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Beginning Bluegrass Banjo

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Bluegrass banjo is the familiar sound that drove such favorites as the Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song, Rocky Top and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. In this class you will learn enough about the banjo so that you can use a variety of available instructional aids from your home and progress with learning Bluegrass banjo at your own pace. You will be exposed to the basics of playing 5-string Bluegrass banjo, including tunings, left hand chord shapes, right hand rolls, vamping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, chokes, chimes and how to read tablatures. We'll also look at online sites about banjo practice and instruction. Bring a playable 5-string banjo, two metal finger picks and a thumb pick. Although there will be several handouts, an audio recorder is a good idea.

Rugs from Rags

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

No weaving experience is necessary! The looms are dressed and ready to go, all you need to do is bring your creative spirit and to leave with a finished one-of-a-kind rug. Students will have a choice of making a traditional Rag Rug using recycled fabric strips or making a Sock Rug using remnants from a sock factory. Colors and choices of fabric and remnants vary from class to class depending on availability. The rugs are 24" wide, and up to 45" long.

Intro to Welding for the Hobby Blacksmith

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Students will learn the basics of welding to help them with hobbies and everyday life. This class will focus on MIG (Metal Inert Gas) and stick welding. Students will leave teh course with a comprehensive understanding of houw welding works, as well as plenty of hands-on experience.

Copper Bowl

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

In this class students will create a beautiful copper bowl from a 12" x 12" sheet of 16 gauge copper. Students will pound and hand tool the sheet into an 8" diameter, approx. 2" deep bowl. Students will also make a decorative vine with leaves from copper that will be attached to the rim of the bowl. Some soldering will be involved in this class.

A Taste of the Forge

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Would you like to try blacksmithing, and get a taste of the craft? Join instructor Steve Gurzler for 3 weekday evenings to learn how to operate a coal forge to bring metal to incandescent heat and shape it with hammer in hand. This class will use the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) curriculum to teach the basics of blacksmithing. Students can expect to create 2 or more projects during the 3 evenings. Class size is limited to ensure all can advance at their own pace.

Small Copper Embossing

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Learn the discipline of Metal Working known as Embossing. Students will transfer an image of their choosing from a paper template to a sheet of copper by using various sizes of stylus and other hand tools to create a textured picture. Students will find that copper is a very workable material. Your finished piece will fit in with any Adirondack decor or even in a rustic birch frame! This piece is 6" x 6".

Natural Details: Photographing Nature in Motion

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

This class is geared towards beginner to intermediate photographers who want to learn solid fundamentals and put them into practice with instruction, with an emphasis on photographing nature closeup, waterfalls, grasses, plants etc. This should allow almost anyone with a digital camera to create artistic shots without relying on waiting for animals or birds. Participants should have access to a tripod. Dave will share an intro slideshow of his work and a discussion on ethics, safety, subject knowledge and increasing success rate. There will be a handout that covers discussion points of basic camera use, lens selection, composition and more. This class will include shooting in the field at a location picked dependent on the time of year.

Forging a Rose

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

In this class students will forge a rose that will not wither using precut steel blanks. The project will include forging details and torch work with scrolling tongs to create a custom rose.

Felted Squirrel

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Felt a "sleepy squirrel" that could be found in a leafy nest anywhere in the Adirondacks. You will use a simple armiture, natural wool fibers, and easy to use techniques to create a lifelike image of a sleeping gray squirrel. This course is appropriate for beginners and will give you the skills to create your own sleepy character.

Rugs from Rags

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

No weaving experience is necessary! The looms are dressed and ready to go, all you need to do is bring your creative spirit and to leave with a finished one-of-a-kind rug. Students will have a choice of making a traditional Rag Rug using recycled fabric strips or making a Sock Rug using remnants from a sock factory. Colors and choices of fabric and remnants vary from class to class depending on availability. The rugs are 24" wide, and up to 45" long.

Principles of Herbal Medicine

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

The use of plants for wellness, nutrition and balance has been practiced for thousands of years in the Adirondacks and cultures around the globe. Join Margo for an exploration of Basic Principles of Herbal Medicine through the lens of intimately getting to know 6 easy to identify plants from our local region who may be growing right under your own feet! (And in your own garden!)
In this class you will have an opportunity to gain intimate knowledge of plants and traditional methods of working with them, while building your wild skill set in identification and transforming raw (plant) material into beneficial preparations through hands-on experiences. Your work in the classroom will continue at home. In each class you will receive a rooted specimen of the plant we work with, along with the earthwork of establishing your own medicinal herb garden.
This class is recommended for those who are: curious, herbalists, gardeners and/or plant lovers, ages 13 and up, beginner or experienced.

Forging Tongs

Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY

Enter any well-equipped blacksmith shop and you will see dozens of tongs in various sizes and shapes. Tongs are needed to hold different sizes and shapes of materials securely and safely. All smiths need to know how to forge tongs. In this two-day class, students will learn how to forge their own tongs and will also make several different types of jaws.

Join the Waiting List We are sorry, but this course is currently full. If space(s) become available, we will notify users in the order in which they requested to be added to the waiting list.