Summer Days of Craft
Warm summer greetings to all you friends, former and future students of Woodspirit School—
Summer is in full swing—the sweetest days in Northern Wisconsin. The garden is full and Chequamegon Bay is calling for swimming, boating, and beach days.
In June we (Jarrod & Jazmin) returned from Scandinavia all fired up about split wood basketry with some plans to add those techniques to future basketry classes. We gave a slideshow presentation about our trip at Craft Night in June. The photo above shows a couple baskets we learned to make, antiques, and one bought from Curt Bengtsson, a pine splint basket weaver we visited.
Then we hosted a few great classes:
Shibori & Indigo Dyeing with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl
Spoon Carving with Jarrod Dahl
Willow Basketry with Scogin Zimmermann-Mayo
Work Study
You may notice Ana in several pictures. She is our current work-study Wonder Woman who has been helping us move wood, weed the gardens, and other maintenance tasks in exchange for space in select courses. If you are interested in Work Study, send us an email.
Craft Night Series 2026 Presentations, Demonstrations, Exhibitions & Experiences
Schedule
$0.00
Welcome all craft interested folks! Meet our extraordinary instructors and learn about their craft and work through presentations, demonstrations, exhibitions, and experiences. You don’t need to be signed up for a workshop to attend Craft Night. Students, their companions and families, Chequamegon Bay local residents, and people visiting the area from afar are all invited.
Join us for a shared meal before the presentation. We provide the soup, wooden plates, spoons, and bowls. We ask you to bring a tasty side dish and your preferred beverage.
Schedule
6pm Doors Open—sign-in when you arrive
6:30pm Shared Meal
7pm Instructor Presentation
We look forward to seeing you there!
Want reminders about Craft Nights? Sign up for our newsletter email list here.
Topics are subject to change
NEXT CRAFT NIGHT:
May 15 Baskets in Lichtenfels: International Basket Festival slideshow & basket collection exhibition with Jarrod Dahl.
June 3 So Many Scandinavian Baskets! slideshow & basket collection exhibition plus splint making demonstration with Jarrod Dahl.
June 12 Turning Flax into Cloth presentation & demonstration with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl. Watch or take part in the processes of making flax plants into fiber, thread and cloth.
July 9 Japanese Textile Travels presentation with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl. A show and tell of textiles and photos from three trips to Japan.
July 16 All Blue: Japanese Indigo Dyeing Experience with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl. Watch or try out dyeing in a sukumo indigo vat. Registration is required to participate in dyeing, as space is limited. Register here.
August 7 Urban Woodsman: Wood Carving in Detroit presentation with Joey Traynor.
August 13 Scandinavian Wood Carving Traditions & Travels slideshow presentation with Alex Yerks about his recent travels as an ASF grant recipient.
August 20 Turned Round: Museum Collections slideshow presentation and woodenware exhibition with Derek Brabender about his recent wooden treen research.
August 28 Lively Baskets presentation and exhibition with Emily Dirke on willow basketry.
September 4 Our Wooden Spoon Collection presentation with Jarrod Dahl. The Wooden Spoon Drawer Exhibition & Talk.
September 18? Japanese Woodturning & Urushi presentation with special guest, Eiko Tanaka from Japan.
PAST CRAFT NIGHTS:
April 30 Drink Up! Norwegian Ale Hens slideshow & exhibition with Mike Loeffler
Craft Night & Potluck
Tomorrow—Tuesday, July 9
Doors open 6pm for BYO Crafting, 6:30pm Potluck with our Soup and your Amazing Sides, BYOB. RSVP by Monday for a soup count. www.woodspiritschool.com
Pole Lathe Turning
with Jarrod Dahl & Derek Brabender, August 9-11
During this three-day intensive we will learn to axe out blanks from green wood and turn bowls with a foot powered lathe. We will cover the basics of turning, cutting techniques, and bowl design. We will also discuss handling and storing green wood, sharpening, axe skills, and how to dry and finish your bowls. Registration closes July 26. Register Here
Hand Sewn Leather Mini-Tote
with Beth Dow, August 17-18
In this two-day class students will make a small tote with vegetable tanned leather while also learning the foundational skills of leatherwork: saddle stitch, wet molding, hardware application, and surface design. We will discuss how to design for strength and utility, how to select hides, and how to care for your leather. Registration closes August 3. Register Here
Textile & Dye Garden
Flax, Basketry Willow, Woad, Indigo Persicaria, Indigo Suffruticosa, Indigo Tinctoria, Madder, Weld, Murasaki/Purple Gromwell, Sweet Grass, and Safflower have all been planted. Come to Flax Day on August 31 to see them growing for yourself. We will have community flax to linen processing, spinning fibers, band weaving, natural dyes, seed give away, show & tell and more. RSVP HERE to get all the details!
Community Flax Work Day——Sign-Up To Find Out When
$0.00
Related Courses: Textile Courses
Late Summer-Early Autumn 2026, The date will be set last minute according to the weather. Sign up to get a notice when Flax Day will be.
Roll up your sleeves and join us for a day of Flax Linen Processing
11am Welcome and Flax Processing Demonstration
We will be breaking and combing retted home grown flax, then making stricks of linen—bundles of raw fiber for spinning and weaving into cloth.
Bring
a bag lunch and water
an optional snack to share.
clothes that can get dirty
a dust mask
Location Outside at the Woodspirit School 1400 3rd St W Ashland, WI 54806
REGISTER so you can receive updates about this event! This event is free and family friendly.
