connor Award winning collection Big Bend. His work has appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, Ecotone, DecorMaine, and many others. Bill’s last academic position was the Jenks Chair in American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. He now writes full time and lives in Southern Maine.