Special Topics | Fiber & Paper Arts Workshops

All Levels | 3-Day Schedule
$325 Member | $350 Non-Member

Join Rivers of Steel Arts and Touchstone Center for Crafts for a three-day iron-casting workshop in the beautiful Laurel Highlands! This workshop is perfect for iron enthusiasts or those with limited prior experience looking for an unforgettable experience. All experience levels are welcome and encouraged to participate!
This workshop features extended shop time from 9 am – 5 pm on the Touchstone campus with in-depth instruction and/or assistance catered to the needs of each individual. Participants are encouraged to bring a pre-made pattern to learn the process of investing this pattern in resin-bonded sand but opportunities are available to learn and experiment with pattern-making materials including plasteline and styrofoam. Registration includes the three-day workshop (clean-up on Saturday morning), meals and accommodations during your stay and the ultimate experience of casting your own unique design in solid iron from a coke-fired cupola.
Due to the size of our furnace, there is a 75lbs weight limit for any single object cast during this workshop. Workshop fees include up to 200lbs of sand and corresponding chemical. Sand and chemical needs beyond this allotted amount are available for $.25/lbs. Waste removal and foundry consumables are included in this price.

About Rivers of Steel: Founded on the principles of heritage development, community partnership, and a reverence for the region’s natural and shared resources, Rivers of Steel strengthens the economic and cultural fabric of western Pennsylvania by fostering dynamic initiatives and transformative experiences. Through its attractions and programs, Rivers of Steel actively promotes education and heritage tourism, highlighting western Pennsylvania’s assets to regional, national and international audiences. Behind-the-scenes, Rivers of Steel works with a diverse network of community partners to support grassroots initiatives and the new regional economy. More information available at riversofsteel.com and rosarts.org.

All Levels | 3-Day Extended Weekend Schedule
$395 Member | $425 Non-Member

Create one-of-a-kind boxes! You will learn to make a small bento box (jewelry box size) and a Japanese style, small drawer in a case with an air glide feel (lunchbox size). We will use a variety of tools, including hand and portable power tools.

About the Instructor: For the past 40 years, Tadao Arimoto, a woodworker, has practiced his craft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as well as attended and taught at domestic and international workshops. Before arriving in the United States, he studied industrial design at the International Design Institute in Kyoto. In recent years, Tadao has contributed works to local universities, exhibited at national events, and was recognized as a Master Visual Artist by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. While Tadao’s focus has shifted from private works to larger and more public commissions, he invites anyone interested in his work, or in woodworking, to contact him.

To see some of Tadao’s work visit: tadaoarimoto.com

All Levels | 5-Day Schedule
$550 Member | $580 Non-Member

In this intense workshop of serious fun, we will study wearable and collapsible structures and explore unique ways to tell stories. Participants will cut their designs into scarves, make pop-up hats, and create masks out of Tyvek and paper. Looking for new approaches to engage the viewer by offering new content and shape, we will make clothing and accessories as metaphor and fashion for inspiration. Participants will learn researching ideas, drawing composition, paper cutting techniques, and how to make paper dimensional with basic pop-up and paper sculpture techniques. We will discuss adaptation to other materials, such as glass or metal, digital possibilities of three-dimensional programs, and animations.

About the Instructor: Béatrice Coron is a studio artist who creates papercutting, artist books, digital animations, and public art. She has made books out of cut paper scrolls 50 feet long, others to wear as dresses or masks; hundreds of surprising shapes and environments for words and thoughts. Her work can be seen in major collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Walker Art Center. You can see her public art in subways (New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago), an airport (Charlotte, North Carolina) and a castle, among others.

To see more of Béatrice’s work visit beatricecoron.com and follow her on Instagram @cutstories

All Levels | 5-Day Schedule
$550 Member | $580 Non-Member

Cordwainer shoes are unique in the world of shoemaking. Using original tin patterns from the 1920s, you will learn about basic pattern making and then move forward from there. You will choose from an array of leathers and make your shoes to your exact foot measurement. From cutting the leather, lacing the uppers together, and then culminating with hand-lacing the soles to the uppers, your final product will leave you feeling amazed and proud of your unique Cordwainer shoes.

