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Exciting News – a Tempestry Project at OneTree Alaska!
The Tempestry Project is a collaborative effort among fiber artists around the country and across the world, using yarn to depict daily high temperatures. You may be familiar with the knit and crocheted scarves created using Tempestry yarns to capture, protect and personalize temperature data. Our take on it is going to be just a little more adventurous. Are you intrigued? Read on!
The OneTree Alaska Tempestry Project will capture temperature data in handwoven tapestry to create a traveling exhibit of both the linear day-by-day temperature data and more creative individual visual interpretations of the same data. Think curves and wave forms and explorations into 3-dimensional pieces – really fun techniques to learn! Best of all, workshops in beginning and intermediate tapestry weaving will be provided free of charge to help you develop the skills to participate actively and creatively in the project.
Our first pair of workshops will be July 11th and August 8th at OneTree Alaska. Workshops are free of charge and materials kits are $20 each, giving you enough yarn to do one piece for you and one to donate to the traveling exhibit. The project will also feature weekly in person help and social weaving sessions. No experience is necessary and all equipment will be provided.
For more information, contact Bonni Brooks at 907-980-3126 or bonontherun@gmail.com.
2023 Week in the Woods Camp Chef/Meal Coordinator Position
Baking in dutch ovens at Week in the Woods.
2023 Week in the Woods Camp Chef/Meal Coordinator Position Description
Dates
Camp dates: June 23 – 28, 2023
This position will require:
- Meal planning in the weeks leading up to camp.
- Food purchasing and organization and camp set-up, June 20 – 23.
- Meal preparation during camp.
- Equipment cleaning and storage, June 29 – 30.
Summary
This position is responsible for planning meals and cooking in a camp setting for a group of 20 – 30 people during our Week in the Woods program, June 23 – 28 (dinner on the 23rd through lunch on the 28th). The Camp Chef is responsible for planning meals, packing supplies and food, cooking for the group, coordinating kitchen helpers as needed, and cleaning and storing equipment after camp.
Do you like to:
- Spend time in the woods?
- Learn about forest ecology?
- Laugh?
- Camp?
- Cook for groups?
- Craft with forest materials?
Would you enjoy:
- Participating in a unique program in the boreal forest?
- Getting to know a multi-generational group of talented people?
- Cooking healthy food in a camp setting for a multi-age group of fine folks and sharing in the Week in the Woods experience?
This gives you a glimpse into what cooking for Week in the Woods would look like.
Qualifications and Skills
- Experience cooking for groups as large as 30, preferably in a rustic or backcountry setting, with limited resources and equipment.
- Good attitude and willingness to be flexible and creative with ingredients.
- Willingness to accommodate diet restrictions such as vegetarian and gluten free.
- Ability to lift and carry 30 lbs.
- Must be able to haul a heavy cart across uneven terrain.
- Must be able to walk ½ mile in the woods (repeatedly).
- Relevant camping experience preferred (in mosquito country).
- Interest and experience in boreal forest craft and/or science desired.
- Must be willing to camp in the woods for a week.
- Successful participants will need to bring personal camping gear such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, rain gear, water bottle, etc.
Benefits
- Enjoy all the things Week in the Woods has to offer, including food, fellowship, craft, and fun. The camp chef will have time in between meals and after dinner to participate in classes and activities, though not as much time as participants.
- Pay is $1000 – $1200, depending on experience.
- Includes learning boreal forest craft and ecology from a team of distinguished instructors and scientists.
Application Questions
- Are you available June 20 – 30, 2023 (camp dates June 23 – 28)?
- Describe your relevant cooking experience.
- Describe your camping experience.
- Give an example of one day’s menu you would prepare for a group that includes a couple folks who are vegetarian and a couple who are gluten free.
- Can you confirm that you are aware this position requires hard work, heavy lifting, hauling water, and rustic conditions? Are you physically able to perform these duties?
- What else would you like us to know about you as we consider your application?
Send application and resume highlighting relevant experience to Kerri Hamos at kerri@folk.school.
Application review will begin March 30th, 2023.
2023 Week in the Woods Work Study Position
2023 Week in the Woods Work Study Position Description
Dates
June 18 – July 1, 2023
There is some flexibility on either end, but applicants must be available from June 20-30 at minimum.
Description
Do you like to:
- Spend time in the woods?
- Learn about forest ecology?
- Laugh?
- Get dirty?
- Create things with your hands?
- Camp?
Would you enjoy:
- Learning craft using materials gathered from the woods?
- Getting to know a multi-generational group of talented people?
- Sitting around a campfire eating good food with good folks, swapping stories and ideas while working on a craft project?
This gives you a glimpse into what helping out with Week in the Woods would look like.
