Interested in crafting and art workshops — including painting, ceramics, blacksmithing, glassmaking, jewelry, fiber arts, and more? Even if you’re not an art teacher or an experienced artist, read on for a fabulous professional development funding opportunity!
I’m thrilled today to introduce a scholarship opportunity to help fund YOU attending top-notch crafting and arts workshops at a world-class facility in Pennsylvania: the Touchstone Center for Crafts, 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, in the Laurel Highlands of PA. If you are selected for this scholarship, you are in for a treat.
My name is Lillie, and I’m the creator of Teaching Traveling, and had the opportunity to take an extensive tour of Touchstone Center for Crafts, myself, when I was in the area (as you can see from these photos I took). I was so impressed! This article will explain Touchstone’s offerings, as well as how to apply for its annual scholarships.
What Crafting and Art Workshops Does Touchstone Offer?
Before explaining about Touchstone’s scholarships, it is crucial to understand its arts and crafting workshop options, because the scholarships are to cover versions of those. Here’s the summary: Touchstone offers a LOT of artistic options — available for a wide array of skill backgrounds. Even if you’ve never done art at all, but are intrigued, there is something for you!
Visual Arts, Ceramics, Blacksmithing, and Jewelry-Making Workshops, and More
Touchstone offers art workshops for painting, drawing, and ceramics — the classic options. However, it also has an unbelievable blacksmithing studio for blacksmithing classes, string and fabric for fiber arts, lots of flaming hot torches in an another studio for glass-making workshops, and the tiniest hammers and anvils for jewelry making. There are also computer-assisted and digital art courses on offer. So many options!
World-Class Arts Instructors
To staff their workshops, Touchstone brings in renowned craftspeople and artisans from around the world. For example, when I visited, there was a ceramics expert with tens of thousands of online followers who had flown in to demonstrate in person some of the innovative techniques that her viewers had been watching from afar for years.
Touchstone Scholarships for Art Workshops
Every year in late winter and early spring, Touchstone offers a set of scholarship options to the general public. To see their full scholarship line-up, click here for their official page and application. There are options for Veterans, educators (more on this later), teens, specific demographics and areas of interest, and general adults. For 2023, the application deadline is March 15.
Educators’ Retreat Scholarship
As a teacher of 18 years, as well as an artist, I’m delighted that Touchstone offers an arts scholarship specifically for an educators’ retreat. You do NOT need to be an art teacher to apply — Math and History teachers can be enriched by art, too!
Do You Need to Be an Artist or Skilled to Apply?
Important: Touchstone scholarships for arts and crafting workshops are open to EVERYONE, regardless of level. In their scholarship page, they explain that they are chiefly looking for “intensity of interest.” That can exist, even in the absence of training thus far!
I toured Touchstone back in 2021, but I am still in touch with the people I met there, and the center continues to hold a warm space in my heart. This is a testament to the magic and power of the place. If you apply and are accepted, please give the team my best. Good luck!
Want more? See the full “Teacher Travel Scholarships” category, or the massive list of 200 teacher travel grants.
The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English from Boston who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched TeachingTraveling.com in 2010 to share expert global education resources, and over 1.6 million readers have visited over the past decade. Lillie also runs AroundTheWorld L.com Travel and Life Blog, and DrawingsOf.com for educational art. Do stay in touch via subscribing to her monthly newsletter, and following @WorldLillie on social media!