About the Instructor: Molly Grant began leatherworking in her early twenties, first by working on her own and then by apprenticing at the Black Swan Leather shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire—where she learned the basic skills of traditional leatherworking. Molly first saw Cordwainer Shoes when she was ten years old at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair, known nationally as the oldest craft fair in the nation. She became a juried member in 1989, and participated by showing her line of handbags. There, she had the opportunity to meet Paul Mathews, owner of the Cordwainer Shop. Within a few months’ time Molly was traveling to craft shows nationally with Paul and learning the Cordwainer art. Molly still makes handbags, but the main business is teaching shoemaking workshops at the Deerfield, New Hampshire shop and at craft schools across the country.

To see more of Molly’s work visit cordwainershop.com and follow her on Instagram @cordwainershop

All Levels | 5-Day Schedule
$550 Member | $580 Non-Member

Discover the basics of pattern making and creative ways to make knots and straps. Learning the beginning steps of sewing with leather on a portable industrial sewing machine, you will make three bags: a small zippered bag, a Molly bag, and a one-of-a-kind bag of your own design. A few of the designs offered are: cell phone purses and iPad and computer covers.

About the Instructor: See Molly Grant’s Bio above.

To see more of Molly’s work visit cordwainershop.com and follow her on Instagram @cordwainershop

All Levels | 5-Day Schedule
$550 Member | $580 Non-Member

Create beautiful, one-of-a-kind scarves from the most luxurious and durable of natural fabrics. In this class, we will learn how easily color, texture, and pattern are created by the seductive flow of paint and dye on silk. We will explore centuries-old Chinese silk painting techniques and shibori, the ancient Japanese fiber art of bound resist dyeing. You will leave with an appreciation for the rich history and modern potential for wearable silk art, and an assortment of exquisite wearable artworks—that are surprisingly easy to create!

About the Instructor: Janice Patrignani is a design professional, visual artist, and art educator. She holds a BS from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture, and Art. Since 1995, she has been developing and teaching workshops in her many areas of media expertise, which include watercolor, acrylic, and silk painting; shibori; fiber arts; bookmaking; paper transformations; and ceramic sculpture. Janice’s mixed-media sculpture has been exhibited throughout New York. She received third place for sculpture in the Best of New York Artists and Artisans 2005 book series, and was awarded honorable mention for ceramic sculpture in Art Buzz, the 2009 Collection.

All Levels* | 3-Day Extended Weekend Schedule
$395 Member | $425 Non-Member

Explore a potpourri of different fiber arts techniques this week. We will create glorious one-of-a-kind silk paintings as well as pattern silk scarves using the shibori method, experiment with wool felting, explore the fiber-transformation method of papermaking, and embellish with printmaking and marbling. By the end of the week, you will have a treasure trove of exquisite artworks and amazing personalized gifts——which you may want to keep!
* This class is a great resource for teachers or anyone who wants to discover the magic of fiber art.

About the Instructor: Janice Patrignani is a design professional, visual artist, and art educator. She holds a BS from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture, and Art. Since 1995, she has been developing and teaching workshops in her many areas of media expertise, which include watercolor, acrylic, and silk painting; shibori; fiber arts; bookmaking; paper transformations; and ceramic sculpture. Janice’s mixed-media sculpture has been exhibited throughout New York. She received third place for sculpture in the Best of New York Artists and Artisans 2005 book series, and was awarded honorable mention for ceramic sculpture in Art Buzz, the 2009 Collection.

All Levels | 2-Day Weekend Schedule
$295 Member | $325 Non-Member

Immerse yourself in shibori, the ancient Japanese fiber art of bound resist dyeing using techniques of stitching, binding, folding, clamping, and wrapping. In one weekend, we will learn how glorious color, texture, and design can be achieved on silk, the most luxurious and durable of natural fabrics. We will explore a variety of patterning, dyeing, and discharging methods with fiber reactive and acid dyes. You will leave with an exquisite assortment of one-of-a-kind wearable works of art, that you created, and an appreciation for the rich history and modern potential of shibori.

About the Instructor: See Janice Patrignani’s Bio above.