Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, commonly called "Haystack," is a

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

school located at 89 Haystack School Drive on the coast of Deer Isle, Maine.

History

Haystack was founded in 1950 by a group of craft artists in the

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay and Penobscot Bay. Belfast is the county seat ...

area, with support from Mary Beasom Bishop. The first director of Haystack was Francis Sumner Merritt, whose wife Priscilla Merritt was also an administrator. It took its name from its original location near Haystack Mountain, in

Montville, Maine Montville is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,020 at the 2020 census. History Montville was incorporated on February 18, 1807, and was named for the French word for "mountain town". Geography According to the ...

.The school was located in Montville/Liberty, Maine through 1960, but when it became clear that it needed to move, Mary B. Bishop asked one of its trustees, artist William H. Muir to find a place to move to the Maine coast. Muir and his wife

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

found a property on Deer Isle, which Bishop purchased to facilitate building a permanent location. In 1961 the school was moved to its current campus on Deer Isle. The campus and buildings were designed by architect

Edward Larrabee Barnes Edward Larrabee Barnes (April 22, 1915 – September 22, 2004) was an American architect. His work was characterized by the "fusing fModernism with vernacular architecture and understated design." Barnes was best known for his adherence to st ...

, and consists of 34 buildings clustered onto of the more than campus property, located on Stinson's Neck, an appendage extending southeast from the main part of the island of

Deer Isle Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries. ...

. The buildings were designed by Barnes to fit well within their environment, and to provide views of the surrounding land- and seascape. In 1994, the school campus won the "

Twenty-five Year Award The Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded each year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architect ...

" from the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

. The award is given to a structure (or in this case, several structures) whose construction and original intent have withstood the test of time. The school was honored again in 2005 when the campus was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Since 2004, the school has published a quarterly newspaper, ''Haystack Gateway''. In 2016,

Craft in America Craft in America, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Carol Sauvion in 2003, and based in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to document and advance contemporary American craft and traditional craft practices through e ...

included Haystack in its list of significant craft places in America. In 2019, curators Rachael Arauz and Diana Greenwold organized ''In the Vanguard: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts 1950-1969'', a major exhibition and scholarly catalogue addressing the school's early history.

About

Haystack offers summer workshops of one to three weeks in blacksmithing, clay, fibers, glass, graphics, metals, and wood. The school has no permanent faculty; the workshops are taught by visiting professors and artists from around the United States. Since 2012, Haystack has operated an annual two-week artist residency (supported by funding from the Windgate Charitable Foundation) during which artists may move among studios and receive technical assistance. Haystack does not award academic degrees. In addition to offering traditional tools and facilities for crafts, Haystack is a member of MIT's

Fab Lab A fab lab (''fabrication laboratory'') is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication. A fab lab is typically equipped with an array of flexible computer-controlled tools that cover several different length scales and vari ...

network.

References

External links

Haystack Web Site
* {{Authority control Art schools in Maine Schools in Hancock County, Maine Crafts educators Maine culture National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Maine School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in Maine Edward Larrabee Barnes buildings Deer Isle, Maine

History

About

See also

References

External links