Finnish American Folk School
The Finnish American Folk School (FAFS) was founded in 2017 to promote Finnish folk arts and traditional skills and ensure that they thrive for generations to come. The Folk School is based in the Skyline Commons building and the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan. We welcome workshop requests or proposals. Scholarships or assistantships are available. Please contact FAFS director Clare Zuraw with all questions, suggestions, or scholarship requests: clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or 906-370-3722.
Upcoming Programs 2024
If you feel sick or have been exposed to COVID-19 before a class or other event, please stay at home and contact us to arrange a refund. If the FAFS must cancel an event, registrants will be notified, and refunds will be issued. Thank you for helping us to continue offering programs as safely as possible.
September
October
November
December
Clay Ornament Workshop
Ongoing
6 Wednesdays, September 11 – October 16, 2024
1-4pm
Lead designer: Rick Loduha of R&B Design
Skyline Commons Room 102
Class fee: Sliding scale, $50–150 / student
SOLD OUT
Registration closes September 4 or when sold out. Questions? Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Design Thinking. Noetic Skills. Creative Problem Solving. Making ideas into real things. These universal principles are especially honored in Finland, evolving from the Finn’s long tradition of elegant, functional design. The Design-Build Studio workshop invites you on a six-week journey into your design mind. A taste of how to creatively approach challenges, generate new ideas, and bring those ideas to life.
Design-Build Studio meets on Wednesdays at 1pm. For the first hour of each session we will explore the design process, design thinking, right brain/left brain balance, kinetic hands-on learning, and how to tap into each designer’s unique intuition and creative insight. The remainder of the time will be a trial and error playground where your ideas begin to dance with reality. You may come away with something you designed and built, but more importantly you’ll come away with an empowered life perspective as a creative problem solver.
Don’t know if this workshop is for you? If you want hands-on design-build experience, Design Studio is for you. If you would like to tap into your deepest creative self and generate ideas and solutions to address any challenge anytime, Design Studio is for you. If you are interested in integrating mind, body and spirit in all things, Design Studio is for you. If you have books, sundries or the like and you want to design and build a way to hold or display them, but you’re not sure what or how to go about it, Design Studio is for you. Design Studio is NOT for you if you think you already know exactly what you want, how it should look, and just want help building it.
Students who want to continue their path beyond the 6 weeks are invited to enroll in future Design-Build Studio sessions (schedule TBA).
A professional designer since 1972 and design educator since 1990, Rick Loduha researches sustainable design strategies and has taught sustainable design at the University of Illinois, the University of Louisiana, and Finlandia University. In 1996-97 he headed a sustainable development project in Haiti, W.I. and his sustainable design work has been published internationally.
9 sessions: Tuesdays & Thursdays, between September 17-October 22 (see below for details)
6-8pm
Instructor: Lindsey Heiden
Skyline Commons Room 103
Class fee: $200
Registration is now closed
Registration will close Friday, September 13 or when sold out. Questions? Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
This class is designed for anyone who has ever wanted to work with clay on a larger scale. Students will be making vase forms that are at a minimum of 10” with the tallest being 24” or even larger. A variety of techniques ranging from wheel throwing to hand building will be demonstrated to get the vases to the desired height. Within this class students will learn how working small and in parts can lead to building big forms. Four class sessions are designated for building the forms. Two class sessions will be dedicated to glazing and loading the gas kiln. And the last class will be unloading the kiln and seeing everyone’s brilliant work! Different glazing techniques will be demonstrated during these sessions. Students are also encouraged to stop by during the glaze firing to check out the gas kiln in action and learn a little about how it operates, though this is not an official part of the class. Open to students ages 18 and up.
Dates: September 17th 6-8 pm, 19th 6-8 pm, 24th 6-8 pm, 26th 5:45-7:45 pm
October 1st 6-8 pm, 3rd 6-8 pm, 15th 6-8 pm (glaze), 17th 6-8 pm (glaze & load kiln), 22nd 6-8 pm (unload kiln and see everyone’s finished work)
8 practices on Thursdays, September 19-November 21, 2024
5:30-6:30pm
Finnish American Heritage Center
Led by Kay Seppala
Fee: $20
To sign up email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or call/text 906-370-3722
Ilon Kaiku Kantele Ensemble will resume this fall and welcomes new and returning members. If you play 5 or 10/11 string kantele, please join us! The ensemble is a fun and friendly way to play kantele with others, learn new repertoire, and occasionally perform.
If you have taken a kantele playing workshop before or have a bit of beginner level experience playing kantele, you’re welcome to join the ensemble. Please note that while we will provide some support to beginning players, this is NOT a class. If you’ve never picked up a kantele before and are interested in instruction, please contact us to share your interest in a future workshop. Questions? Contact us at the email/phone listed above.
Copper Country Finns and Friends (formerly the Finnish Theme Committee) will have instruments available to rent for a small donation. When registering, please note that you would like an instrument – either 5 or 10 strings.
