John C. Campbell Folk School

[Bob Rotche]

Hi all-
Just wanted to report back on my time at the John C. Campbell Folk School in the mountains of North Carolina (about 1 1/2 hours south of Asheville). In a word, it was AWESOME!!! Spent 4 1/2 days doing nothing much more than working on bowl turning with 2 experts. Teacher for the week was Dale Larson and assistant was Warren Carpenter, both excellent turners. Facilities were outstanding as you will see in the attached pictures and it is just a fun and relaxing place to be. There are classes going on in just about any art and craft you can think of (changes each week) and people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Everyone is there to learn new skills, meet new people and get away from the daily grind of real life. It is truly like going to camp for adults. Meals are served family style and food is excellent.There are a variety of cottages and cabins to stay in on their 300 acre campus or you can camp if you prefer. I learned a ton, had a great time, and discovered how much better a Powermatic 3520B is than what I am using now! (I see a new lathe in my future...) I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back! I can't recommend the school highly enough.

[David DeCristoforo]

Comeon... that's a picture of the Powermatic factory....

[Chip Sutherland]

Mustard heaven....

I've going about it all the wrong way, instead of another chuck, I just need to get a 3520b for each of my existing chucks.

[Steve Mawson]

Pretty neat, glad you had a good time. Looks like a fun place to learn.

[Steve Vaughan]

Looked at all the stuff they offer way back...have always wanted to go there for something. Heck, I'd get a job there sweeping floors just to be there.

[John W Dixon]

Color me green with envy. Glad you had a good time!

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the experience. Looks like a great setup for lurnin' turnin'!

[Bob Bergstrom]

That workshop looks like turning heaven. What a great place to sharpen your skills and get great instruction.

[Michael James]

Ok I have camp envy...there I said it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Looks like quite the place! Glad to hear you enjoyed your time there!

[Peter Elliott]

Looks great. I am amazed at the investment this school has made. Which class did you take? and after the one you took, which one class would you go back for? Im sure you got a good feel for what would be the next one.

Great areas too!

[Greg Just]

Bob:

Looks like a great place. Did you stay in the school's lodging facilities or somewhere near by?

[Thom Sturgill]

Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt, even though my trip was just a weekend class. It's everything he said. More crafty than artsy (go the other side of the mountain to Arrowmount if you want that!) and good country folks. I the 'other half' is in to ANY kind of craft go together and you'll both have great memories. The turning lab has IIRC, eight mustard monsters and two OneWay lathes (not counting the MM used by the instructor. There is a machine room for general woodworking tools for use by the turners (bandsaw, tablesaw, etc - there is a separate building for flatwork) and a finishing room with a small spray booth.

[Bob Rotche]

Peter, I took a bowl turning class with goal of working on form and do feel that I made significant improvements. When (not if) I go back, I will either look for a more advanced woodturning class with focus either on lidded vessels or embellishments or may go for something completely different. They have an incredible new blacksmithing workshop that I would like to try (iron and wood go tegether well...) Regardless of what you take, its a great experience just to be there.

Thom, it is probably more crafty than Arrowmont but I wouldn't make that generalization because there is such a variety in the offerings and ability to make of it what you want. Many people do go with spouse or partner given the variety of offerings, something for everyone from music to cooking, photography, fiber arts, painting, metal work, woodcarving, furniture making, glass work, jewelry and enamel and many others. They even had a make your own bamboo fly rod class while I was there!

Greg, I did stay in the school facilities which I would highly recommend to get the full experience of being there. They do have a campground on site if you prefer or need to cut costs.