2023

Laura Handley

Survival Adventure (Ages 10-13) & Survival Skills (Ages 14-17)

Laura Handley is a teacher and writer with a deep interest in the natural world and how to survive and thrive within it. She picked up survival skills through years of hiking, camping, and foraging and honed them as a teaching assistant and co-instructor at Advanced Survival Training in Fauquier County, VA.

She currently works as a high-school math teacher and volunteers extensively in habitat restoration and wildlife monitoring. She also blogs about her foraging and wildcrafting projects on Instagram as @fairfaxforager.

Vyvyan Rundgren

Barn Quilt Painting

Vyvyan Rundgren became interested in painted floor cloths (both on canvas and linoleum), which gave a new dimension to her life-long love of art. For eight years she was an instructor at the John C. Campbell Folk School in NC and also taught workshops throughout central Virginia. The painted floor cloth concept expanded to include floor quilts (fabric) and floor pages (paper). Her book, Floor Cloths, Quilts & Pages was released in 2015.

Vyvyan serves as an officer on the Board of Directors for the Art Guild of Greene County. Through the Art Guild and with the support of the Greene County Economic Development & Tourism she founded the Blue Ridge Barn Quilt Project and it has grown to be the largest barn quilt trail in Virginia, now having over 150 artworks on display. She not only paints many of the barn quilts, she also conducts workshops to teach others how to create their own.

Cory Ryan

Pine Needle Basketry

For Cory Ryan, art was always a hobby and her therapy from a stressful IT job. She started with folk art and had a goal to learn something new as the years went by. She learned to make baskets with longleaf pine needles from a friend’s mother, who had learned from her mother! She is pleased to carry on this heritage craft tradition. She teaches a variety of classes, ranging from quilling to pine needle basketry, and is serving her fourth term as President of the Art Guild of Greene in Greene County, VA. Now retired from the corporate world, Cory creates art to display and sell at a local craft shop in Ruckersville, VA.

Ian Hart

17th Century Wood Carving: Cutting Board

For the past ten years, Ian Hart has been interested in researching, understanding, and reproducing traditional wood and metal work, mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries. During his senior year in college at the American College of the Building Arts, he assisted in the instruction of the freshman class in traditional metalwork. He spent several summers working at folk schools (Adirondack Folk School, Tillers International, and Touchstone); a portion of that time was spent teaching classes, which ranged from ornamental ironwork, spoon and bowl carving, and carved furniture. He is a Demonstrating Artisan at the Waterford Fair (2021, 2022). To learn more about Ian’s work, check out his Instagram page @vigilanceforge.

Karen Wychock

Large Laundry Basket & Shaker Cheese Basket

Working over wooden molds, in the method of the Shakers, Karen’s baskets are traditional in shape and materials. She weaves both Shaker reproductions in ash and traditional, utilitarian baskets of reed. Native hardwoods such as ash and oak are used to make the rims and handles, and all of her baskets are lashed using ash. Each basket takes on its own character as it is woven in a quatrefoil. Twill or fancy lace patterns appeal to both eye and touch.

Karen was an art teacher for 22 years in the Neshaminy School District, Langhorne, PA, before becoming a middle school principal for 15 years in both the Neshaminy School District and the Central Bucks School District.

She is a member of the Bucks County Craftsmen’s Guild, the Bucks County Hand Weaver’s Guild and the PA Guild of Craftsmen. She sells her work at various shows and galleries throughout the northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, and Ohio), and has the earned the distinction of Waterford Landmark Artisan for her commitment to the Waterford Fair and the Waterford Foundation. She is also president of the Penn-Jersey Basket Weavers Guild and teaches both children and adults.

Susan Withnell

Fiber Arts Craft Camp (Ages 8-10 & Ages 11-13)

Susan is a hand spinner and weaver, operating her fiber arts business, ‘Ewes-Ful Fiber Arts’ for over 20 years. She raises high percentage Wensleydale sheep (known for their excellent spinning fleeces) on her Maryland Farm. She uses these fibers in the hand spun and hand dyed yarns she sells at fiber art and craft shows. Susan has been a juried, demonstrating artisan at the Waterford Fair for over 10 years, earning the distinction of ‘2020 Waterford Artisan of the Year’ for her commitment to the Waterford Foundation and her excellence as a Fair demonstrating artisan.

Susan is also a retired elementary school teacher, who created and led a fiber arts club for her students. She enthusiastically continues to share her knowledge with the public, teaching hand spinning on drop spindles and spinning wheels to adults, and summer Fiber Arts Craft Camps here in Waterford for young people ages 8 – 13. She also has demonstrated hand spinning at the Great Yorkshire Agricultural Show in Harrogate, England. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from this engaging artisan!

Grace Rochford

Making A Floorcloth From Start to Finish

Grace Rochford originally made floorcloths just for herself, then was inspired to launch her company, Designs By Grace. She’s been making floorcloths for over 15 years, and has the added distinction of being one of our Waterford Landmark Artisans, who are the heart of the Waterford Fair and long-time supporters of the Waterford Foundation. She has taught numerous Waterford Craft School classes, inspiring many of her students to continue making floorcloths on their own. The process is contagious!

Elizabeth Goins

Let’s Make a Paper and Turn it into a Journal

Ms. Goins has been working with paper for over 25 years. This work includes papercutting, repurposing books and making paper by hand. She has a master’s degree in Art Education. Her work has been shown in West Virginia, Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania.