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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…
Read MoreI Was Hooked! Foraged & Farmed Holiday Wreaths
Wreath-making has become an annual holiday tradition for Lindsay Ellis and her family.
Read MoreFred 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…
Read MoreBecky 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…
Read MoreLiesl 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…
Read MoreBecome 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…
Read MoreCarson 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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreTaking 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.…
Read MoreFolk 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…
Read MoreScandinavian Textile Artist Returns to Marine Mills Folk School
Kirsten Aune, artist-owner of Kirsten Aune Textiles Studio in Duluth, Minn., will be returning to Marine Mills Folk School on Monday, June 20 to teach Scandinavian Textile Stenciling. Students ages 18 and older will learn the art of stenciling on fabrics as they create a decorative textile for the home such as a pillow cover, handbag,…
Read MoreI Was Hooked! Barn/Hex Signs
Janet Walker Beckman reached out to Marine Mills Folk School recently to share her burgeoning interest in creating barn/hex signs. We love to celebrate and share stories like hers, and hope you enjoy hearing from Janet in her own words. “One of the first things that caught my eye when I moved to the Chisago…
Read MoreLeah Moss
Leah Moss-Parham is an Ayurvedic Practitioner with an MS in Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine from the Maharishi International University. She is a member of the Maharishi Ayurvedic Association of America and holds a professional Practitioner of Ayurveda Certification from the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, NAMA. She owns her own Ayurvedic practice, Simply Veda LLC located…
Read MoreChiaki O’Brien
Chiaki O’Brien is a SAORI Leaders Committee Certificate recipient. She began SAORI Weaving in 1996 in Japan. She worked as an instructor for the SAORI head office/school in Japan before moving to Minnesota in 2004. She’s been teaching a variety of ages and abilities at schools (including special education classes), at facilities for people with…
Read MorePeta Barrett
In the early ’90s a friend took me on my first true Boundary Waters canoe camping trip – a group of women. The camaraderie, the laughter, the solitude for reflection, the joyful teamwork as we gently paddled and portaged the wilderness…I WAS HOOKED! I’ve now racked up some 25+ years of wilderness trail experience, leading…
Read MoreDale Setterholm
“My family grew up loving the outdoors, and we always took an interest in what it was we were seeing out there,” says Setterholm on his start in geology. He worked for the Minnesota Geological Survey for 40 years before retiring. “Geology is everywhere,” he says. “It’s the study of the earth, and we all…
Read MoreEmily Anderson
Emily Anderson leads workshops that help students create fresher and more intuitive paintings. A life-long artist, Emily recently picked up the paints again and has begun the joyful journey of creating playful and layered landscapes. Students will come away from the class feeling excited to know that often, the paintings that took the shortest amount…
Read MoreMark Chilefone
Mark sees the color chart when he looks at the world. He has a long standing art background that he draws from as he creates warm and wonderful environments. He loves plants, gardening and KNITTING. Mark learned to knit 12 years ago and has not stopped. He particularly loves to knit the same thing over…
Read MoreBrennan Johnson
Brennan’s fascination with food culture and history was catalyzed by a trip to Western Europe in 2009 to study communal brick ovens. He began baking bread soon after, baking out of his father’s own brick oven and selling at local farmers markets during his high school summers. He has a degree from Whitman College in…
Read MoreGary Colles
“I have been making artisan cheese for 21 years. My wife and I live in Charlotte, Michigan. I have taught in Michigan, North Carolina, Alabama, Iowa, and Minnesota. I have had training from Glengarry Cheese Company in Canada, and have been guided by Ricki Carol of New England Cheese Making Company for the last fifteen…
Read MoreKirsten Aune
Kirsten Aune (b. 1968) grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where she received her BFA in 1992. She lived in New Mexico before coming to Minnesota in 1994 where she maintains Kirsten Aune Textiles Studio and opening in October is her Show Room and Gallery.…
Read MoreBart Dunning
Bart Dunning has been a woodworking hobbyist since he was in high school. He has built furniture, rebuilt a couple of wooden boats and has done some 3-D and relief carving. He has always enjoyed using woodworking hand tools because they are quieter and afford a more intimate sense of the wood being used for…
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