Late June, 2023 in Midcoast Maine meant a long awaited return to a place Megan and I literally stumbled upon fifteen or so years earlier and had daydreamed about ever since. It was with a nervous anticipation, like felt when first heading to camp or to a new school, that we crossed the Eggemoggin Reach, turned onto the Sunshine Road, and were quickly engulfed by a Jericho Bay fog that would not lift until we left two weeks later–– broken only by the rumble of early morning lobster boats, the occasional hum of a tablesaw, the hotshop cacophony of ball peens on brass and the cyclical smacking of waves from lifting tides meeting the thickly lichened pink granite cliffs of Deer Isle and the nearly endless thumping of rain. We had come to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, which is gently nestled amongst electric moss cushions, stunted spruce and fir of the northern boreal forest. Sharply angled and stacked structures of architectural significance, clad in perfectly grey cedar shake, connected by veins of steep wooden stairs and elevated planked pathways, have been peppered with expressive faces, expansive conversations and arts education every summer since 1961.
Read MoreTwo Wooded Isles Off Maine's Craggy Coasts Beckon Artists and Makers…
Mount Desert Island harbors an arts center; Deer Isle is home to a respected crafts school.
Rope art. Blacksmithing. Felted art. Ceramics. Stained glass. Workshops and classes in these and numerous other creative disciplines are among the many offerings on Mount Desert Island — home to much of Acadia National Park — and Deer Isle, two scenic islands about 50 miles apart off the rugged coast of Maine…
The joy of exploring art, craft and design has drawn more than 15,000 individuals to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts since its founding in 1950. The campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, includes six workshop studios, a digital fabrication lab, a visiting artist studio, a dining hall, an auditorium and a library, all nestled on 40 wooded acres with ocean views.
Read MoreAt the end of August 2023, in the two glorious weeks before summer officially ends and everyone girds themselves for a bustling fall, I had the incredibly good fortune to be a visiting curator at Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine. Occupying a writer’s hut on the campus, my goal was to leave with a chunk of my next book written—which just so happens to be on craft schools, so it was a perfect situation…
…Early in the session, the generous teacher in the fiber studio, University of Colorado at Boulder professor Steven Frost, and their incredible teaching assistant, Dr. S. Wu, set up a community loom. Chiming the gong in the dining hall one day early in our stay, they offered an open invitation to those gathered: Come add a few lines to the loom, no expertise necessary.
Read MoreA simple list of admired peers has snowballed into a vast online artist community that works as resource for students, educators, collectors, curators, and everyone in between...
…Artaxis created a studio fellowship that would fund workshop experiences. Partnerships, initially with Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, and currently with Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, afford two underrepresented applicants a year to attend a two-week workshop. Expenses for travel, room and board, and the cost of the workshop are covered. A selection committee, including an international member, a recent fellow, and someone who has been in the field long term, reviews the applications and makes their selections.
Read MoreA Local’s Guide to Portland, Maine and Beyond…
…Maine’s desirability is nothing new. Artists, artisans and writers have long gravitated to the state; they established an art colony with two schools of painting in Ogunquit, on Maine’s southern coast, in the first half of the 20th century, and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle, which was founded in 1950, continues to draw instructors and students from around the world.
Read MoreWet Paint in the Wild: Artist Dee Clements Takes Us Up to Maine to Weave Baskets and Party With Gallerists. The artist takes us through a week in her life.
I don’t want summer to end, do you? School is back in session next week, so for one final romp of summery bliss, I handed over a camera to sculptor Dee Clements, who has spent the summer up in Deer Isle, Maine, teaching at the famous artist residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. What could be a better balm for the August heat than some good old-fashioned basket weaving with the art stars? Take it away, Dee!
Read MoreMaine’s Early Beginnings as an Art Mecca…
Between the 1880s and World War Two, summer art schools introduced the Maine coast to hundreds of aspiring artists who flocked from around the country to picturesque communities such as Ogunquit, Boothbay Harbor, Monhegan Island, and Eastport. These schools began a tradition of the state as an inspiration for artists that continues.
