And its courses are comparably rigorous, drawing top scholars from across the country to lead the five-day sessions. With room for only 50 guests at the retreat center, programs are limited to 25 participants, keeping class sizes small. Situated on 150 acres of wooded grounds, Touchstone Center for Crafts in southeastern Pennsylvania specializes in the centuries-old craft of blacksmithing, but offers the basics too. Just a short drive from New York City, but worlds away in ambiance, Peters Valley Craft Education Center in Layton, NJ is set in the middle of the Delaware Watergap on actual National Park grounds. It is a stunning locale and a potent inspiration for the many students who visit this school each summer to test their skills at blacksmithing, ceramics, fiber, fine metals, photography, weaving and wood working.
Most participants are amateur artists.
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, in Deer Isle, Maine, is the only other northeastern location among the major craft centers, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from a spectacular wooded slope.