TEACHERS
Our 2023 classes are taught by a skilled group of local educators, craftspeople, scientists, tradespeople, small business owners, and members of our Willamette Valley communities. Read below to learn about Tarweed Folk School teachers and their class offerings.
Fiber
Nature
Youth and Family
Nature and Basketry
Basketry
​
Natural Building
Farming and Foods
Woodworking
Nature
Fibers
​
Natural Building
Woodworking
Woodworking
​
Herbalism
​
Foods
​
Bike Repair
​
Youth and Family
Blacksmithing
Woodworking
Basketry
Clay and Pottery
​
Basketry
​
Woodworking
Nature
Youth and Family
Fibers
Nature
​
Woodworking
​
Nature
​
Nature and Farming
​
Clay and Pottery
​
TEACHER BIOGRAPHIES
Chris Bentley
Kiger Island, Oregon
Botanical printing combines historical methods of natural dyeing with contact print techniques. The images and colors come only from plant pigments and earth minerals, resulting in unique plant portraits. This work draws inspiration from the objects I observe and collect outdoors - a lifelong fascination, reflecting my values: live lightly on the earth, pay attention, and learn to understand natural systems.
​
website: chrisbentleystudio.square.site
Marta Capriles
Corvallis, Kalapuya Land
Marta has been gardening and crafting with plants for most of her life. She has been a classroom teacher and outdoor educator for over 18 years in Oregon and California and currently works as the Agriculture Teacher at Corvallis Waldorf School. Marta loves sharing her passion for plants and plant-based craft with children (and the youthful at heart!), and her teaching style is hands-on, inclusive, social, sensory-based, and student-centered.
Deb Curtis
Corvallis, Oregon
In 1982 Deb lived in Virginia and wanted to learn a craft native to that region. She learned to make an Appalachian Egg Basket and has been making baskets ever since. For her, baskets are a tradition that is changing. She designs and produces contemporary baskets using traditional & contemporary sustainably gathered basketry materials. Through the blending of colors and textures she changes the character of the basket from being only a functional vessel to a container that expresses a concept.
​
website: wovenfiredesigns.com
Class Offerings:
​
​​
​​
Kiko Denzer
Philomath, Oregon, just below the shoulders of tcha Timanwi (now Mary's Peak), where the Kalapuya went to escape the glacial floods that made the valley what it is today!
When I was ten, I started helping my mom with some of her art jobs, working with kids to make murals and demonstrating crafts. When she wrote a book called Making Things, I put together the index. She used to quote Aristotle: “what we learn to do, we learn by doing.” That’s pretty much how my life has gone, how I teach, and what folk schools are all about. I love helping people get started, but hands, eyes, heart, and materials do the rest. I’ve been building ovens and teaching natural building and green woodworking for a long time now! I also make and sell wooden wares for home and garden.
​
website: handprintpress.com
​
instagram:
@kikodenzer
@earth.oven
Katherine Edmonds
Corvallis, Kalapuya Land
Katherine Edmonds is a craftsperson, designer and educator based in Corvallis. Katherine has had over 35 different jobs as an adult, she has mostly worked in some form of education, including ski instruction, whitewater kayaking guide, college professor, preschool teacher and of course woodworking instructor. Recently learning to fully embrace her neurodivergence and kinesthetic learning and living style, she has once again returned to the physicality of craft. Currently, she teaches woodworking classes and mentors students at Highland Woodshop, which she co-operates with her two other business partners. You can find Katherine either at Highland Woodshop or her home studio making things or thinking about making things. She loves teaching woodworking, and sharing the joy of making a creative idea into a 3D tangible product.
​
website: katherine-edmonds.com
Sarah Edwardsson
Corvallis, Oregon
Sarah and her husband Ken live on a farm north of Corvallis. They raise a few Highland cattle and are working on restoring a neglected forest into a traditional oak woodland.
William Fowlkes
Kings Valley, Oregon
My name is Will. I like to build cool things with cool people. My teaching style is to facilitate the creation of a positive learning environment, encourage information transfer between all participants, monitor for safety and fun.
Barry Glassman
Corvallis, Oregon
Barry Glassman has been a familiar face in the Corvallis community for a long time. Chances are you crossed paths with him if you practice yoga, enjoy a finely-crafted glass of wine, roam the local trails, or like to hang out at the library! Among Barry's diverse interests is a love of fine woodworking. A class with Barry will be a joyful and informative experience.
