Haystack Celebrates Seventy Five Years of Craft and Community

Resident artists in the Metals studio during the Open Studio Residency, photo by Dan Rajter, 2023. Image courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Located in a scenic spot on the Maine coast, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is an iconic place for people who create. Founded in 1950, Haystack offers an array of programs including one and two-week studio workshops to participants of all skill levels as well as the two-week Open Studio Residency program. The School also hosts exhibitions, tours, auctions, artist presentations, and shorter workshops for Maine residents and high school students. As Haystack celebrates its 75th anniversary year staff are taking time to reflect on its significant contributions to the field and to the community.

Instructor Devin K. Ebanks and studio assistants during a glass blowing demonstration in the workshop Thinking Through Working, photo by Dan Rajter, 2024. Image courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Considering what it means to him to helm one of the nation’s premier centers for craft, Executive Director Perry Price says, “It is an inspiring responsibility to lead Haystack - the School has been a seminal part of the story of craft for the past seventy-five years, and it means so much to all of the individual artists who have had the opportunity to participate in this ongoing experiment in craft education and research on the remote coast of Maine. My vision is that the experiences we can facilitate at the School today will be those irreplaceable moments that are looked back on in another fifty years as paramount to our field.”

Haystack is indeed a seminal place and continues to draw major names in the field. Among the plaudits faculty of the 2026 season have received, Ceramics Faculty Ibrahim Said and Wood Faculty Aspen Gollan have both been selected for The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vacheron Constantin Artisan Residency. Blacksmithing Faculty Vivian Beer has been named a Fellow of the American Craft Council. Glass Faculty Cedric Mitchell has been featured recently in the LA Times and the New York Times Style Magazine. The list goes on. Haystack is a venue both for respected experts and those looking to cultivate craft skills as learners. In the coming months, a distinguished speakers series will elevate voices of key artists both at Haystack proper in Maine as well as at notable venues in Wisconsin, Philadelphia, and New York.

Haystack is also a place focused on connection. For Programs and Studio Director Anna Lehner, that is a key element of the experience. They explain, “At Haystack, creativity is more than an activity--it's a shared experience. Every session fosters a time and place for people to push their creative boundaries and create new connections through learning and hands-on craft. It is truly a special place because people from all over the world gather here to slow down, share ideas, and grow in unexpected and new ways.”

View into the Ceramics studio, photo by Audi Culver and Ivy Siosi, 2023. Image courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Housed in a collection of refined shingled buildings overlooking the Atlantic, the campus is knit together by outdoor walks. The core buildings were designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes (1915-2004), who went on to design the Walker Art Center and the Dallas Museum of Art. Haystack is immersed in a beautiful and inspirational setting of woods and coves where participants get to focus on making. There is something utopian and appealing in that.

Reflecting on what they feel makes the campus special, Lehner says, “The spaces are minimal but dynamic. I have seen how the campus brings people together through its place in nature, through the bustling activity in the studios, and by sharing meals in the dining hall.”

Participants gather for a collective, nourishing lunch in the Haystack dining hall during Open Studio Residency, photo by Dan Rajter, 2023. Image courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Studio Coordinator Brad Willis echoes his colleague. For him, the rugged nature of the campus complements its ability to encourage connectivity. He describes it, “The nature of the campus, the studios, dining hall and other gathering spaces really lends itself to bring people together and connect through craft. It's a wonderful environment for that exploration and inspiration. There's a rawness to the structures and the setting that's quietly impactful.”

Willis finds community to be a staple of the Haystack experience. Whereas artists often work alone, this unique place gives them opportunities to meet. He says, “I think one thing about the culture at Haystack that makes it a special place to create is simply that you're in the presence of other people in a productive and constructive way. It's not often you get to process with others and craft in this sort of community, it's unique in that way.”

Students in the ceramics studio at the Deer Isle campus, 1961. Image courtesy Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Generations of artists have been impacted by the School, shaped by what they have taught and learned there. The name Haystack is a byword for craft. For those looking to do a deep dive into its storied history, a special oral history project via Maine Sound and Story charts the voices of many who have been involved over the years.

Looking forward to what excites him most about this important milestone year, Executive Director Perry Price says, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to bring voices from across our history together, to learn and share, and to see what ideas are expressed - both about our current moment and the promise for the future. It is a celebration about where we are going as much as it is acknowledgement of where we have been.”

In a region with many cultural assets, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts stands out as a singular gem. For decades, artists have traveled to Maine to explore the world of craft, to make, and to find connection with themselves and one another. Through its landmark campus, engaging programs, and the remarkable artistic talent it activates, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is deservedly seen as a beloved landmark. It will be exciting to see what the next 75 years bring.

Learn more about Haystack Mountain School of Crafts at www.haystack-mtn.org and make a donation to support the next 75 years of its important work.

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