Today, the state is home to two widely respected art schools, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Madison and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle. Founded in 1946 and 1950, respectively, these schools celebrate and promote Maine’s role as an art mecca.
Read MoreVisiting Maine: Here’s what the locals love:
Looking for the tastiest lobster shack or coolest crafts shops? National Geographic’s resident experts reveal their secret spots…“People in this area started crafting hundreds of years ago for survival, with Indigenous basketry, textiles, and wooden boatbuilding,” says Tammy Knight, program director for Maine Made, an organization that vets crafters and shops throughout the state. Much of the current makers scene is fueled by long-running schools where visitors can take classes. They include the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (blacksmithing, ceramics) and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (wooden spoon carving, chair making).
Read More11 Maine Arts Residencies Where Creativity Thrives
Since the days of the rusticators, artists have looked to Maine as a creative sanctuary, a place offering inspiration and opportunities both to indulge in solitude and embed in arts-friendly communities. Here are 11 contemporary residencies that attract artists from around the globe...
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle: Founded: 1950, by a consortium of Maine craft artists, originally in Montville. Architect Edward Larrabee Barnes’s tiered campus of cedar-shingled buildings connected by boardwalks opened in Deer Isle in 1961.
Read MoreA creative refuge for its students as much as its faculty and staff, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has its own nourishing natural rhythm.
Perched on a small island just off the coast of Maine, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Haystack is quiet almost by design: the birds seem to chirp louder and the pine trees rustle longer. For the artists and makers who spend their summers here partaking in open-studio residencies and workshops spanning disciplines from ceramics to blacksmithing, the school’s sense of community is also a major draw. “Haystack is isolated, not isolating,” says executive director Perry Price.
Read MoreMaine’s towering role in American art owes, in part, to enclaves of artists gathering in out-of-the-way places. With the days of the rusticators long gone, how is the tradition holding up…
The first MacDowell-ish residencies took root in Maine mid-century and have since thrived. The Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, founded in 1946, is one of the country’s most esteemed, with more than 2,000 annual applicants vying for 65 private studios and cottage quarters on a former farm in Madison. Maine-dwelling artists introduced to the state via Skowhegan include Alex Katz and the late David Driskell, Robert Indiana, and Ashley Bryan. In 1950, a group of Maine craftspeople established Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, today on Deer Isle, which a recent PMA exhibit credited with nothing less than having “transformed art, craft, and design in the 20th century.” Artists come by the hundreds each summer for short residencies, workshops, and more.
Read MoreMaine Sea Grant College Program, University of Maine researchers and partners throughout the state will receive funding for three projects that address the prevention and removal of marine debris in the Gulf of Maine. Using Sea Grant’s partnered approach to bring science together with communities for solutions that work, the projects will support transformational research and the creation of local coalitions.
Maine Sea Grant, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and project partners will be awarded $299,707 to facilitate the recovery, recycling and refabrication of marine debris material in the Gulf of Maine, such as ghost lobster traps and derelict aquaculture farming gear, into new products with creative, practical and industry applications. The community created will connect Maine high school students and professionals with information exchange, professional development and networking opportunities to collaborate on new applications and markets for marine debris.
Read More“The Haystack Board of Trustees is thrilled to welcome Perry Price as our new Executive Director,” Ayumi Horie, President of the Haystack Board of Trustees and Chair of the Search Committee, says. “Perry’s deep and expansive knowledge of craft will bring fresh vision to the school’s already experimental programming and his experienced leadership will support and bolster our dedicated staff. The eight-person Search Committee was impressed with his all-around strength in multiple competencies and was unanimous in their support for Perry’s selection. His career demonstrates a commitment to the values that guide Haystack’s Strategic Plan. He is well-regarded among peers, and he brings inspiring enthusiasm about both Haystack and the future of craft. We are really excited about Perry’s arrival.”
