Group Tutorials To Be Offered At Brookfield Craft Center

BROOKFIELD — This fall, Brookfield Craft Center is expanding its already successful private tutorial program to include small groups for one-on-one instruction.

The Tutorials Program began in 2000 with specially scheduled sessions for individuals wishing to focus on particular skills and techniques. It’s been so successful, according to John I. Russell, the executive director of the non-profit school for fine craftsmanship, that BCC will now expand the program to include small groups of friends, family and business colleagues. Kristin Muller, the education director at the center, developed the program and will continue to coordinate the tutorials.

Just as personal trainers fill the demands of busy people in a hurry for results, so have personal tutors become a popular option for those wishing for something more private and more directed than traditional group classes and workshops.

The personal tutorials program offers a core list of topics and instructors with the option of scheduling hundreds of other topics and instructors from the center’s curriculum of fine craftsmanship. The center currently employs over 300 professional artists to teach regularly-scheduled classes and workshops. Popular subject areas include ceramics, glass blowing, jewelry making, blacksmithing, and welding.

The concept of personal tutorials was developed by Ms Muller in response to many requests from students for private lessons.

“Some people came up with unique ideas for a project for which they needed guidance. Others wanted to finish projects they already started, either in a class or on their own, which were temporarily in limbo,” said Ms Muller.

“Sculptors and other craftsman often want to learn welding or metalsmithing. We had a student who wanted to set a particular stone in a jewelry design, and students who have made ceramic sculpture and wanted to add a metal base but had no knowledge of working in metal,” she continued.

“Some people want to learn a new technique and jump start the progress, while others have been working on projects independently and just want to brush up their skills,” Ms Muller added.

Fees for the tutorials range from $25 to $50 per hour depending on the subject and number of participants in the group. Three-or-six-hour sessions can be scheduled. Many of the tutorials take place in the instructors’ private studios, which adds to the in-depth experience.

Core tutorial topics are listed in the center’s program guide, but prospective students can call Ms Muller at 775-4526 extension 106 to arrange for special topics and times that meet their particular needs and schedules. According to Ms Muller, “Our message is, even if you don’t see exactly what you want in the catalog, give us a call and we’ll try to accommodate your interest and your schedule.”

For further information or to have a copy of the craft center’s catalog, call the center or check its new Web site at BrookfieldCraftCenter.org.

The nationally respected non-profit craft center was founded in 1954 and is one of America’s foremost schools for fine craftsmanship. It offers one of the widest and most comprehensive curriculums in the skills and values of fine craftsmanship in the country. The Colonial vintage campus, comprised of five buildings overlooking the Still River at Halfway Falls, is located on Route 25 in Brookfield.