IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ARTISTIC & CREATIVE EXPRESSION

In Camphill, you learn to find moments each day to pause and appreciate life's gifts. Experiencing the joy of the changing seasons. Creating objects of beauty that are put to use by your neighbors. These acts awaken us to the interconnectedness to all of life and to each other.

HANDCRAFTING'S THERAPEUTIC NATURE

Finding self-expression & community through art

Crafting is therapeutic – it brings a calming, healing quality that can nourish our entire being. Just as our souls yearn for belonging in the natural world, they also long for the creative process, the deep satisfaction that comes through working with our hands. Having this meaning and purpose in our lives fosters healing, not just within us but in the way we relate to others and the world.

Crafting is grounding, but it is simultaneously ethereal; it can awaken our inner life. This in turn helps harmonize our thoughts and order our thinking. Through a tactile experience with natural materials – like wool, wax, yarn, or clay – we can feel an interconnectedness with the world around us. Our consciousness awakens through purposeful and creative interaction with the physical world. When our lives are full of meaning and interconnectedness, our values develop and find form within us and our communities. This therapeutic aspect of handcrafting is part of the foundation of Social Therapy and Curative Education.

In Camphill we allow creativity to unfold, and the crafts created in our communities are not only useful but are often works of art as well.

Learn about Therapeutic Practices in Camphill

HANDCRAFTING'S THERAPEUTIC NATURE
HANDCRAFTING'S THERAPEUTIC NATURE

Finding self-expression & community through art

Crafting is therapeutic – it brings a calming, healing quality that can nourish our entire being. Just as our souls yearn for belonging in the natural world, they also long for the creative process, the deep satisfaction that comes through working with our hands. Having this meaning and purpose in our lives fosters healing, not just within us but in the way we relate to others and the world.

Crafting is grounding, but it is simultaneously ethereal; it can awaken our inner life. This in turn helps harmonize our thoughts and order our thinking. Through a tactile experience with natural materials – like wool, wax, yarn, or clay – we can feel an interconnectedness with the world around us. Our consciousness awakens through purposeful and creative interaction with the physical world. When our lives are full of meaning and interconnectedness, our values develop and find form within us and our communities. This therapeutic aspect of handcrafting is part of the foundation of Social Therapy and Curative Education.

In Camphill we allow creativity to unfold, and the crafts created in our communities are not only useful but are often works of art as well.

Learn about Therapeutic Practices in Camphill

Artisan Crafts in Camphill

An artisan is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand, and in Camphill we have weavers, woodworkers, stained glass and mosaic artists, potters, fiber artists, bookbinders, candle makers and many others. Many of our artisan crafts are made from raw materials to finished product, with raw materials from our own communities.

Finding meaningful work for everyone living in the community is an essential part of life in Camphill. When people first arrive, they often rotate between the different artisan craft shops until they find the right one that will fulfill their interests and potential.

Artisan Crafts in Camphill

An artisan is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand, and in Camphill we have weavers, woodworkers, stained glass and mosaic artists, potters, fiber artists, bookbinders, candle makers and many others. Many of our artisan crafts are made from raw materials to finished product, with raw materials from our own communities.

Finding meaningful work for everyone living in the community is an essential part of life in Camphill. When people first arrive, they often rotate between the different artisan craft shops until they find the right one that will fulfill their interests and potential.

Raw Material to Finished Product

A scarf made in Camphill is more than just a scarf. It’s the story of Camphill.

It traces back to the lamb born in Camphill and the rolling pastures where it grazes as its grows. It tells the story of the farmers who care for the sheep, who expertly sheer them each year – a summer haircut – followed by a thorough shampooing of the wool. It is spun and dyed right in the community. Don’t forget the gardeners who grew and harvested the plant ingredients used in the natural dyes. Only then does it make it its way into the weaver’s skillful hands, where it is transformed on the loom into a beautiful scarf.

Raw Material to Finished Product

A scarf made in Camphill is more than just a scarf. It’s the story of Camphill.

It traces back to the lamb born in Camphill and the rolling pastures where it grazes as its grows. It tells the story of the farmers who care for the sheep, who expertly sheer them each year – a summer haircut – followed by a thorough shampooing of the wool. It is spun and dyed right in the community. Don’t forget the gardeners who grew and harvested the plant ingredients used in the natural dyes. Only then does it make it its way into the weaver’s skillful hands, where it is transformed on the loom into a beautiful scarf.

Deepen your connection to the arts. Felting, painting, acting, singing, bookbinding — opportunities abound.

Dive deep into the arts with us!

LATEST STORIES

A person smiles and winks at the camera while holding a large green wreath around their neck. They are wearing a red and grey argyle sweater with a yellow tshirt showing underneath it. They have short, straight brown hair and a short beard. They are standing in front of a large purple curtain.
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Tradition Highlight: Wreath Making

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From Camphill to the Military to Rhode Island School of Design

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Elias enjoys the mid day sun on the front porch of the Hudson house
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Muka is hugging a friend from behind, and they both have huge smiles on their faces. The friend is wearing a grey and red hoodie as well as grey pants. He has short grey hair and a beard. Muka is wearing black pants and a sweatshirt with black, white, and pink stripes. He has short dark hair and a beard.
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Nicolo is pictured with 6 of his castmates from Jimmys Journey, smiling in front of a blue curtain. They are all dressed as animals.
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FESTIVALS, DRAMA & MUSIC

FESTIVALS, DRAMA & MUSIC
FESTIVALS, DRAMA & MUSIC

FESTIVALS, DRAMA & MUSIC

Connecting us to the rhythm and beauty of the year as the seasons unfold

It is almost an understatement to say that all of our Camphill communities have a rich and varied cultural life. We get together to make music, perform plays and celebrate a range of seasonal festivals, relating them to their Christian counterparts: Easter, St. John’s (midsummer), Michaelmas (which ends the summer and helps us take courage and strength into harvest and winter), Advent and Christmas. Along the way, we also celebrate Holy Week, Hanukkah, Candlemas, Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and, of course, birthdays and other cultural festivals.

Celebrating festivals not only helps us mark the passing of the year but it also creates a rhythm, stability and joy in our lives. By inwardly and outwardly accompanying the cycle of the year and the great seasonal festivals connected to the inbreathing and outbreathing of the earth, we can consciously awaken our interconnectedness to all of life and to each other.

Learn more about Camphill and you'll see why we celebrate so much