Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

Haystack offers studio workshop sessions to craft-makers and visual artists of all skill levels, as well as an artist residency program, conferences, a visiting artist series, spring and fall workshops, and mentorship programs.

Since 2007, Haystack has hosted an annual summer conference to examine craft in broader contexts.

Haystack’s core summer workshops include one- and two-week sessions in blacksmithing, ceramics, fiber, glass, graphics, metals, and wood. Workshops are open to adults 18 years or older of all skill levels—from beginners to advanced professionals.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts canceled in-person programming due to safety risks and launched online workshops, lectures, and panel discussions instead.

The podcast episode features Paul Sacaridiz discussing Haystack Mountain School of Crafts as part of a series on community health initiatives in Deer Isle-Stonington.

The exhibition *In the Vanguard: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, 1950–1969* reopened at Cranbrook Museum of Art after its initial showing at the Portland Museum of Art.

In the Vanguard: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, 1950-1969 explores how an experimental school in rural Maine transformed art, craft, and design in the 20th century and helped define the aesthetics of the nation’s counterculture.

Haystack offers custom bandanas designed by community members as part of its store merchandise.

From the very beginning, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has been a place for people of all skill levels to form a creative community, and for many, it became a transformative experience. With seventy-five years of programming under Haystack’s belt, there are countless stories to tell.

Haystack’s Artist Grant Initiative supports emerging and early-career artists, including the 2026 cohort of eight grantees.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts prohibits discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identification, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, or veteran status.

Haystack’s paid internship program targets high school students with prior involvement in the school’s educational programs.

Haystack awards fellowships covering tuition, room, board, and stipends, supported by endowments and annual funds.

Interested in teaching at Haystack? Submit a Teaching Proposal

Visiting artists are an integral part of the Haystack experience, providing a wider context for exploring the crafts. Visiting artists participate in the core summer sessions, living in the Haystack community and working in their own dedicated studio space.

When Haystack was founded in 1950, it was truly an experiment in education and community, with no permanent faculty or full-time students, a School that awarded no certificates or degrees. For three-quarters of a century, Haystack has offered intensive studio workshops and has functioned as a think-tank to explore craft in broader contexts. The School’s award-winning campus has provided steadfast support for convening an intergenerational community of makers from around the world to share ideas,

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts was founded in 1950 in Montville, Maine, and relocated to Deer Isle in 1961, supported by Mary Beasom Bishop.

The Art Schools Collaborative brings students from ten art schools to explore contemporary craft and visual culture through peer engagement.

The Haystack campus, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, received a 25-Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1994 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Phone | 207-348-2306 Email | haystack@haystack-mtn.org

For more than forty years, Open Door has welcomed Maine residents to campus for an intensive three-day workshop weekend. The program is designed for individuals, 18 and over, of all skill levels and backgrounds.

Haystack is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine. Haystack's workshops, artists' residencies, and other programs provide time and space to engage with materials, to develop new ideas and to work in a creative and inclusive community.

Haystack is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine. Haystack's workshops, artists' residencies, and other programs provide time and space to engage with materials, to develop new ideas and to work in a creative and inclusive community.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts outlines its privacy policy for handling personal information of students, applicants, and participants.

Haystack’s community guidelines aim to foster inclusivity, safety, and respect for all participants.