Meeting dates: September 19, 26, October 3 10, 17, November 7, 14, 21
Fridays – September 20 | October 18 | November 15
6:30-8:30pm
Instructor: Lindsey Heiden
Skyline Commons Room 103
$40 per couple for one date night
SOLD OUT
Questions? Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or call 906-370-3722
For those who want to go out on a Friday night and have some fun this night is for you. A twist on what a date night can be. Bring a date and work on a pottery wheel together to make a mug, cup or bowl. Your date can be anyone a spouse, partner, friend, family. Folks will be able to pick out a glaze color and the work will be glazed and fired for them. Though you certainly can just come for the fun and not the finished piece. For the couples that think wheel throwing is not for them, hand building is an option. Date night clothes are not recommended, folks should wear clothes that they do not mind getting a little dirty. Though couples will be working with clay maybe for the first time, this night is about having fun and not necessarily learning or becoming proficient in working with clay. There will be some guidance from the instructor.
Wednesday-Saturday, September 25-28, 2024
10am-4pm
Instructor: Laura Foster Nicholson
Skyline Commons Room 105
Class fee: $240
Materials fee: $40 paid by cash or check at first class
Registration is now closed
Registration closes September 18 or when sold out. Questions? Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
This workshop will explore ways to use weft brocade (also known as inlay) in both continuous (pickup) and discontinuous ways, to create shapes and images. This is an extraordinary and rare opportunity to study with a brocade master whose work is in major museum collections. The class will also provide many methods for getting the most out of color and texture when utilizing these techniques. Laura Foster Nicholson will be sharing her expertise in color and design as well as weaving technique.
Students will be working with a simple straight-draw twill on 4 shaft floor looms and the instructor will discuss how this technique can be applied to many different weave structures. Open to weavers ages 18 and up who can independently wind a warp and dress a floor loom.
The first day of class will include a presentation showing how weft brocade has been utilized in history as well as by contemporary artists. Students will begin exploring design ideas and possibilities. The instructor will also lead students on a tour of her exhibition at the Finlandia Art Gallery to illustrate how she uses the ideas and techniques discussed in class. The second day of class will be time for students to warp their looms, with support from Folk School staff. The third and fourth days of class will focus on weaving, with further instruction from Laura.
About the materials, Laura says, “one of my favorite ways to manipulate color is to thread the loom with warm/cool or dark/light colors in pairs, so that whether a warm or cool, or dark or light, color is inserted, 50% of the warp will support that color choice.” The materials fee covers the warp and weft needed to weave a sample that is approximately 10” wide and 1 yard long (after accounting for loom waste) as well as cotton for inlay.
Laura Foster Nicholson is a textile artist known for her handwoven tapestries. With a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and and MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, she has lectured, taught, and exhibited in the US, Canada and Italy. Her artwork is in several museum collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Denver Art Museum among others. Grants & awards include an NEA fellowship, the Leone di Pietra prize at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, three Illinois Arts Council fellowships, and a grant from the Graham Foundation for Research in the Fine Arts. Laura owns LFN Textiles, designing ribbons and household textiles, for companies such as Renaissance Ribbons, Crate & Barrel, Land of Nod, Monticello, Larsen, Inc. & others. She also writes about color and color trending for Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot, and for Pantoneview.com.
8 classes, beginning Sunday, October 13
1-2:30pm EASTERN TIME via ZOOM
Instructor: Becky Luoma
150,00 € (~$168) – includes all course materials
SOLD OUT – To join the waiting list, please email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Welcome to our Beginner Finnish Course! Language Clubhouse and Finnish American Folk School in joint partnership are offering a Basics of Finnish online course for adults. This course unit includes 8 lessons spread over 8 weeks. Online classes are conducted via Zoom, with each session lasting 1.5 hours. Throughout the course, you will find language exercises on our platform to reinforce the lesson content, along with weekly homework assignments to submit. The teacher will provide personalized feedback every week to students who complete their assignments. Once you register, you will receive credentials to log in to the website and access your course materials and Zoom meeting links.
To participate, students must have access to a device that can operate Zoom and an internet connection that can support Zoom. Class dates: October 13th, 20th, 27th, November 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, December 8th
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Handle daily situations and ask relevant questions.
- Understand basic expressions from slow, clear speech.
- Introduce themselves briefly and share personal information, even if speech is slow and pronunciation is not perfect.
- Display knowledge of numbers, the alphabet, the verb “to be,” and personal pronouns in their basic forms.
- Gain insight into Finnish culture and society.
- Topics covered: alphabet, self introductions, days of the week, numbers, colors, food words, partitive, genitive (I), adhesive (I have) Verb types 1-5 (practice verb types 1-3), weather, seasons, family, adjectives, working life vocabulary and much more!
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, October 26-28
10am-5pm (with lunch breaks)
Instructor: Alex Yerks
Skyline Commons Room 102
Class fee: $210
Materials fee: $40 paid directly to instructor
SOLD OUT – If you’d like to be added to the waiting list, please email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
The kuksa is a carved wooden drinking vessel of Nordic origin. This course is a great introduction to green woodworking as well as a unique opportunity to learn to safely use a large array of tools while developing techniques which bridge the gap between spoon and bowl carving. This class is open to beginners as well as experienced carvers ages 18 and up.
