Smithville – Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft will host its annual Holiday Festival Nov. 18-20. During the Holiday Festival, the Craft Center Gallery is offering a 25% discount all day Friday – Sunday.
They are also offering special, hands-on, shorter-length workshops. Pre-registration is recommended, sessions vary from one to two hours, fees and minimum age requirements vary. Those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult to attend a workshop.
Register online for a variety of holiday-inspired, hands-on workshops. Each workshop is designed for true beginners and the creations will make wonderful keepsakes, presents or holiday traditions.
All workshops will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19. All materials and tools required for the workshops are included. No cancellation or refund will be available once workshop is booked.
In one popular workshop, participants will learn to blow their own glass ornament just in time for the holidays. Two people can sign up for a single thirty-minute time slot, which runs from noon until 3 p.m. The instructors for this workshop are Tabitha Thierjung and David Rios.
Thierjung earned her BFA in glass from Tech’s School of Art, Craft & Design at the ACC and has completed residencies at StarWorks and the Chrysler Museum. Rios is a glass artist currently completing his BFA in glass at Tech.
Another workshop is to make your own carving knife. In this workshop participants will shape heat and temper the carving knife blade. They will then make and shape their handle and sharpen the blade. This workshop runs from noon to 3 p.m. with instructor Eleanor Rose.
Rose is a craft-based sculpture artist and a toolmaker. She has been collecting and making tools for over a decade which has led her to specialize in non-ferrous casting, manual machining and a chaotic variety of woodworking skills.
Another workshop is the making of Shibori Scarves. In this workshop, participants will create silk scarves using indigo dye and Shibori techniques. They will learn simple resist dyeing methods, folding, clamping and trying to create patterns. Then they will use hand stitching to add complex patterns and dimension to their silk scarfs. Participants will leave this workshop with two indigo-dyed silk scarves and one cotton bandana, which can be used as a gift wrap.
This workshop will run from noon to 3 p.m. and the instructor is Gabrielle McHugh. McHugh is an artist, textile designer, and educator from New England. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence in fibers at the ACC.
The festival hours are Friday, 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
To register for a workshop, visit store_main.jsp. For questions contact the Craft Center at craftcenter@tntech.edu. The Appalachian Center for Craft is located at 1560 Craft Center Drive Smithville, Tennessee.
