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2026 Touchstone Teen Week

Create, connect, and grow in a creative community!

Teen Week
July 13-17

5-DAYS (MONDAY-FRIDAY)
$1350 All-Inclusive Fee
Scholarships available
No Experience Needed!

Participants will:

  • Attend a five-day interactive workshop
  • Extend their creative potential
  • Work with other students from around the region
  • Experience art in an immersive environment inspired by nature

Why Participate?

  • Meet other students from the region and work with world-class instructors to improve your art.
  • Touchstone offers an Immersive experience, where you will live your craft for a week.
  • Receive career guidance in areas such as creating a portfolio, applying to college and other topics from guest speakers.
  • Participants broaden their thinking in relation to their craft. 

Students spending a week on Touchstone’s grounds benefit from the natural and artistic aspects of campus life…

  • “I learned that my art is something special that will be with me for the rest of my life, whether or not I decide to pursue it as a career.” 
  • “I increased my understanding of the variety of ways that people continue to make art and/or craft works throughout their lifetimes (professional artist, semiprofessional artist, etc.).”
  • “I learned a variety of techniques in working with this medium that will inform my artistic development in the future.”
  • “My selected workshop at Touchstone enhanced what I have learned and/or experienced at my high school.” 

Instructors

 

Touchstone’s Studio Instructors are accomplished artists and educators from around the country. They bring both technical expertise and real-world experience to the studio.

APPLY TODAY!

Application deadline April 1, 2026
Please contact us at 724-329-1370 if you prefer a paper/PDF application.

Teens (Ages 14-17) learn from professional artists in our fully equipped studio spaces while they stay on campus and create with other students from across the country. Evenings are open for demonstrations, group activities or work in the studio. Students are housed in gender-based dormitories or cabins. The dining hall is centrally located on campus, offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All students take a turn helping out in the kitchen and keeping the campus clean.

*The all-inclusive fee covers processing, tuition, lodging, and meals for your session. Additionally, it provides materials required at the request of the instructor for participant use. Some instructors may also require that you bring certain materials with you; if so, a list will be provided in advance of your workshop.

Students who are awarded a scholarship will be provided with a unique code to enter at checkout, which will automatically apply towards the balance. Final payment of fees is due at the time of registration.

ALL teens will be required to attend a virtual orientation session ahead of the program. Details for orientation will be provided at a later date. Information is typically sent via email – Please be sure to add info@touchstonecrafts.org to your safe sender contacts or check your spam folders to be kept in the loop regarding Teen Week.

Teens who have been accepted into the program will receive a link to register.

Teen Week Applications

All teens interested in participating in Teen Week MUST complete an application regardless of whether you are seeking a scholarship or intend to pay for all/some fees.

  • Applications are accepted through SlideRoom.
  • There are no fees to apply for Teen Week.
  • Incomplete applications will not be considered.

REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICATIONS

  1. Statement of Intent (this is the most important piece of your application). On a separate sheet of paper, please provide a statement (no longer than 1 page), telling us why you are interested in participating and why you should be considered for a scholarship.
  2. Letter of Recommendation with contact information (teacher or administrator at your school preferred)

Optional:

  • Work Samples (limit – 5) Submit as jpg files (300dpi) if emailing *your last name must be in the image title (1_SMITH.jpg) or include printed images if mailing your application

Please call (724)329-1370 with any questions you may have.

2026 TEEN WEEK WORKSHOPS AND INSTRUCTORS

BLACKSMITHING

Blacksmithing 101:

Forks and Spoons and Shiny Things

JUL 13-17 | 5-DAYS (MON-FRI)
Instructor: Andrew Welton
No Experience-Beginner (Ages 14-17)

APPLY TODAY!

Light a fire, grab a hammer–we’re learning blacksmithing! This workshop will cover the fundamentals of forging hot steel: how to swing a hammer efficiently, how to taper, bend, twist, cut, and shape steel into forms, and how to safely operate essential power tools. The first half of the class will focus on creating handforged kitchen tools, including forks, spoons, roasting spits and spatulas. After that, you will be free to complete a project of your own devising.

After growing up in Pittsburgh steel country, Andrew Welton went to grad school where they spent a decade studying the archaeology of medieval blacksmithing (specifically, of spearheads!). Dr. Welton has measured and photographed hundreds of medieval iron artifacts in European museums, and uses this knowledge to create historical reproductions as well as historically inspired contemporary kitchenware. Andrew works primarily with wrought iron and iron they smelt themself from charcoal and ore. They love how traditional materials, forged with historically inspired design, connect humans across time and space.

