Educators Retreat
2021 Workshop Season Update: Touchstone is pleased to be able to offer a modified 2021 workshop season. Based on best practices related to Covid-19, workshops will run at a reduced capacity of 6 participants, all multi-occupancy lodging has been converted to single-occupancy, and mask and social distancing protocols will be strictly enforced. Our updated cancellation policy* can be found HERE and our Covid-19 Policies and Procedures* can be found HERE. *Subject to change.
2021 #EducatorsRetreat – July 27-31
Not Just For Art Teachers!
Open to anyone but designed for K-12 educators and those studying to be educators (any subject or grade).
“This has been the best professional development I’ve had in years! It is the best thing I’ve done for myself in a long time.”
-Educators’ Retreat Participant
The Educators’ Retreat provides a week for professional development that will enhance an educator’s own creativity while offering rich content that can translate to the classroom. Choose from a variety of studios and delve into the processes as you explore these techniques and share your findings with other educators/artists. Return to your classrooms revitalized with fresh ideas and unique resources.
Act 48 Credits are available for PA educators, sponsored by PAEA (Pennsylvania Art Education Association). (Touchstone is happy to work with education associations from other states to make any special requirements attainable).
Educators’ Retreat Scholarships are available – please check our scholarship page for more details. Applications due March 15th.
2021 Schedule
JUL 26-30 | EDUCATORS’ RETREAT | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) 
Forging Ahead
Instructor: Anna Koplik
All Levels
$585 Member | $615 Non-Member
$30-$60 Materials and Studio Fees
Download Materials List
Register Now
Come learn the art of blacksmithing in a fun, enthusiastic, and inclusive environment! Pound out the stress of the year as you learn to properly swing a hammer at the anvil, work a coal forge, and have fun forging hot steel! Throughout the week techniques such as tapering, twisting, bending, and spreading steel will be covered in order to give you the skills to complete a variety of projects. In the end, everyone will walk away with their own hand forged objects and the skills and knowledge to forge ahead and continue exploring blacksmithing.
Anna has a passion for teaching blacksmithing and showing beginner smiths the many different possibilities the medium has to offer. Her personal work focuses mainly on tool and utensil making, combining functionality with a refined, delicate aesthetic. Anna attended Pratt Institute (BFA in Jewelry) and has worked at Peters Valley School of Craft, Atlas Forge, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Spirit Ironworks, Inc., and Center for Metal Arts. She has taught blacksmithing at a variety of craft schools including Peters Valley and Touchstone.
Instagram: @arkoplik
JUL 26-30 | EDUCATORS’ RETREAT | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) 
Murals in Clay: Remix
Instructor: Chuck Purviance
All Levels
$585 Member | $615 Non-Member
$90-$120 Materials and Studio Fees
Download Materials List
Register Now
Learn the ins and outs of creating murals in clay with large and small groups either in classrooms or your surrounding community. Over 5 days you will create your own individual mural as well as work together with the rest of the group learning to install a mural on Touchstone’s campus that was created the week prior by Teen Week students. Time permitting, Chuck will also guide you through a raku firing to make a low fire abstract mural as a group. Finished work will be glaze fired.
Chuck is an MFA candidate at Wichita State University, KS. Originally from Pittsburgh, Chuck connected with area school districts in Brockway, Pennsylvania working with k-12 students in ceramics with pottery, sculpture, and ceramic mural works. His community murals can be seen throughout central PA, Uniontown PA, and Wichita, KS.
Instructor website: chuckpurviance.com
Instagram: @chuckpurviance
JUL 26–30 | EDUCATORS’ RETREAT | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) 
Glass Beadmaking Basics
Instructor: Joy Knepp
Beginner – Intermediate
$585 Member | $615 Non-Member
$105-$135 Materials and Studio Fees
Download Materials List
Register Now
Learn techniques for creating beautiful one-of-a kind glass beads using glass rods and a torch. From lighting the torch and melting the glass, Joy will guide you through methods for achieving the desired shapes and patterns in your designs and show you how colors of glass can be layered to build depth and luminescence. Create a painting in glass from the inside out with a floral bead or an implosion bead. You will leave with lampworking skills to add to your toolbox of creativity!
Joy has been working as a glass artist for more than 15 years and is a retired art educator. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art and Education from Pennsylvania State University and also studied at Pittsburgh Glass Center, Goggleworks in Reading, PA and various workshops sponsored by the International Society of Glass beadmakers. Her work has been exhibited and sold in galleries throughout the U.S. Joy is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, the Three Rivers Glass Beadmakers, PA Art Education Association and the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh.
Instructor website: joybeadzglass.etsy.com
Instagram: @joyknepp
JUL 26-30 | EDUCATORS’ RETREAT | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) 
Journaling: Drawing
& Painting from Life
Instructor: Roger Hyndman
All Levels
$585 Member | $615 Non-Member
$50-$80 Materials and Studio Fees
Download Materials List
Register Now
Throughout the course you will learn the benefits of keeping an artistic journal and how to utilize this tool of original drawings and paintings to create one of a kind works of art. Come explore a variety of creative materials such as ink, pencils, charcoal, Craypas, pastels, paint, and mixed media through the process of journaling. Drawing & Painting from Life will introduce you to changing sources of space, composition techniques such as perspective, focal point, balance, color, value, movement, size, and shape. No experience necessary – individuals of all skill levels will enjoy the creative benefits of beginning a journaling practice!
Roger has conducted workshops for artists, arts councils, arts organizations, professional organizations, educators, and engaged in artist residencies. Roger has partnered with the VIEW (Art Center/ Old Forge, NY), Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Yates County Arts Center, Mid-Hudson Teacher Center, SUNY New Paltz, Hartwick College, Syracuse University, University of New Hampshire, Fletcher Farm School, Touchstone Center for the Arts and Crafts, Sagamore Great Camp, and the Saratoga Arts Council. As an exhibiting artist, Roger has organized and coordinated travel across the United States, Italy, Sicily, Scotland, and France. Several recent intaglio prints reflect the influence of NANO images, and his travels to the Shetland Islands, Fair Isle, Italy, Sicily, Scotland, France, Canada, and the American landscape.
Instructor website: solarprintmaking.com
Workshops are filled on a first-come-first-served basis. Many fill quickly. Please register at least 15 days ahead of the start of any workshop so that we can count you in! Touchstone makes the determination of whether a workshop will run 14 days in advance of all workshops’ scheduled start date, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time.
A processing fee of $15 will be added to 1-5 day workshops.
Nonrefundable COVID-19 Fee: A $10 (1- & 2-day workshops), $15 (3-day workshops), and $20 (5-day workshops) COVID-19 fee will be charged per participant, per workshop during the 2021 season to help offset the extraordinary additional and increased expenses to Touchstone for cleaning, sanitizing, PPE, disposables, and other costs directly related to ensuring health, safety, and social distancing requirements as outlined by the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This fee is nonrefundable.
To view a full listing of the Terms and Conditions as part of your enrollment, download the 2021 Student Guide.
Touchstone Center for Crafts prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or association preference. Touchstone Center for Crafts also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to its facilities and programming.