Speakers Converge Across the East Coast in Honor of Haystack Mountain's 75th Anniversary

Voices from the past and present will commingle for storied craft school’s Distinguished Speaker Series.

By Kate Schuler
March 18, 2026

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Photo courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

Haystack fiber students move their looms onto the deck outside the studio to enjoy the sunshine at the school's Maine campus, 2023.

For 75 years, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has been bringing craft artists and educators to Deer Isle on Maine’s central coast to connect, learn, create, and innovate. Some of those who have walked the iconic central campus stairway down to the water’s edge and slept in the cedar-shingled cabins have gone on to reshape the field of craft.

As part of the school’s 75th anniversary, the Distinguished Speaker Series will highlight several of the visionary artists and thinkers who have also been guiding voices at Haystack, including Roberto Lugo, Corey Pemberton, Syd Carpenter, Rosanne Somerson, and Stuart Kestenbaum.

The talks will touch on Haystack’s history and reflect the school’s dedication to experimentation, research, and deep thinking about the field of craft, says executive director Perry Price.

“We wanted to use the speaker series as a way to highlight the voices who make up the school’s past and its recent present, but also include voices that are indicative of where we think this organization and the future of the field is going,” Price says.

Photo by Ross Lowell, courtesy Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

This sign for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, photographed in 1955, was designed by William Shevis and carved by Margaret Swart in 1954.

Lugo will speak about his work as a potter, educator, and poet on April 9 at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. His talk is part of the opening for American Crib: What’s Happening?, a solo exhibition that traces his career and includes his reflections on themes of poverty, inequality, and racial injustice. He is a former trustee at Haystack, and a fellowship in his name funds tuition, room, and board for a student each year.

On April 16 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, Pemberton will discuss how his glassmaking, painting, and community work tie together and aim to break down stereotypes and bring together people of all backgrounds. He is the executive director of Crafting the Future, a nonprofit that provides artists of color with access to opportunities like residencies and scholarships, including at Haystack.

“These are two young artists who have had deep connections with Haystack,” says Price. “They are not only helping to shape what the field is trying to emphasize and to support in the future, but also shaping the work that happens at Haystack.”

The series continues on Haystack’s campus during the school’s summer season with talks by Carpenter, Somerson, and Kestenbaum, whose distinguished careers in ceramics, woodworking, and writing and leadership in craft education have left a lasting mark on the contemporary craft landscape.

Photo by Dan Rajter, courtesy Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

Glass artist and instructor Corey Pemberton provides a demonstration in the hot shop, 2022.

Carpenter, a ceramist and sculptor whose work focuses on African American farms and gardens, will speak on June 25, discussing her Mother Pin series, in which she uses the shape of a clothespin as a feminine figure representing her mother, Ernestine. Carpenter is the subject of three concurrent exhibitions in Philadelphia this year that comprise a 50-year retrospective of her work.

Furniture designer and maker Somerson returns to campus on July 16 to speak about the importance of studio practice for innovation and mastery. She frequently speaks and writes about the power of art and design as core elements of critical thinking and making. Somerson, a Haystack life trustee, is a former president of the Rhode Island School of Design, where she cofounded the furniture design department.

Kestenbaum, a former poet laureate of Maine, was Haystack’s director for 27 years. He helped build the school into a major center for craft research and innovation and established programs combining craft and writing. Kestenbaum will speak on August 13 about Haystack and the creative process.

Haystack also holds presentations by teaching faculty all summer and offers tours of the Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed campus. Visitors can sign up through Haystack’s website.

Photo by Dan Rajter, courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

A rainbow appears over the dining hall and bell tower on the Haystack campus in Deer Isle, Maine.

Kate Schuler is a potter, writer, and editor based in Washington, DC.

Learn more about the speaker series and other anniversary programming at Haystack.

Website

This article was made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation.

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