A Message From Mike
September, 2023
Dear Friends,
As August moved into September, it felt like fall many days at The Clearing. In addition to some much needed and very welcome rain the last few weeks, we had several of those wonderful cool, crisp mornings in late August that tell you “fall is at hand.” You could feel it and you could smell it. And you could see it one some of the sugar maples, chokecherries and Virginia creeper that are showing early fall color. I’m sure there are still some warmer, more humid days ahead before summer gives up, but it won’t be long now, and we’ll be able to say that fall is truly here.
The Clearing is now into the last third of its season of week-long classes. It’s been a good season too, something very welcome after three years of low enrollment and high uncertainly. Everyone—staff, students, instructors and volunteers—is relieved that things are finally back to what feels like normal. It’s been a long time! Too long!!
There are still openings in some of our classes, both week-long classes—the Summer Program—and the Workshop Program, our program of non-residential one and two-day classes. Plus there’s a Clearing Retreat week the week of October 29th, an opportunity to spend a week at The Clearing and in Door County in later fall, a time most folks don’t ever experience. It’s a great time of year to be here.
Take care, stay safe, be well and do good.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Schneider
Executive Director
The Clearing
Take a Look at the 2023 Summer Program!
2023 Workshop Program Classes Now Available!
Who We Are
The Clearing is a folk school founded in 1935 by landscape architect Jens Jensen (1860-1951). This “school of the soil” is nestled within 128 acres of Door County forests and meadows and overlooks the dramatic Green Bay shoreline. It was built as a place where ordinary people could, as the name implies, “clear one’s mind” by reconnecting with nature and with one another.
Our Mission
The Mission of The Clearing is to provide diverse educational experiences in the folk school tradition, in a setting of quiet forests, meadows and water. The Clearing is a place where adults who share an interest in nature, arts or humanities can learn, reflect and wonder.
This is in keeping with the goals of Jens Jensen, founder of The Clearing, who loved it as a special place where one could feel kinship with the earth and reassess one’s life.
About
You Can’t Be Around for 88 Years and Not Have a Good Story. Here’s Ours.
Classes
The Clearing offers year-long educational opportunities in three programs: the Summer Program, the Workshop Program and the Winter Program. All programs offer a wide range of classes, including painting, writing, quilting, birding, wood carving, poetry, rustic furniture making, photography, poetry, fine wood-working, music, weaving, philosophy, stained glass, metal work, nature study and paper arts. All Clearing classes are taught in a relaxed, informal style.
Summer Program
WEEK-LONG RESIDENTIAL CLASSES FROM MAY – OCTOBER
The Summer Program, which runs from May through October, is The Clearing’s oldest and the one that most closely resembles Jensen’s original folk school vision. The mainstay of the Summer Program is week-long classes, with 25 to 35 students and instructors living at The Clearing, eating family-style meals and renewing their spirit through close contact with the native landscape.
More About the Summer Program...
Workshop Program
ONE- AND TWO-DAY CLASSES FROM JUNE – NOVEMBER
The Workshop Program includes one, two, and three-day workshops from June through mid- November. These workshops appeal to a broad audience by providing shorter length classes during the Summer Program season for those who cannot come for an entire week or who want a “taste” of what The Clearing is like before deciding to take a week-long class.
More About the Workshop Program...
Winter Program
DAY CLASSES IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY
The Winter Program offers over 90 day-classes in January and February. In addition to offering an impressive selection of classes, the Winter Program represents something unique and wonderful about Door County, an amazing group of volunteer instructors who generously share their time, along with their considerable talent, for the benefit of the community. So bring on the snow and the cold. Now over 650 strong, you won’t meet a more friendly or hardier group of people than Clearing students in Winter!
More About the Winter Program...
Support
The Clearing is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on the generosity of many different groups to support its mission of diverse educational experiences in the folk school tradition. Thanks to hundreds of friends, volunteers and donors, The Clearing is able to offer quality programs and services all year long. Interested in supporting The Clearing? Below are several ways to help us out. Take a look!
Friends of
The Clearing
Donations
Volunteers
Gift Certificates
Scholarships
Pass the Hat
Door County Half Marathon & 5K
Leave Your Legacy
Take a Look Around...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then our picture page is a gold mine! The Clearing is special for so many reasons. Its interesting people, historic buildings, rich landscapes and creative spirit combine to make this place like no other. It’s a place you really have to experience to understand, but we hope our photo galleries will give you a little taste of what The Clearing experience is all about.
Explore The Clearing...