Price holds a bachelor of arts degree in the History of Art from the Johns Hopkins University and a master degree in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies, State University of New York Oneonta and the New York State Historical Association.
Read MoreHaystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle has hired a new executive director.
Perry Price, who comes to Maine from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Texas, will start in January, the school announced Wednesday.
“Haystack is a singular institution, unique in its committed approach to the studio experience and occupying a niche unto itself in the ecosystem of contemporary craft,” Price said in a statement provided by the school. “That this human-scaled institution may continue to thrive while we continually work towards the promise of the field of craft will be the collective effort of each of us who value this school, and I look forward to working with the remarkable people who make it possible.”
Read MoreIn the far reaches of Maine lies a jewel in the crown of summertime craft programs. Jim and I had known about Haystack Mountain School of Crafts for years but had never visited the campus. Almost eight hours from our Hudson Valley home we made our way across the State of Maine to Deer Island last month. We certainly were not disappointed.
Read MoreIs a formal arts education still important? Over the past several years, many people have spent time getting in touch with their creative side. As a result, an exploration, and revival, of craft—think pottery, woodworking and painting—has led to a renewed interest in arts educational programs. Several highly acclaimed schools across the country offer dynamic workshops and degrees, allowing students to spend years honing in on a specialized area of study or simply attend classes to become better acquainted with a new interest. Who better to weigh in on the merits of a formal education than three celebrated alums: glass artist Dale Chihuly on Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; industrial designer Jay Sae Jung Oh on Cranbrook Academy of Art; and glass artist and painter Corey Pemberton on Penland School of Craft.
Read MoreStimson takes on the challenges of success by staying true to its New England roots
Last September, Stimson invited its entire crew to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, for a retreat. Do not picture the trust exercises and intense work sessions of a corporate team-building effort. Everybody just went into the studios to throw pots, carve spoons, or forge knives and hung out enjoying the magnificent oceanfront setting and the inspiring campus, a modernist icon designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. Stimson had recently been invited, along with Simons Architects, onto the team that’s drawing up a new master plan for Haystack. But the week there was not focused on any landscape architecture outcome. It was instead a chance to be together after many months of remote work, finally meet recent hires in person, and try to get the hang of a few unfamiliar artisanal skills. “That takes us out of our comfort zone and loosens us up to take some of those broad principles of the crafts back,” the studio director Laura Gomez observed at the time, “not even specifically applying to craft—but to ways of thinking about how we iterate things.”
Read More“The list of twenty-five architectural works spans six continents (and space, thanks to the International Space Station) and includes remarkable buildings such as the thirty-eight-story Seagram Building in New York City, the Sydney Opera House, and Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers’ Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Compiled for The New York Times Style Magazine by a small group of renowned architects, designers, and writers, the works signify “architecture that they felt had not only reshaped the world and era in which it was introduced but also has endured and remains influential today.”
Read More"Barnes’s finest accomplishment is not just an elegant set of buildings but an ideal space for collaboration: between artists and thinkers, humans, and nature."
American architect Edward Larrabee Barnes (1915-2004) designed the Haystack campus on Deer Isle, which opened to the public in the summer of 1961. The architectural plan situated a series of modest structures on a granite ledge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, built in a vernacular style with local materials and interconnected by a series of walkways that encouraged community while seeming to float above the forest floor.
Read More“Along with our online programs, we will focus on additional ways to strengthen the organization: from implementing the first year of our Strategic Plan and developing a long-range campus plan, to completing studio updates, organizing archival materials, and continuing Fab Lab production of personal protective equipment,” the release said. “We will not be idle.”
The online component of Haystack’s programming will be announced in coming months at haystack-mtn.org. An international craft school, Haystack draws students from across the country and the world, mostly during the summer, to its remote campus of cabins and studios in the woods just above the high-water line in Deer Isle.
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