The Week in the Woods work study position will provide logistical support for the program. This position includes heavy lifting, loading and unloading, setting up and breaking down camp, digging holes, and other camp support. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to attend Week in the Woods and participate in many of the classes and activities, as the bulk of the work will take place before and after camp. However, there will be daily tasks during the program, such as helping in the kitchen and hauling water.
Responsibilities and Duties
Duties will include tasks such as gathering and organizing supplies, loading a Uhaul, preparation of the campsite, hanging tarps, climbing ladders, unloading the Uhaul and setting up camp, and digging latrine holes.
During the program, work study folks will help in the kitchen, haul water, and provide general camp support, all while learning from a team of distinguished instructors, camping in the woods and immersing themselves in boreal forest craft and ecology.
Qualifications and Skills
- Good attitude and willingness to be flexible.
- Ability to lift and carry 40 lbs.
- Must be able to haul a heavy cart across uneven terrain.
- Must be able to walk ½ mile in the woods (repeatedly).
- Relevant camping experience preferred (in mosquito country).
- Interest and experience in boreal forest craft and/or science desired.
- Must be willing to camp in the woods for a week, live in off-grid housing (if not a local), and have a strong desire to attend Week in the Woods.
- Successful participants will need to bring personal camping gear such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, rain gear, water bottle, etc.
Benefits
- Attend Week in the Woods ($900 value), which includes prepared meals the evening of June 23 through lunch on June 28, 2023.
- Enjoy all the things Week in the Woods has to offer, including food, fellowship, craft and fun.
- Learn boreal forest craft and ecology from a team of master instructors and scientists.
- Shared rustic housing before and after camp (if desired).
- $500 stipend.
Application Questions
- Are you available during the necessary dates (June 18- July 1, 2023)? If you need flexibility, what dates are you available?
- Describe your relevant experience in art and/or craft.
- What knowledge and skills will you bring to the program?
- What benefits do you expect to receive from the position and Week in the Woods?
- Describe your camping experience.
- Can you confirm that you are aware this position requires hard work, heavy lifting, digging holes, and carrying heavy loads? Are you physically able to perform these duties?
- What else would you like us to know about you as we consider your application?
Send application and resume highlighting relevant experience to Kerri Hamos at kerri@folk.school.
Application review will begin March 30th, 2023.
ONE TREE 3!
We are in need of a birch tree for our third collaborative celebration of trees. “OneTree” is a unique program that celebrates the life and offerings of one single tree, both as a member of the forest community and then as objects made from every part of the harvested tree.
Once we select a prime tree, artists, writers, makers, teachers, and scientists have the opportunity to visit the tree and propose projects involving the tree. After the tree is cut down, we will distribute various tree parts to participants for their individual projects that will be exhibited in the fall of 2024.
If you have a large, healthy, accessible birch tree on your property that could be used for our next OneTree project, please contact John Manthei, john@folk.school.
More info, and photos from our last project can be found here.
If you are interested in participating in OneTree3 in any way, please fill out our interest form to join the OneTree3 email list. Click here to fill out the form.
The Folk School Provides Expertise for a Prince William Sound College Packraft Class
This Spring Folk School packraft instructor, Bruce Campbell, and Prince William Sound College (PWSC) outdoor skills instructor, Benjamin Rush, accompanied 5 PWSC students on their first packrafting venture. Benjamin and students spent the Spring semester building DIY Packrafts from kits, with Folk School support via Zoom and the occasional video phone call. Some students finished their packrafts and those who had not yet finished borrowed some of Bruce’s packrafts to float the Clearwater River.
Their previous excursions included sea kayak trips, ski and overnight camping on Worthington Glacier, and other snow camping, so the class was not the least phased by the snow blocking the access to the Clearwater river. After a night of camping on the ice and snow at the unplowed entrance to the Clearwater State Recreation Area, the group packed gear into their packrafts, shuttled cars, and slid the rafts across the snow, post-holing their way to the boat launch.
The day offered clear blue skies and wonderful bright sunlight streaming through the spruce. Following a safety discussion, they slid the packrafts into the clear water and were off. Schools of whitefish passed underneath, skeins of swans flew overhead, and they had the river all to themselves. Students survived a floating discussion about the Clearwater fault, groundwater and melting permafrost, accompanied by thick river ice, forming the various features of the river, white spruce vs black spruce, and much more.
The group camped on a mix of ice, thawed ground, and gravel bar. PWSC students, used to backpacking and sea kayak limits on gear, were really good at packing light. So they got an eye-full as Bruce extracted his folding camp table, folding stools, kitchen, and an endless stream of gear from the same sized packraft. Packrafts can carry an impressive amount of gear, if you’re not limited by having to carry it in a backpack. The equipment one can pack inside the raft is limited by the 50 mm long air-tight zipper = lots! And the craft handles much better when loaded.
