Piedmont Craftsmen is committed to inspiring the next generation through hands-on arts education and meaningful connections with working artists. Each year, our Living Craft: Crafting Life program reaches over 1,200 students through in-school lectures and immersive artist residencies, introducing fine craft as both a creative outlet and a viable career path. Students gain insight into artistic techniques, materials, and cultural influences, while our annual Craft Fair extends this experience through live artist demonstrations that bring the creative process to life for the broader community.

Living Craft: Crafting Life

Every year, Piedmont Craftsmen presents Living Craft: Crafting Life, a program that serves over 1,200 students in elementary, middle & high school. The student will develop an awareness of art as an avocation and profession. Living Craft: Crafting Life consists of one day in-school fine craft lectures & hands-on artist in residencies. The program is funded by a Wells Fargo Arts In Education grant from the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

Fine Craft Lectures

In-school Fine Craft Lectures consist of power point presentations & fine craft samples to be held & discussed by the K-8 students. Our Education Director shares knowledge about the craftsmen by discussing their vocational training, skillful techniques & showing examples of their work. Specific cultural influences which give global perspectives are discussed as well as how this perspective enables artists to develop their own personal imagery & style.

Artist In Residencies

Artist In Residencies are designed to give WS/FC high school art students an in-depth experience through a grade-specific hands-on project that incorporates art, math, history, science & English. Students work on individual projects as well as communal ones that permanently enhance their schools. Through a 4-5 day long residency, craftsmen demonstrate the feasibility of art as a vocation and the opportunity for lifelong creative learning.

Live Artist Demos

During our Annual Craft Fair, live artist demonstrations offer a unique opportunity to see craftsmanship in action. Visitors can watch skilled artists at work, learn about their techniques and materials, and gain a deeper appreciation for the time, skill, and creativity behind each piece.

Craft Fair Info

Piedmont Craftsmen Arts in Education Artist Residencies 2026

Bryant Holsenbeck at Reynolds High School

Building sculptures with re-purposed materials and imagination, our February visit with Bryant
Holsenbeck inspired Reynolds High School students. Bryant brings a positive energy, ideas and
techniques to manipulate fabric, yarn and found materials into creatures. Bryant makes “ art
inspired by the natural world using the cast-offs of our society that I find everywhere I look.” The
Arts in Education grant provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation through the Arts Council of
Winston-Salem Forsyth County helps with the funds to bring visiting artists to the school.

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Carla & Greg Filippelli at West Foryth High School

Carla and Greg Filippelli bring color, materials and structure to weave baskets with their
residencies. Their visit included basket weaving days at West Forsyth High School, Meadowlark
Middle School and the art club at Northwest Middle School. Using dyed reeds, students learned
a “twining” technique and created a variety of basket shapes. The four-day residency is funded
by the Wells Fargo Foundation Arts in Education grant through the Arts Council of
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. These funds support the expenses involved in bringing artists to
Winston-Salem for the residency, the materials and compensation for their teaching.