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Last time, I offered you some suggestions on how to include a basketry related museum or exhibition into your plans for your Summer vacation road trip. This time I'd like to offer some suggestions on something you are more likely to do by yourself or as a couple. Pack the family up to visit with Grandma and give yourself permission to recharge your creative batteries. Craft school vacations are more and more popular. They allow you an opportunity to relax and learn something new.

Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts offers a wonderful learning vacation. Situated among the picturesque Green Mountains of Vermont, Fletcher Farm not only provides you with quality professionals for teaching crafts, it also has dining and lodging on site! The school offers comfortable accommodations (single and double rooms) for students who want to live on campus or you can choose to attend as a day student and arrange other accommodations. While there are no facilities for camping on school grounds, information on nearby camping areas will be furnished upon request. Numerous basketry workshops are planned.

Every summer from June through August Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine offers two and three week sessions with craftspeople from the world over in all media. Haystack is located at midcoast Maine on Deer Isle, about 250 miles northeast of Boston. The natural beauty of the site will help you shed your cares and concentrate on creative renewal. There are six studios in the rustic buildings which make up Haystack's campus. Each session typically includes a clay, fiber, glass or metal and jewelry class.

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Penland School of Crafts promotes individual and artistic growth through programs and facilities that serve a range of craft endeavors. The school offers classes ranging from one to eight weeks long in ten craft media. Penland classes provide a concentrated learning experience in a community atmosphere. Most classes are open to students of all levels. Although there are no basketry courses on tap for this summer you might find it useful to attend some of the other art classes offered.

For a truly unique experience, consider attending classes at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. There is a wide range of basketry classes on the schedule, taught by many noted basketmakers. Classes are not limited to the Summer months, so if your vacation doesn't come until Fall keep this in mind. On-campus lodging is provided in a variety of buildings offering accommodations ranging from dorm rooms to rooms with private bath or even camping onsite. The school is modeled on the Danish "folkehøjskole," with instruction being offered in a noncompetitive, supportive environment. The Dining Hall features family-style service of well-balanced meals reflecting regional cooking of southern Appalachia. Classes and events feature a wide variety of traditional craft arts, music and dance so you are assured of a mix of talented individuals to spend your off time with.

Seven weeks each year the Davis & Elkins College campus in Elkins, West Virginia is a place for learning and sharing a world of traditional arts. Augusta Heritage Center offers over 200 week long classes in traditional crafts, music, dance and folklore. There are various theme weeks and special events. Some courses are offered in conjunction with Elderhostel. Housing and meal plans of a variety of descriptions is available on site so that you can concentrate on your learning experience. This is one of the locations which offers family packages with adults and children in separate classes during the day, but spending evenings together for a variety of planned events.

Brookfield Craft Center offers one of the widest and most varied hands-on workshop curriculums in the nation in more than 200 topics each year. The campus is located in Brookfield, Connecticut, ten miles north of Danbury on Route 25 overlooking the Still River. Facilities include: seven teaching studios, an exhibition gallery, a retail shop, housing for visiting faculty and administrative offices which are housed in four colonial vintage buildings on two and a half acres.

Well, there certainly are a wealth of options available for you to include a basketry learning experience into your Summer plans. Many of us will not be blessed with the time and resources to go away for weeks at a time. If your vacation plans don't allow time for a weeklong class, try searching for a craft show near you using About Arts/Crafts Business Guide William T. Lasley's Crafts Shows, Fairs and Festivals resource page. However you do it, don't let the Summer go by without blending a basketry learning experience into the fun!

Other Schools and Craft Centers

Visit Basketry Museums and Exhibits