How to Build Community

MMFS Founder Robin Brooksbank stands with MMFS artisan-instructor Laurelei Creuzer at an Appreciation Event

Laurelei Creuzer teaches Pysanky-Ukrainian Egg Dyeing at Marine Mills Folk School. Here are her tips for building community.

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Woodcarver’s Corner

carving spoon

Woodcarvers can supplement their craft and find a wide variety of books through the Washington County Library system.

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Marine Fall Festival Returns September 16

Bluegrass band North Shore Trail performs at the Marine Fall Festival at Marine Mills Folk School while a crowd watches.

The Marine Fall Festival hosted by Marine Mills Folk School will be held from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, September 16. Drop in and enjoy a variety of activities at the free community festival located on the grounds of Marine Mills Folk School.

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The Genius of the Folk School Model

MMFS Board Members stand outside, ready to welcome you to the folk school.

Folk schools originated in the 1850s as part of a movement to provide individuals a way to gain self-knowledge and purpose in connection with their community through lifelong learning.

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Spoons, New Beginnings & Woodcarving

Spoons are symbols of new beginnings … …from a baby’s first bite to a woodcarver’s first foray. When someone is interested in learning to carve wood, they’ll often choose to start with a spoon. So much learning goes into the art form: wood selection, tool usage, curing, and even history. Form and function are explored. Risk-taking is…

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Fred Livesay to Teach at Marine Mills Folk School

Internationally renowned woodcarver will lead an Advanced Spoon Carving workshop Woodcarvers are invited to attend a special two-day Advanced Spoon Carving workshop with Fred Livesay at Marine Mills Folk School.  “We’re so excited to be able to feature Fred at this two-day workshop,” says Kirsten Skoglund, program director for Marine Mills Folk School. “Fred will…

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Becky Utecht

Becky raises sheep and makes fiber art, specializing in feltmaking. Using the wool from her flock of sheep, she creates two- and three-dimensional felt art pieces including wall art, garments, accessories, rugs, and vessels. Felting combines her love of animals and nature with her passion for art. She enjoys teaching and sharing the magic of…

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Liesl Chatman

Liesl Chatman is a spoon carver, kolroser, and teacher. Her kolrosed spoons have been exhibited at the American Swedish Institute and the Vesterheim Museum, and she has taught kolrosing, spoon carving, and given demonstrations at North House Folk School in Grand Marais MN, ASI and Fireweed in Minneapolis, the Spoon Gathering in Milan MN, Greenwoodfest in…

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Become a Member of Marine Mills Folk School

Many of you know the joy and community that comes from taking a class at Marine Mills Folk School: learning from our skilled artisans; meeting other curious, supportive learners; and experiencing the pride of challenging yourself and the personal growth that follows. At the heart of our mission is providing opportunities for the joyful learning…

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Carson Gross

Carson is a wild-food enthusiast and educator. His fascination with fungi began in Western Pennsylvania, when a friend showed him a bright orange chicken-of-the-woods mushroom. He was immediately hooked and set out to learn everything he could about foraging for mushrooms, an obsession that continues to today. Carson joined the Western PA Mushroom Club in…

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I Was Hooked! Basket Making

Becca Gross has taken her education beyond the classroom, exploring the art of basket making in her free time. We love to celebrate and share stories like hers, and hope you enjoy hearing from Becca in her own words. “This past winter, I took Kirsten Skoglund’s Market Tote class. After the class, I purchased a…

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Heidi Skoog

Heidi Skoog

After nearly two decades as an award-winning florist, Heidi swapped blooms for an apron to pursue her passion for food. A self-taught jam-maker, Heidi combines traditional methods and a flair for experimenting with flavor combinations and unusual ingredients. The result is a well-balanced, vibrant preserve that has a lot of love and story in every…

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Taking Pride in Ourselves

Photo by Tony Webster. One of our not-so-secret goals as a folk school is to create world peace by bringing together people from different cultures and ways of life. With the Twin Cities Pride Festival and other Pride events taking place this weekend, we wish to honor LGBTQ+ individuals who have been fighting for decades for equal rights.…

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Folk School Aims to Strengthen and Empower

By Nealy Corcoran editor@countrymessenger.com Marine Mills Folk School offers a variety of classes where everyone is welcome. People are invited to learn traditional skills in a collaborative environment. Classes include (but are not limited to) photography, gardening, knitting, baking, wood-carving, syrup making, music and much more. Following a focaccia baking class, students at MMFS proudly pose…

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