Block Making and Felt Hats — Millinery Class at JCCFS

This post is Part Two of my teaching trip to John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Part One is the entry below this one. Hope you enjoy my pictures and descriptions.

Teachers and students stay in housing on the campus of the School, all spread out over 300 acres! Luckily the housing is usually pretty close to the center of it all...and the studios. There is even a campground if you love camping. I had two students stay in tents while they were at the School.

If you saw my last post you know I woke up every morning and made a picture of sunrise. Here I was a little early for the sunrise shot but I loved the glow of the sun peaking over the mountains just seconds before it popped over the ridge.

This class was entitled Block Making and the Felt Hat and was a weekend class. We started on Friday night, then worked all day Saturday, and only for about an hour on Sunday...so a short amount of time to create. The purpose was to create your own hatblock, which you designed yourself, and then block a fur felt hood over it.

The class spent a good 3 hours carving their blocks. Some created two blocks! We were all covered in dust when we got to lunch that day. Most said they loved the physicality of carving the blocks. It IS stress-relieving...that is, if the block turns out like you like. Ha!


Cory, one of two Hosts at the School, begins the steaming and blocking of her fur felt.


Robbie chose a bronze fur felt. She spent a considerable amount of time carving her block. She is a graphic designer and therefore has a great eye for lines on a block/hat.

Right before we left for 'Show and Tell', where all classes at the School show their work from the weekend, we went out to the Festival Barn and made pictures. Enjoy these pictures of hats made from blocks the students created themselves. I think you will be amazed!


Carla's hat.
Jennie's hat.

Cory's hat.


Mollie's hat.


Terri's hat.


Leonard's hat.


Susan's hat.


Robbie's hat.


All the hats! We displayed them so that the audience could see the block that was created in class and the hat that came off that block. They were impressed! And so was I! Great job, class! I believe this was the best group of hatblocks to come out of one of my blockmaking classes.



Oh yes! The group shot of everyone in the class.


I love John C. Campbell Folk School and the beautiful countryside around it. Here are a few shots around the school I hope you will enjoy.





The new blacksmithing studio. Notice the HUGE hammer over the door and the anvils holding the beams. Spectacular building!





While this picture is looking East, over the range where I made my sunrise shots, this is actually sunset and the colors from the West are tinting the clouds in the East. So peaceful.

With that said I will end the story of this year's teaching trip to JCCFS. Already looking forward to next year. Hope you can join us in August 2012!