In The Spirit of Americana
Remotely situated on 150 wooded acres, at first glance, Touchstone Center for Crafts could pass for a summer camp. Nestled among trees, a babbling brook, scattered cabins and trampled footpaths, Touchstone is made up of several classrooms/studios, each dedicated to carrying on the tradition of a celebrated mountain craft. The property is unassuming and inviting, and a distinct air of creativeness looms about.

Whether you’re an admirer of nature or hand-made crafts or both, Touchstone has plenty of creative resources to explore. The campus has a beautiful timber-framed lodge with hardwood flooring, an archival gallery, various offices and reception hall. There are also six main studios for blacksmithing, woodcarving, painting and ceramics, jewelry and glass bead–making as well as a cafeteria that offers buffet-style meals.

A casual tour of the Touchstone property reveals the individual pieces of this artistic fortress. Partially carved blocks of wood give a hint of impending transformation, while painted canvases propped on easels sit in an open room flooded with light. Even from the outside, works of art are easily seen through the curtain-less, glass-paned windows. And then, there are the sounds. There are, of course, rustling trees and chirping birds-a-plenty; but most distinctly heard is the echoed clanging of hammer-stricken metal announcing itself as the forge. There is also the smell of fire and baked earth aloft in the fresh country air. Arrowed signs, pointed in various directions, reveal the distinct pathways to the studio. Throughout it all, there is a realization that Touchstone has a serious, creative purpose. The center is a magical hub of beloved old-world, pass-the-time busyness.

Touchstone Center for Crafts provides visitors with an opportunity to not only nurture their own talents and crafts but also to glean from the masters – instructors who are innately connected to their particular mountain-craft ancestry and who wish to pass it on to future generations. As dedicated, life-long students who have perfected their craft by choice of artistic expression, these instructors believe in fostering and nurturing the gifts and talents of others in keeping with the mountain lifestyle tradition. It is the spirit of a creative culture, past and future, united in the present.

Throughout past generations, mountain dwellers or pioneers, devoid of city distractions, were primed to unleash their creativity after a long day’s work or at a time of work-week rest. As a means of self-development, entertainment and community, these impulses manifested creative outlets through the skills that supported their everyday lives. Weaving, quilting, blacksmithing and pottery were essential to maintaining the everyday life of making clothing, shoeing horses and the necessitation of inventing utilitarian objects. To take a break from the demands of maintaining life, it was only natural to transfer existing skills and resources to objects of artistic expression. Touchstone recognizes the value of these traditions and has done an excellent job to uphold and pass-on the richness of the mountain-pioneer heritage as a cultural resource.

Touchstone was founded in 1972 as the Pioneer Craft Council out of a desire to preserve and generate new interest in traditional mountain crafting. As an organization dedicated to this heritage, Touchstone has evolved and expanded to include contemporary and modern craft techniques, which are studied alongside the traditional and historic methods. Touchstone provides a place where instructors and students come together to share tried-and-true methodologies as well as to develop and practice new ones. As Touchstone grows in popularity, its programs are ever-evolving to reflect the cultural diversity of its participants.

To date, celebrated disciplines include blacksmithing, ceramics, metals, textiles, weaving, glass bead-making, painting, photography, print-making, wood carving and sculpting. Students gather to learn in an atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie among fellow contemporaries, master artists and artisans. Periodically, the center will incorporate other expressions of the traditional mountain-lifestyle such as clogging and fiddling in addition to their main programs.

Crafts schools such as Touchstone are few and far between. As one of the nation’s oldest crafts schools, the center welcomes regular patrons and newcomers alike from all over the country. The center offers a unique retreat for professional and novice artist and artisans to both mentor and receive mentoring. Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and friends are welcome, one and all.

In celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250-year anniversary, the Sprout Fund awarded the center a $5000 grant to enhance and expand its Mountain Crafts Festival in Farmington to an entire weekend. Touchstone will also host a variety of festivities throughout June, July and August.

One of the ongoing traditions at the center is a weekly Thursday-night auction. The evening typically buzzes with excitement and anticipation as folks gather at the lodge for the evening’s festivities. For art collectors, there is a unique opportunity to purchase pieces from collectable artists. Even those newly captured by the fascination of mountain style art look forward to the hopes of laying new-found claim to a hand made treasure. All of the items up for bid are crafted by Touchstone’s seasoned instructors and their aspiring students, some of which are world renowned.

Though isolated, Touchstone’s remote and serene location creates a world of its own. Amidst open fires and works of art, there is a sense of being connected to a different time and place among the beautiful commonness of a people engaged in tradition. It’s no wonder that many families come here to experience the ultimate traditional vacation. What better place to foster, nourish and discover gifts and talents while experiencing the development of one another! That is the essence of the mountain lifestyle offered at Touchstone Center for Crafts. It is a tribute to both heritage and vision as an educational environment steeped in cultural tradition. And it is the prime place for family and friends to gather and celebrate the creative spirit, both past and present.

Touchstone Center for Crafts
1049 Wharton Furnace Road
Farmington, PA?15437
(724) 329-1370
www.touchstonecrafts.com