Jaci Guerena
Corvallis, Oregon
I am a garden variety herbalist who enjoys promoting reciprocal relationships between plants and people. I have been director and primary instructor at Sunnyside Herb School since 1998. My focus is on medicinal cultivation and promoting balance for health rather than treating symptoms.
Class Offerings:
Arely Hanson
Corvallis, Oregon
Arely is a Salvadoran cook who owns and operates the Pupuseria del Valle in Corvallis. She has a passion for making quality food and wants to share her attention to food detail and passion for cooking with those around her.
​
website: pupuseriadelvalle.com
Trevor Heald
Corvallis, Oregon
I'm a longtime cyclist and veteran bike mechanic with enthusiasm for sharing skills. I will be teaching the 5th Grade Bike Education Program in Corvallis this Spring.
​
website: marysrivermetalwork.com
Class Offerings:
Chris Highfield
Corvallis, Oregon
I am a life-long teacher of children and a life-long learner as well. I have a strong interest in folk arts of all kinds and and enjoy passing on traditions to others who are interested. I have been learning the art of blacksmithing off and on for the last 22 years.
Rose Holdorf
Corvallis, Oregon
Rose grew up between a fir forest and an oak savanna in a house her parents built in the Soap Creek Valley near Corvallis. With a focus on craft education, Rose teaches classes throughout Oregon and across the country, helping others learn to carve wood, dye fabric, weave baskets, and build stronger relationships with the environment and each other.
​
website: roseholdorf.com
​
Teiya Inokuma
Philomath, Oregon
Curiosity and wonder inspire and motivate me. Following expression and creation through the medium of clay for over 35 years has led me to many wild experiences beyond clay. Embodied learning; visceral, sensory oriented, and wandering is encouraged, as "process" is valued most.
Margaret Mathewson
Oregon Coast Range
Pegg Mathewson runs a willow farm in the Oregon coast range and has been weaving for 43 years.
Class Offerings:
Ashley Merback
Corvallis, Oregon
Ashley is a self-described pursuer of experiences, and working with wood is an experience she happily pursues in her spare time. She enjoys using woodworking to create spaces for her home and family and to connect with friends and community members.
​
website: highlandwoodshopcorvallis.com
Shellece Millison
Corvallis, Oregon
Shellece is a certified Waldorf handwork teacher with 17 years of experience. She enjoys sharing her love of fiber arts and making with all ages and levels of ability. Shellece feels that the creative process of transforming raw materials into something beautiful and useful is one of the most satisfying aspects of life, and that is what she does with most of her time. She has a lot of experience breaking skills down into logical steps, and meeting and supporting students wherever they are in life's journey.
Class Offerings:
Marcía Snyder
Corvallis, Oregon
Marcía has taught a variety of ecology topics in the field, lab, and classroom settings. Marcía loves birding with her family in the Willamette Valley and can often be seen walking around Southtown with a pair of binoculars around her neck.
Class Offerings:
Nathaniel Stein
Corvallis, Oregon
Nathaniel has been a woodworking nerd for ten years, making an eclectic mix from bowls and boxes, furniture, and knives. He is part of the team running Highland Woodshop, providing space and expertise to woodworkers of all types. He has his own craft business under the name Oak & Iron.
​
website: oakandironarts.com
Tyler Wilson
Corvallis, Oregon
Tyler likes long runs in the rain, learning bird songs, and eating lots of berries. He also likes teaching 4th grade. As a life-long Corvallisaurus, he’s grateful to live in such a beautiful community.
Class Offerings:
Emily Wittkop
Corvallis, Oregon
Emily Wittkop is a trained botanist from the Pacific Northwest. She has spent the last six years working as a native seed collector specializing in threatened and endangered species augmentation and prairie oak restoration. Her work focus is to provide access to a wide variety of plant materials through education, conservation, and land stewardship. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, dinner with friends, and her favorite winter activity: willow basketry.
​
Website: jonnynativeseed.com
Instagram: @jonnynativeseed
Laura Young
Corvallis, Oregon
Laura Young has been making pottery for 20 years since she learned to throw in high school. She has a Certificate in Art Therapy, a B.A. in Studio Art & a M.A. in Arts Management. Laura is skilled and experienced at teaching beginner & immediate level students of all ages. She’s adaptive & responsive to maximize student learning, skill-building & creative expression.
​
website: mobileclaylessons.com