Over three days we will be carving fresh locally harvested wood, and your instructor will guide you from tree to table. The course will cover just about all you need to know, including sourcing wood, designing your own cups, learning various knife and tool grips, innovative ways to use tools, decorative carving and painting, learning Alex’s unique and advanced hollowing techniques with carving axes, adzes, gouges, and unlocking the potential of the great Scandinavian multitool – the Slöjd knife. We will even discuss tool maintenance. The goal of the workshop is to build a relationship with each of the tools while gaining an understanding of how they work in relation to the timber itself. Alex will be bringing his collection of wooden cups to use as design examples, as well as some freshly carved kuksas he will have for sale.
Please bring sharp and ready tools. Although we will be discussing and demonstrating sharpening, there’s not enough time to completely restore old and damaged tools which may be a class in the future.
These techniques require the hand strength to open a jar and a lot of repetitive axe work like hammering nails over and over.
Your instructor will provide:
Adze
Hook knives
Slöjd knives
Axes
Gouges
Students will have access to the instructor’s tools if needed.
Students are asked to bring:
Hook knife or gouge
Axe
Slöjd knife (Mora 106)
Pruning saw
Pencil
Ruler
Compass or dividers
Carving gloves or work gloves
Students can find these items online.
Alex Yerks was born and raised on a mountain in Upstate New York and grew up wandering around the surrounding woods. Brought up to rely on his natural surroundings, he instinctively works with the natural resources of the forest, utilizing the unique qualities of each tree in his projects. Alex has been a daily carver for fifteen years and teaches nationally and internationally at Spoonfest in England, The Milan Spoon Gathering, various workshops in Wales, Holland, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia and at his workshop in St Paul. His main focus is carving Scandinavian drinking cups called kuksas.
Wednesday – Sunday, November 13 – 17, 2024
10 am – 5 pm
Instructor: Phyllis Fredendall
Skyline Commons Room 105
Class fee: $240
Materials fee: $40 payable by cash or check to instructor
SOLD OUT – Join the waiting list by sending an email to clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Täkänä – known in English as Finn-pick double weave – is a traditional weaving method that allows the weaver to create a graphic reversible double cloth in two colors. This technique can be found in medieval churches and in museums in Finland and Sweden. It became popular in Finland in the 1960s but is rarely practiced today. Instructor Phyllis Fredendall studied the technique as the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland in 2023 with support from the American Scandinavian Foundation.
Weavers will work with wool in contrasting natural and red or natural and black yarns in both warp and weft to learn the technique and create a small sample. Open to weavers ages 18 and up who can independently wind a warp and dress a floor loom.
Saturday, November 16, 2024
10am-12pm
Instructor: Alice Margerum
Skyline Commons Room 102
Class fee: $25
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Registration closes November 8 or when sold out
Questions? Call 906-370-3722 or email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Learn to make wood shaving ornaments (lastu koriste). The technique is similar to paper quilling. Students will learn how to control the wood shavings so they can be curled and glued into stable decorative ornaments. Students will build at least one ornament during the class and leave with enough shavings to make more at home. No experience necessary. Open to students ages 18 and up. Requires some hand dexterity.
Next meetings: Mondays October 21, November 18, December 16
5:15-6:15pm EDT
Finnish American Heritage Center
No cost to participate
RSVP required by email: copper.country.singalong@gmail.com
Oren Tikkanen and Alice Margerum have a vision for re-seeding old songs in the community, one singalong at a time. Join them to learn or re-learn songs and sing as a community. The group will begin by singing songs in Finnish (with English translations when available). Each meeting the group will focus on a new song, eventually building a shared repertoire we can sing together. The organizers will share song lyrics and audio with participants digitally before each gathering. No formal music or language training is necessary to participate. Please do not bring instruments for this gathering as we will be focused on learning words and melodies from recordings and each other. Initially this group is open to singers ages 13 and up. Questions? Email copper.country.singalong@gmail.com or call the FAFS at 906-370-3722
Tuesdays 12pm-1pm
Skyline Commons (formerly Jutila Center)
Fiber Studio Room 105
Call 906-370-3722 or email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org for more information
Do you like to knit? Need feedback on your yarn choices? Want to learn new knitting tips and tricks socially from other knitters while on your lunch break? Join Finnish American Folk School director Clare Zuraw for a weekly knitting circle in our fiber studio. This is not a workshop! We’ll knit together, and Clare will be available for some light feedback during the hour, but there’s no lesson plan. Registration isn’t required – just show up with your knitting, a lunch, and maybe a friend. There’s no fee to participate, though if you find this to be an enriching experience donations the Folk School are always appreciated.
Our work at the Finnish American Folk School is made possible in part by support from American-Scandinavian Foundation.
The Finnish American Folk School is a proud member of the Folk Education Association of America.