Website: andrewjwelton.com
Instagram: @andrewjwelton

CERAMICS

Figure It in Clay!

JUL 13-17 | 5-DAYS (MON-FRI)
Instructor: Kensuke Yamada
No Experience-Beginner (Ages 14-17)

APPLY TODAY!

In this 5-day long ceramics workshop, participants will create a figurative work or /and mystic creature sculpture using coil and slab handbuilding techniques. Inspired by mythology, folklore, and imagination, participants will design and build hollow forms, add expressive features, and explore surface textures and decoration. The class emphasizes both technical skills and creative storytelling, guiding each participant to craft a unique, symbolic creature.

Kensuke Yamada draws on his Japanese heritage to explore identity, folklore, and the emotions found in moments in everyday life. He has participated in numerous artist residencies and visiting artist programs, including The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and it is included in various museum and institutional collections. He is currently an assistant professor at California State University, Chico CA.

Website: kensukeyamada.com
Instagram: @kensuke_yamada

DRAWING & PAINTING

Concepts & Narratives in Illustration

JUL 13-17 | 5-DAYS (MON-FRI)
Instructor: Phil Ashworth
No Experience-Beginner (Ages 14-17)

APPLY TODAY!

Have you ever been looking through rows of books and magazines, or scrolled through an article on your phone, and noticed the art accompanying the text and wondered how or why that specific image is there? These illustrations tend to go through a distilling process of rough sketches and color studies until they successfully visually communicate what is happening in the text they accompany and, hopefully, stand on their own as dynamic artwork. During Teen Week we’ll dive into this specific aspect of the illustration world and learn how to translate text into a visually striking image that tells the viewer a story or gives them an idea of what to expect from a book title or key text of your choosing. We’ll also gain a better understanding of the process of an illustration’s creation through building our own images and the many different ways we engage with it in our daily lives.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008 with a BFA in illustration, Phil Ashworth went to NYC to chase that big city dream. Since then his work has appeared in books, magazines, posters, on skateboards and apparel, and in various galleries throughout the US. His illustrations Have been recognized by American Illustration, Society of Illustrators LA, 3×3 and featured in New York Times Fashion & Style, Juxtapoz, NPR’s Studio 360, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Website: philashworth.com
Instagram: @philashworthstudio

METALS & JEWELRY

All the Things!

JUL 13-17 | 5-DAYS (MON-FRI)
Instructor: Heather Nuber
No Experience-Beginner (Ages 14-17)

APPLY TODAY!

Learn many different skills that will come together in a cool & unique personal expression! We’ll play with different ways of adding texture, form and detail to copper including: piercing, forging, soldering, stamping, roller printing, and hammer texture. You’ll make fun jewelry or objects along the way! Next, everyone will explore color with powdercoat & patina, join everything with rivets, and finish it off with the right findings for either a pendant, brooch, wall hanging…or combination of all three if you want!

Heather Nuber_Headshot

Heather Nuber is an interdisciplinary artist/instructor with a focus in contemporary jewelry, textiles, and installation art. She received her MFA from Indiana University, and BFA in Metalsmithing from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She studied at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Craft, Peters Valley School of Craft, and Touchstone Center for Crafts. Heather has exhibited work nationally and internationally, and done residencies at Gallery 2052, Torched, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Peninsula School of Art, Penland School of Craft, and the Smitten Forum, and The Birdsell Project. Heather is an instructor at the Toolbox Collective in Minneapolis. MN and Treehaus Studios in Osceola, WI, teaching metalsmithing, painting, and textile workshops. They have taught at PennWest University (formerly Edinboro University,) Indiana University, Indianapolis Art Center, Peninsula School of Art, Penland School of Craft, and Touchstone Center for Craft. Heather’s work focuses on the dynamics of personal relationships and social interactions

Website: heathersnuber.com
Instagram: @heather.s.nuber

“This camp is probably the most educational and inspiring art experience I’ve ever had. I improved a lot, especially with confidence in my work.” – Teen Week Participant

“I have been to life-altering courses before, but none are like Touchstone. Every second here has molded me into a much better self.” – Teen Week Participant 

“This experience creates a home away from home. I not only learned how to create better artwork but I now also share new core moments with others.” – Teen Week Participant

“Touchstone was an amazing experience and I got to make so many amazing friends that I know I will have for years to come.” – Teen Week Participant