Ag in Art
Drawing from our Quilt Trail roots, every year ARCD strives to put on a unique arts initiative that marries Arts and Agriculture
Ag in Art 2025:
Land Based Craft Series
“We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman
of the highest order, a kind of artist.” — Wendell Berry
Baskets and Willows Workshops
Both workshops will be hosted in Jonesborough, TN.
Basket Willow Planting Workshop
March 15 from 11am-12pm
$15 per person
Looking to add new crops to your farm business or backyard garden? Join us to learn how and why willows would be a great addition!
Willow Basket Weaving Workshop
March 15 &16 from 1-5pm
$200 per person
Join us for a 2-day willow basket weaving class to learn how to turn this natural and locally producible product into a handmade basket. Leave with a handwoven willow basket and the tools to create your own at home.
Ecoprinting and Natural Dyes Workshops
Both workshops will be hosted in Jonesborough, TN.
Dye Garden Planning Workshop
May 24 from 1-2pm
$15 per person
Farm businesses & backyard gardeners are invited to join us for a natural dye garden planning workshop to learn how these crops could be added to your farm or garden.
Ecoprinting Workshop
May 24 from 2-5pm
$75 per person
Join us for a 3 hour hands on ecoprinting workshop to create a beautiful, one of a kind bandana. Learn how to turn flowers, leaves and other natural materials to produce a beautiful and unique bandana. Tickets include the materials cost and students will leave with an ecoprinted bandana and the knowledge of how to continue doing this on their own.
Brooms and Broomcorn Workshops
Both workshops will be hosted in Jonesborough, TN.
Broomcorn Planting Workshop
June 8 from 1-2pm
$15 per person
Join us for a 1-hour broomcorn planting workshop to learn how these crops could be added into your farm business or backyard garden.
Broom Making Workshop
June 8 from 2-5pm
$75 per person
Join us for a 3 hour hands on broom making workshop to learn how to make whisk style hand brooms. Tickets include the materials cost and students will leave with one or more handmade hand-brooms and the knowledge of how to continue doing this on their own.
The 2025 Ag in Art Workshops are funded by the Berea College Appalachian Fund.
The Berea College Appalachian Fund supports nonprofit organizations working to improve the quality of life in central Appalachia through the priority areas of health, education, social services, and folk arts and cultures.
Ag in Art 2024:
Juried Art Show – Fischman Gallery, Johnson City
“The final pieces that were exhibited in the Fischman Gallery represented a variety of media and technical approaches and ranged from reflections upon the connection to agriculture as sustenance and nourishment; the formative memories that foster lifelong respect for the land; political critiques of modern practices and the impact they have on our health and well being; the importance of being good stewards to land, flora, and fauna; and the simple beauty of that which we grow and the land on which we grow it. I wanted to show that diversity of approach and focus in the selections represented in the exhibition for all of these ideas together are what creates a robust and engaging conversation around a complex topic that means so many things to so many different people. The variety in the stories being shared allows for more entry points into the bigger conversation, which hopefully leads to deeper engagement – and we need people engaged in this critical conversation of how important land preservation, climate action, preservation, sustainable food production, commitment to biodiversity, all the countless other interconnected facets of agriculture are to all species’ survival. Art can be that catalyst for engagement and the Appalachian RC&D has done impressive work connecting art to these topics in such a way that there is room for everyone to participate in this dialogue through making, viewing, and talking about art and agriculture.
-Heather F. Wetzel
Ag in Art Juror
Artist and Galleries & Collections Manager at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts