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The Farms: An Allerton Folk School
Beaded Jewelry
with Billie Theide
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn to work with 11/0 glass seed beads at Beaded Jewelry on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 12 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.
Instructor Billie Theide will lead students through making a pair of beaded earrings, sharing a variety of techniques and finishes. These same techniques can be applied to jewelry that functions as brooches, bracelets and necklaces. Students will explore design process and color theory strategies, and will receive a folder of printed handouts.
$80/person. Register by Aug 1. 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.
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.
Find the complete Summer Session schedule here.
Experimental Portraiture Painting
with Vivian Krishnan
Experience Level: All levels (ages 16+)
Grab a smock, roll up your sleeves and dive into the art of portraits at Experimental Portraiture Painting on Sunday, August 10th from 12 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.
Instructor Vivian Krishnan will help students learn experimental approaches to portraiture using charcoal, ink, paints and more. Studies will be done from a live portrait model. This course is open to all levels — including new students — and is also an excellent follow-up for those who participated in previous Live Figure Drawing classes at The Farms.
$110/person (ages 16+)*. Register by August 4. All sales are final.
*Students should wear clothes that can get a little messy and bring any art supplies they would like to use during this class. Students should bring a standard 9×12 mixed media pad of paper, pens, pencils and any media they would like to create with.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting 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
Vivian Krishnan is a multimedia artist with works that cross the vast stage of storytelling, from designing costumes for theatrical characters to writing and illustrating diverse children’s books. She received her bachelors in Durango, Colorado, focusing on Printmaking and Sculpture as well as earning her MFA at UIUC in Theatrical Design.
Vivian is a life-long learner of many mediums and is excited to see how art continues to play a role at Allerton.
Beginner Sourdough Breadmaking (August)
with Hannah Fink
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn about the process of making sourdough bread at Beginner Sourdough Breadmaking on Sunday, June 29 and Aug. 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Mansion Kitchen and Carriage House. (Each class will cover 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.
$75/person. Register 10 days before each workshop. All sales are final.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order 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
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 10 years ago while working in the music industry in Nashville and ended up falling in love with 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.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete Spring Session schedule here.
Focaccia Art
with Leah Bodine
Experience Level: Any
Learn how to make Focaccia bread from scratch at Focaccia Art on Tuesday, August 12th from 5:30-7:30pm in the Mansion Carriage House.
Students will learn how to make Focaccia bread and then "paint" it with vegetables and herbs to make stunning yet edible designs.
$50/person*, Register here by July 29th. All sales are final.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here.
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order 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
Bonnie Rideout wover her first basket in 1994 and quickly caught the "basket bug." She created a business--Bonnie's Baskets in Decatur--in 2006 to teach others to weave. She is also a traveling instructor and has taught weaving in 18 states. Find out more about Bonnie on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Etsy pages.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete Summer Session schedule here.
Intro to Stained Glass - Aug. 13th
with Kari Keller
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn a unique art form at Introduction to Stained Glass on Wednesday, Aug. 13th from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.
Kari Keller will teach students how to cut, shape, and assemble a stained glass butterfly suncatcher in Introduction to Stained Glass. All students will take home a 5x7" suncatcher at the end of the workshop.
$125/person. Register here by July 30. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting 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
Kari Keller has been a Champaign/Urbana resident since 2008, originally hailing from the tiny community of St. Anne. Illinois. She has had a passion for art since she could hold a crayon and loves to experiment with many different styles, rarely sticking to one theme for long.
Keller has dabbled in cartoons, acrylic pouring, zentangles, patterns, logo design, pottery painting and other art forms. Her influences include Alphonse Mucha, HR Geiger and the art of Northwest coastal Native Americans. She also has a thriving side business as a face painter.
Kari is happiest when immersed in a new project and can’t imagine life without art!
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete Spring Session schedule here.
Basket Weaving: Bloom
with Bonnie Rideout
Experience Level: Any
Great for beginner and experienced basket weavers, students will learn to weave the Bloom Basket on Friday, August 15th from 12pm-4pm in the Greenhouse Auditorium.
"Bloom" will begin by weaving a woven filled base using a D handle. Other techniques will include twining, start/stop weaving and the use of overlays. The accent colors are chocolate brown, gold, and reseda green. A pretty sunglower charm will adorn the front.
$85/person*. Register here by Aug. 8. 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 Olivia Bunting 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
Bonnie Rideout wove her first basket in 1994 and quickly caught the “basket bug.” She created a business — Bonnie’s Baskets in Decatur — in 2006 to teach others to weave. She is also a traveling instructor and has taught weaving in 18 states.Find out more about Bonnie on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Etsy pages.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete Summer Session schedule here.
MELT with Mary (Aug. 15)
with Mary French
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn how to ease your foot, back, or hip pain, and hike without pain at MELT with Mary on June 27 & 28, July 11 & 12 and Aug. 15 & 16 in The Studio.
Instructor Mary French will lead this introductory workshop to the MELT (Myofascial Energetic Length Technique) method, a self-treatment system that uses soft rollers and balls to improve the body’s connective tissue, nervous and lymphatic systems.
Students will use MELT soft balls and soft rollers as they learn simple techniques that can be done at home to remain active and healthy, and help provide relief from low back pain, arthritis, bunions and plantar fasciitis.
Friday class schedule: (Registration includes all three hours, but students may choose to attend all/part when registering):
— 2-3 p.m.: MELT feet
— 3-4 p.m.: Hike
— 4-5 p.m.: MELT roller
Saturday class schedule:
— 9-10 a.m.: MELT roller
$25/person. Register one day before each class. All sales are final.
— Friday, June 27
— Saturday, June 28
— Friday, July 11
— Saturday, July 12
— Friday, Aug. 15
— Saturday, Aug. 16
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order 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
As a walker and runner with plantar fasciitis, Mary French received relief from the MELT Method and became a MELT instructor in 2014. She now shares her passion for the self-care method at various health events, including at Allerton.
“If hikers MELT their feet before hitting the trails, they will reduce their risk of injury and aches. Then MELTing afterwards will reduce the soreness from hiking.”
Intermediate Mushroom Foraging--Aug. 16
with Lee Schuler
Experience Level: Intermediate
Those who completed beginner mushroom foraging classes at The Farms or have experience in identification can continue their journey at Intermediate Mushroom Foraging on Saturdays, Aug. 9, 16 & 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. outdoors (rain or shine). Meet at the Greenhouse Cafè Patio (in case of rain meet inside the Visitor Center).
Instructor Lee Schuler will lead two-hour hikes to find, collect and come together to identify mushrooms from the property. Classes will also cover environmental and growth habit, morphology, and edibility for each species that is found. The class will also log every species found to begin a wild fungi survey for Allerton.
$120 for the entire series or $50/class*. Register here by Aug. 6 or three days prior to subsequent classes. All sales are final.
*Students should bring a knife or scissors for collecting samples and wear clothing appropriate for walking up to two miles in various weather conditions.
PLEASE NOTE: Foraging at Allerton is not allowed except as part of this Farms class.
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
Lee Schuler recently moved from Illinois from Pennsylvania, where she taught fungal identification and edibility at environmental education centers for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and for private land owners. She is certified as a wild edible mushroom expert and licensed to harvest and sell to restaurants and markets in the State of Pennsylvania. Schuler is also a contributing culinary author for a wild mushroom trade journal.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Lee has worked as a field biologist and environmental educator and currently works in public health. She is an artist and cook and enjoys acquiring new and useful skills as much as she loves sharing them.
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.
Find the complete Summer Session schedule here.