Instructors
Andrew Jack: East Canaan, CT
Andrew makes and teaches the construction of Windsor chairs using a blend of contemporary and traditional techniques. He also carves wooden utensils using traditional Slojd processes.
Working with green wood and hand tools allows his handmade chairs and woodenware to appear and feel “light” and “delicate” yet maintain the strength of a tree.
These methods are sound and sustainable because they require minimal electricity, they honor the integrity of a tree, they create byproducts that are easily recycled, and they produce an heirloom quality product that will last for generations.
Visit www.andrewjack.net to learn more about Andrew, and his fine work.
Steve Butler: Mill River, MA
Creating a community for learning such as The Mill River Folk School is a natural fit for Steve. He has over two decades of non-profit educational experience. He brings valuable knowledge and insight to the position of Director. He has taught as a guest instructor at various art & craft institutions and is a former Department Head at Peters Valley Craft Center and the Worcester Center for Crafts. As a furniture maker, he has been creating objects for over thirty years.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Steve began his career serving a formal apprenticeship. Upon completion, he worked in various woodworking shops. As his passion for art and craft grew, Steve pursued formal training at Sheridan College of Art and Design, majoring in furniture design. Graduating from Sheridan, he went on to study technological education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
He maintains a studio practice and has exhibited his work throughout the US and Canada. He’s been featured in and has authored various publications and books. Steve is the producer and host of the television woodworking show ‘The Garage with Steve Butler’ on PBS and Create TV.
Kathryn Greenwood Swanson: MA
Kathryn is a lifelong fiber artist and teacher from Western Mass. She is also the owner of Swanson’s Fabrics, a fabric and fiber arts thrift store in Turners Falls stocked fully from the donations of home sewers. She’s been rug braiding for 8 years.
Visit www.swansonfabrics.com to learn more about Kathryn and Swanson’s Fabrics
Jennifer Lee: MA
Jennifer has been enjoying making bark baskets for 40 years. Her interest began with the study of her Northeast woodland Native American ancestors. She is enrolled with the Metis nation of North America and the Northern Narragansetts. She teaches bark basket classes and educational programs extensively. The bark roots and branches are harvested wildly by her family in the Northern Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. She’s received awards at the Mohegan Wigwam Festival, Saratoga Native American Festival, Kearsarge Indian Museum, Deerfield Craft Show and North Carolina Basket makers Association. Jennifer enjoys spending time with her grandkids, gardening, berry picking, maintaining the houses she built, and making baskets.
Visit www.barkbasketsbyjlee.com to learn more about Jennifer and her wonderful bark baskets.
Larry Antonuk: NH
Larry began his fly-tying career in 1969, using a Herter’s Fly-Tying Kit he received for Christmas. Between then and now he has studied fly tying in England, New Zealand, Scotland, and of course with a variety of master fly tyers in New England. In 2006 Larry was awarded a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant which allowed him to study over the course of a year with Master Fly Tyer Bob Wyatt in Concord, NH. Larry produces traditional salmon flies in frames and glass domes, and makes fly pins – useful for hat pins, brooches, tie-tacks, etc.
Sometime in 2010, Larry found himself on a tour of the Enfield Shaker Museum in Enfield, NH. While watching a broom making demonstration, he became fascinated with the process and wound up coming back for a tutorial with Master Broom Maker Susan Brown. One thing led to another, and Larry is now a frequent demonstrator at Enfield. He has researched and reproduced a variety of Shaker designs, and sells his work at Shaker museums in Enfield, Canterbury, Watervliet, New York, and Sabbath day Lake, Maine – the last active Shaker village.
Kokoro Bensonoff
Born in Tochigi, Japan, Kokoro has always been passionate about exploring the intersection of beauty and functionality through craft. After relocating to Boston and
graduating from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, she honed her skills in chair caning and furniture restoration at The Caning Shoppe and RARE Restoration.
Later, in Western Massachusetts, Kokoro explored functional arts through weaving with locally-sourced plants and reclaimed materials. She finds a deep sense of meaning and purpose in bringing new life to old objects through the art of restoration.
Kokoro maintains a studio practice in Western, MA.
Visit www.kokorocrafts.com to learn more about Kokoro and her work.
