Summer Art Intensive for High School Students (Ages 14-18)
High School Art Intensive (HSAI) provides high school students an immersive learning experience on the Appalachian Center for Craft campus. Spend a week in residence on our campus, work in our studios and learn from professional teaching artists alongside your peers.
Each year, we invite selected 8th-12th grade students to stay on our campus and experience a week learning and making in craft media, like clay, metals, glass, fibers, and wood. Students take workshops in our studios and learn from professional teaching artists.
- The program runs from Sunday afternoon through Friday afternoon with workshops and activities scheduled daily from 9am - 8pm.
- Participants attend two different craft workshops during the daytime and scheduled art activities in the evening.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included from Sunday dinner through Friday lunch.
- On-site lodging is provided.
- The total cost to attend is $50 and includes tuition, materials, lodging and meals.
HSAI: May 31-June 7, 2026
Application open: January 26-March 30, 2026
Notification: April 10, 2026
Signed Program Letter & $50 registration due: April 30, 2026
Eligibility and Program Dates
We invite current 8th-12th grade students to submit an application online. Selected applicants must be Tennessee residents, between 14-18 years of age at the time of the program, and enrolled in high school for the upcoming fall semester. High school graduates and rising college freshmen are not eligible.
Selected applicants and their legal guardians must review, sign and return the HSAI Program Letter, which includes policies and program information, and pay the $50 registration fee by the due date. Late paperwork and fees may result in forfeiting your spot in the program to someone on the waitlist.
Weeklong, May 31 - June 5
Forge in Fire
Elizabeth Belz
Let’s play with fire! Learn the fundamentals of forging in this hands-on workshop. Students will work on basic forging skills while making wall hooks, keychains, kitchen utensils and other small items. The class will cover the fundamentals of coal forging from fire maintenance and safety to moving metal with heat and finesse. Participants will explore form and design while gaining practical blacksmithing experience and a solid foundation for continued work in metals.
Weeklong, May 31 - June 5
Expressive Ceramics: From Form to Sculpture
Travis Winters
Explore a range of techniques for creating distinctive ceramic works through both wheel throwing and hand-building. Guided by imagination, curiosity, and playful experimentation, you’ll discover how to transform simple forms and surfaces into expressive pots and sculptural pieces. Bring along any images you’d like to use for reference, or feel free to rely on your own imagination. We’ll discuss strategies for generating imagery and developing surface designs, and you’ll have the opportunity to enhance your work with underglazes and richly textured colored glazes.
Weeklong, May 31 - June 5
Welcome to Woodturning
Mitch Jones
In this week-long workshop, high school students will learn the basics of woodturning while creating functional objects. Emphasis will be placed on shop safety, proper tool use, and safe work habits throughout the week. Students will gain hands-on experience using the lathe as they produce a French rolling pin, a candleholder, a kitchen utensil handle, and a bowl. As time allows, students will experiment with adding paint and simple surface textures, giving each project a personal and creative finish.
Funding made possible by
