Experience Level: Beginner (ages 18+)  

Turn copper wire into wearable art while learning a centuries-old technique at Jewelry 101: Viking Weaving on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in The Studio. 

In this beginning jewelry making workshop participants will learn about an ancient process and fabricate a tubular copper chain resulting in a flexible and lightweight bracelet or necklace. Students will make handmade decorative end caps and a closure from heavier gauge round copper wire. The chain can remain copper in color or patinated to take on a rich coloration from warm light brown to black.  

Enrollment includes a toolkit that will enable you to continue working at home.  

$120/person. Registration closes on Sept. 20 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Billie Theide is Professor Emerita and a former Chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler, textile artist, and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the Racine Art Museum, among others. She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Experience Level: Beginner 

Get a first-hand look at how honey bees manage hive activity at Beehive Observation on Sundays, April 12 & 26, May 10 & 24, June 7 & 21, July 5 & 19, Aug. 2, 16 & 30 and Sept. 13 & 27 in The Studio and outside at the beehives.  

Instructor Maggie Wachter will provide an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will also be discussed. Each two-hour session may be attended as a standalone or combined with any or all other classes. 

$200/person* for the entire series or $30/class at the links below. Registration will close April 9 for the entire series or three days before each subsequent class. All sales are final. 

*Students should wear loose-fitting long sleeves and pants, close-toed shoes and bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.  

— April 12 
— April 26 
— May 10 
— May 24 
— June 7 
— June 21 
— July 5 
— July 19 
— Aug. 2 
— Aug. 16 
— Sept. 13 
— Sept. 27 

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the instructor 

When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar. 

Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper. 

She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn about the process of making sourdough bread at Beginner Sourdough Breadmaking on Sundays, Sept. 27 or Oct. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Mansion Kitchen and Carriage House. (Each class covers the same material.)

Instructor Hannah Fink will cover the basic biology of a ferment and what it means to a sourdough culture, how to mix sourdough, how to maintain a healthy starter in your home and the importance of baking with regionally grown grains. Students will also get hands-on experience as they learn to mix sourdough.

Prepared dough will be available to showcase baking and for students to prepare a snack toward the end of class. Students will take home their own jar of sourdough culture, a sample of gains from Janie’s Mill, as well as printouts of everything covered, simple recipes and a thorough list of resources.

$100/person. Registration will close 10 days before each course begins or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

About the Instructor

Hannah Fink — a baker and local food enthusiast — started Tooth Butter Cottage Bakery in Urbana so she could be at home with her son and still keep her hands in dough. She revels in naturally leavened bread and quality pastries and focuses on organic whole grains, mostly stone milled from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum.

She is of the firm belief that a “toothy dose of good butter” is the best start, which led to the name of her business that bakes for special orders and pop-up collaborations with fellow creators.

Hannah started baking about 11 years ago while working in the music industry in Nashville and ended up falling in love with it enough to change careers. She started as a bread delivery driver, then worked as a kitchen manager at Pear Tree Estate in Champaign and as a pastry manager in Michigan.

Fink is a member of the Artisan Grain Collaborative and is looking forward to passing on the knowledge she has gained on breads and grains.

Experience Level: Beginner  

Carve your own useful or decorative wooden spoon to give as a gift or use in your own kitchen at Woodcarving Basics: Spoons on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 1-5 p.m. in The Studio. 

Students will learn how to safely use a carving knife and practice the three basic carving cuts.  Class material includes basswood spoon blank, additional carving tools and a carver’s board. 

$85/person* Registration closes on Sept. 25, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

*Students must bring a carving glove and basic spoon carving st for right or left hand.  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Lou Ann Koebel has had a strong passion for woodworking since high school, and during the summer attends workshops at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. She also leads Fix It! and dulcimer courses — in addition to jam sessions — at The Farms.

Experience Level: Beginner 

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 10 through Oct. 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Music Barn. 

Instructor Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that uses both short-form games and long-form scenes. 

This will not be a class to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes.  Students will be performing as much as possible to emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no lines. There are many elements of improv that are not only useful on stage, but also in everyday life – wherever you might be put on the spot! 

Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the entire series or $25/class at the links below. Registration will close on Sept. 8 for the entire series or two days before each subsequent class. 

— Sept. 10
— Sept. 17  
— Sept. 24  
— Oct. 1
— Oct. 8  
— Oct. 15

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the instructor 

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015. 

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs. 

Experience Level: Beginner (ages 15+)

Do you have some experience with watercolor and are ready to take your skills to the next level? Join us for Intermediate Watercolor on Friday through Sunday, Oct. 2-4 from 12-4 p.m. in The Studio. 

This class will explore techniques for controlling washes, layering transparent color, and creating richer, more confident compositions. Students will experiment with both planned and spontaneous approaches while learning how to bring depth, light, and texture to their work.  

Each session includes demonstrations, guided practice, and plenty of personal feedback. Come ready to paint, experiment, and grow as you develop your own watercolor style. 

$170/person*. Registration closes Sept. 25 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

*Students should bring: 

--Watercolor paint 
--A flat palette/mixing tray large enough to work with several colors at once,  
--Brushes (flat and round, one of the flats at least 1” wide (flat). At least one squirrel hair brush recommended, but not required).  
--Watercolor paper – 100% cotton highly recommended. 
--A sponge or rag.  
--Photos that the student may wish to paint — either on their phone or printed out. 

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Deb Marett is a professional artist whose work focuses on equestrian scenes, figurative scenes, and portraiture. She always travels with watercolors and a travel journal. “It is an amazing way to remember moments of the trip and spend time soaking up the places I visit.” Deb loves sharing her knowledge, teaching and finding ways to make painting and drawing fun and accessible to anyone who wants to explore their creative side. 

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn printmaking processes at Lino Cuts & Prints on Sunday, October 4 from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

For a very long time, printmakers have transferred images from specially prepared plates to paper, fabric, wood and metal. In this workshop, instructor Billie Theide will help students learn to design, carve, prepare ink and transfer images to make unique works of art. Each student will get a toolkit that will enable them to continue to work at home.

$145/person. Registration will close September 27 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodation to participate, please email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Billie Theide is a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Racine Art Museum, among others.

She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

About The Farms

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.