Bruce Campbell Clearwater River 4/23/2022, with overnight camping equipment inside raft, including: 3-man REI tent, sleeping bag, extra quilt, ground blanket, blue tarp, spare change and extra warm clothes, 25″ thermarest pad, MSR stove, pots, 10″ skillet, muck boots, 1 gallon of water, folding aluminum camp table, and folding stool.
Dinner was a Folk School event, Japanese Tempura in which everyone contributed to include: halibut, salmon, mushrooms, peppers, peas, broccoli, sweet potato, and more, cooked on MSR Stoves in deep Fry-Bake pans.
The next morning they passed the Clearwater Lake outfall into the Tanana, and made a partial attempt to paddle up the outfall current. Packrafts are not fast hull craft! It was clear that we would have had to pack our craft up and over the snow to access the lake outfall, and it would still have been a difficult paddle upstream against the current using packrafts.
Clear skies gave the group glimpses of the Alaska Range as they paddled. Moffit, Hayes, Deborah and Hess and even Denali peeked out for a moment. The Tanana was a clear green river. One could see bottom in several feet of water. While slab ice lay across the gravel bars, it did not prevent the travelers from pulling out and stopping for the occasional break. The river was fully open, just like the satellite imagery, dated 4/17/2022, had indicated. A lovely breakup trip on the Clearwater River!
The Folk School Spring Raffle 2022!
Prizes:
- Rustic Chair by Philip Marshall
- Bentwood Box by John Manthei
- Week in the Woods Tuition (either adult or adult w/ child, 2022 or 2023)
- $200 of Folk Bucks
- REI Gear
- TFS Swag Bag/Gift Basket
$10/ticket or 5 for $40
Drawing on June 1, 2022, 12:00 pm @ The Folk School Cabin (need not be present to win)
State of Alaska Gaming Permit #177003
How to buy tickets:
- At any upcoming TFS class or event until June 1st (please have cash ready)
- At Wood Fest – May 13 – 15 (please have cash ready)
- Call us at 907-457-1219 and leave your name and telephone number and a good time to call you back and you can pay with a credit card over the phone.
- Fill in the contact form below and we will call you back and you can pay with a credit card over the phone.
COVID-19 Update 4/11/2022
We appreciate your assistance in creating a safe environment for everyone who attends our classes and events.
For earlier updates, please see our Blog page. And please: remember your mask!
COVID-19 Update 2/23/2022
The Folk School requires that students ages 5 and older show proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in indoor, in-person classes.
Masks are also required for all individuals during all indoor and outdoor classes, as well as indoor and outdoor events. Masks must fit securely, and cover both nose and mouth.
We appreciate your assistance in creating a safe environment for everyone who attends our classes and events.
For earlier updates, please see our Blog page. And please: remember your mask!
Edith Rohde Makes a Generous Donation of Land and Cabins to TFS!
The Folk School is pleased to announce the receipt of two cabins and surrounding land off of Gold Hill Road. These cabins once belonged to local conductor Gordon Wright and are the generous donation of Edith Rohde, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news with you.
2022 Program Coordinator Job Posting
Program Coordinator Job Description
The Folk School in Fairbanks is looking for a Program Coordinator to work closely with the Program Director to provide support for classes and events at The Folk School.
Responsibilities:
- assist with in-person and remote classes and events as needed to ensure they run smoothly
- offer short course programs directed toward both kids and adults, in person and possibly online
- marketing of year-round classes and programs
- assist The Folk School in adapting to the changing environment, by providing digital content for social media, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Zoom classes, including tutorials and promotional videos
- provide information about The Folk School to visitors and locals at both our Pioneer Park cabin and during local events, such as farmers and art markets
- Assists in managing specific programs such as Community Workshop and the Community Printmaking Studio
This is a multi-faceted position, and we will take into account the skills and experience of the successful candidate when determining day to day activities.
Requirements:
- experience in photography and/or videography; editing
- experience with social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Zoom, and YouTube
- must complete a background check
- candidates should be able lift 35 pounds, navigate stairs with ease, and have the ability/desire to work outside during both Pioneer Park events and seasonal outdoor classes
- flexible schedule that may include evenings and weekends
- desire to promote hands-on learning to the community and visitors
- a background in arts and/or crafts is a bonus
Compensation/Hours:
15-20 hours per week, with schedule and hours varying.
$18 per hour, plus opportunity to participate in Folk School classes and events.
Please check out our full range of courses and programs at https://folk.school.
Send a letter of interest and resume highlighting relevant experience to Kerri Hamos at kerri@folk.school.
Application review will begin March 7th, 2022.