Heritage Workshop Series
June 25 @ 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Heritage Workshop Series is back at Muskoka Heritage Place! Join us for hands-on heritage experiences in Blacksmithing, Printmaking, Cyanotypes, and Quillwork this summer!
Details:
Blacksmithing – June 25, 2025 | 4:30-6:30pm
Delve into the historical trade of blacksmithing at Muskoka Heritage Place with local artisan blacksmith M-R Newell! She will introduce you to beginner blacksmithing techniques in our pioneer village’s blacksmith shop, where you will create a steak flipper that you can take home! Materials and equipment included. Space is very limited, so register today!
Cyanotypes – July 9, 2025 | 4:30-6:30pm
Delve into the history of cyanotypes at Muskoka Heritage Place with Muskoka Printmaker Collective artist Dawn Huddlestone! Dawn is a printmaker, photographer and biologist by training, with a particular interest in alternative processes, historical techniques, and the ways in which art and nature can interact. Learn the basics of this historical printmaking technique and print your own photograms to take home! Participants in this workshop will learn beginner-friendly techniques of this early photographic process – no experience required. All materials are provided, and participants are also welcome to bring their own fresh or dried natural materials (leaves, flowers, or feathers, for example) to print. (Note that this workshop is weather dependent – in the event of rain, the workshop will be cancelled, and participant fees will be refunded.) Space is limited so register today!
Printmaking – August 21, 2025 | 4:00-5:30pm
Delve into the history of printmaking at Muskoka Heritage Place with Muskoka Printmaker Collective artist Christina MacBean! Learn the basics of historical printmaking and print your own keepsake! Participants in this workshop will learn beginner-friendly techniques, from transferring an image from an engraving block, learning what it was like to use lead type, to using the appropriate tools for inking and printing. Space is limited, so register today!
Quillwork – September 6, 2025 | 10:00am-12:00pm
Dillon Bickell is the quillwork artist behind Quillin’ by Dillon. A proud member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, he is a primarily self-taught Ojibwe quill worker and birch harvester.
Each piece of Dillon’s quillwork is handmade with natural materials, like birchbark, porcupine quills, sweetgrass, and animal hides and skins. Many of the materials he uses are harvested locally within the traditional territory of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation.
Join Dillon as he discusses the art and history of quillwork, and learn about the quilling process, from start to finish. From the harvesting and collecting of birchbark and porcupine quills, to the preparation and techniques needed to turn these raw materials into a finished quillwork piece.
In this 2-hour workshop you will create your very own piece of quillwork, ready to be framed and displayed. All materials (porcupine quills, birchbark, tools, etc.,) are provided.
