Create individual and expressive designs on fabric to use in other projects or as stand-alone works of art. Use dyes, thread, photo imagery, paint, embellishments, or any number of things to imprint your unique vision on fabric.
Surface Design Classes
Explore The Studio
Wet Room in Davidson Hall
The perfect studio for those who like to get messy. It’s particularly good for classes whose students like to dye things, as it has big drains in the concrete floor we can just hose down (hence the name). There are banks of counters with ranges for dye pots. Spinning classes are often held here too since it provides such a nice, spacious area.
News & Stories: What's Happening in Surface Design
Posted:
December 10, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
Posted:
November 26, 2024
Posted:
November 21, 2024
Posted:
July 23, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
Posted:
June 28, 2024
Posted:
March 5, 2024
Posted:
November 9, 2023
Posted:
October 6, 2023
Announcing our 2024 Traditional Craft...
Posted:
August 30, 2023
Notable textile designer and dyer...
Posted:
July 24, 2023
Browse our August 2023–June 2024...
Posted:
February 14, 2023
Posted:
August 29, 2022
Posted:
July 25, 2022
Building on your feedback, we're...
Posted:
July 22, 2022
Posted:
June 3, 2021
Jessica Kaufman is the founder and owner of WAXON Studio in West Asheville, NC. She recently joined Tammy Elwell to talk about her relationship with the Folk School, her dyeing process, and realizing her dream of creating batik and tie-dye kitchen textiles. Enjoy our interview!
Posted:
November 13, 2019
Have you ever wanted to try batik and hand-dyeing? We have a very special surface design class coming up on January 12–18, 2020 with Jessica Kaufman: Studio Batik: Many Techniques, Amazing Results. Jessica has studied batik methods from Indonesia and India and is the owner of WAXON Batik & Dye Studio in Asheville, NC.
Posted:
June 30, 2015
Posted:
June 19, 2014
Posted:
October 28, 2013
Cindy Alley wrote a great blog about her experience as a student in last week’s “Yoruba Batik, Adire, and Tie Dye” with Gasali Adeyemo (Oct. 20-25, 2013):
…
Resident Artist in Spinning, Knitting & Crochet, Feltmaking, Dyeing & Surface Design
Martha Owen
Martha began her adventure in spinning at this very school in 1978. Since then, her extended family has included sheep (mostly Corriedale/ Merino, Romney, Shetland and a little Blue-faced Leicester for fun) and French Angora rabbits. A banjo player known to tell a story or two, Martha’s interest in sheep and wool, music and dance, have carried her quite literally and joyfully around the world. Her children say she is a wool nerd, but her sheep say she is outstanding in her field! Martha became a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild in 1988, and was co-owner of the Yarn Circle in Murphy, NC, a store catering to fiber enthusiasts. She has been teaching spinning, natural dyeing and knitting design since 1984.
Images from the Studio
Interested in Attending?
You can find more information about the many aspects that make up the Folk School Experience using the menu below.
Housing & Meals
There’s nothing like staying on campus to fully immerse yourself in the Folk’s School experience.
A Typical Week or Weekend
A quick glance of what you can expect when you take a class as the Folk School.
General Information & Policies
Find our policies and procedures along with answers to commonly asked questions.