Waterford Craft School

Make by hand.

Instructor

Gary Robinson

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Broom Making (for all skill levels)

Born in the west central mountains of Virginia, where he still resides, Gary Robinson learned the art of broom making in 1991 and has been making brooms full time since then. Gary’s brooms appeared in the historical drama Sommersby starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster and have been purchased by George Washington’s Mount Vernon for use in their portrayal of Colonial life. Over the years, demonstrating and teaching his craft has been one of the most fulfilling parts of his journey.

Gary has been a juried Demonstrating Artisan at the Waterford Fair since 1991. He is a Waterford Landmark Artisan, exemplifying excellence in craft and education, and for his commitment to the Waterford Foundation’s preservation mission. We recorded a conversation with Gary after his 2021 class, which is on our YouTube channel.

Paul Pendola

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Spoon Carving, The Business of Art

Paul Pendola is the founder of the Galena Spoon Co. Artisan Studio & Gallery, and a Galena, Illinois-based green woodworking artist specializing in hand-carved wooden spoons and other hand-crafted woodenware. Using only an axe, straight knife, hook knife, and all-natural food-safe oil and wax, Paul’s mission is to create simple, authentic, and beautiful functional art. He enjoys sharing his love of carving with his students and leading professional development workshops to empower artisans.

Diane Myers

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Rag Rug Weaving

Ms. Myers has been a fiber artist working primarily as a handweaver since her college days.  She has taught at in the public schools and is a veteran weaving instructor with the Waterford Craft School and at the Waterford Fair.

Rob Miller

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Hard Cider: Home Brewing Basics

Distillery Lane Ciderworks is a family-owned and run orchard located in the shadow of the Appalachian Trail in rural Maryland. They have 3500 trees with over 45 different apple varieties, producing national and international award-winning hard ciders with their fruit.

Tim McGinn

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Window Restoration

Established in 1984,  T. H. McGinn & Co. is a general contracting firm located in historic village of Waterford, Virginia.

Over the course of nearly three decades they have acquired an extensive knowledge of both traditional and modern building materials and methods.  Their reputation for historically sensitive rehabilitation projects has been established from years of working on a variety of traditional building types and architectural styles.

Mr McGinn, company owner, apprenticed for nine years before forming his company.  He holds a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College.  This will be his third year with the Waterford Craft School.

Mike Mascelli

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Basic Upholstery

Mike is a professional upholsterer in Latham, NY with over 40 years of experience in working and teaching; he’s also the Director of the Professional Refinisher’s Group, a national organization founded in 1998 to connect professionals in the restoration, refinishing, and conservation trades.

In his upholstery work, he divides his time between classic furniture and classic cars, specializing in the British MG, Triumph, and Jaguar, employing period correct materials and detailing. His finishing expertise is based on years of shop experience, and the counsel and mentoring of some of the most experienced wood finishers in the industry. He has contributed to ‘Roubo on Furniture’ by Don Williams (Lost Art Press) and ‘With Saw, Plane & Chisel’ by Zach Dillinger (‘Popular Woodworking’, 2016). He also writes for the ‘American Period Furniture’ journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, and has completed several instructional videos on upholstery techniques.

Brian Kirk

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Stone Sculpture Carving

Mr. Kirk has been teaching stone carving part-time for 25 years with Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University and Shepherd University. He is a full time Art teacher with the Loudoun County Public Schools. His work is on exhibit at Rust Library, Luckett’s Elementary School and Catoctin Elementary School.

Karen Helble

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Intro to Calligraphy

A calligrapher for over 35 years, Karen enjoys studying all forms of calligraphy. She is a member of the Washington Calligraphers Guild and has been fortunate to take classes in everything from Illuminated Manuscripts, to Chinese Brush, to Slate Carving.

Her love of lettering began while working on commercial signage and has continued to grow over the years. She enjoys teaching all ages and has offered classes through the Loudoun County Adult Education Program, the Round Hill Arts Center, and privately. She works from her home studio, in Round Hill, mainly on weddings, commissions, and teaching.

She feels strongly that this art should be shared with as many people as possible… it’s useful, beautiful and fun!!!
Karen and her husband Stuart have long been Juried Artisans at the Waterford Fair.