Summer Program

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. The Clearing experience is made up of many special components. The classes, sense of community, forests, meadows, water, sunsets, home-cooked meals, traditions and history all blend to create a wonderful place to learn, relax, reflect and make new friends.

Click to view printed catalog

---

How to register online

“Jens Jensen Visitor Center Mural”
Ram Rojas

May 17 - 23

A Journaling Tool Kit #8   
Nancy Akerly & Darlene Cole

Write Your Life #9   - LIMITED-
Marty McConnell

Bird Watching: Birding Basics & More #10   
Paul Regnier

Glass Craft Combo: Glass Fusing & Glass Mosaic #11   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Nance Tucker & Gary Chaudoir

May 24 - 30

Watercolor Excitement #12   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Ed Fenendael

Poetry Camp 2020: Writing New Work #13   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Robin Chapman

Spring Wildflowers #14   - LIMITED-
Larry Morrison

A Wood Craft Sampler #15   - LIMITED-
Mike Stapleton, Erik Rinkleff & Don Johnston

May 31 - June 6

The Illustrated Nature Journal #16   
Cynthia Quinn

Memoir, Creative Nonfiction & Personal Essay: Writing From Your Life #17   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Margaret Hawkins

Creative Photoshop Elements #18   - LIMITED-
Bill Brown & Mark Southard

Beginning & Intermediate Wood Turning #19   
Kelly Bresnahan

June 7 - 13

Traditional Quilting Open Studio #20   
Kathy Swanson

Spring Rambles #21   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Nancy Stevenson

Fine Woodworking: Build Custom Furniture Or A Small Table #22   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Curt Wessel

June 14 - 20

Spinners’ Boot Camp/Spinning for a Project #23   
Deb Jones

Tell Your Story: Writing About Experiences In Your Life (And Any Other Stories) #24   
Roger Kuhns

Bladesmithing: A Week On The Edge #25   
Jeremiah Backhaus

Stained Glass: Lead Came & Copper Foil #26   - LIMITED-
Jill Wicke

June 21 - 27

Pencil Drawing #27   
Rebecca Venn

Reading Poetry: The What, The Why, The How #28   
John Angelos

Paper Art: Abstract Compositions From Nature #29   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Wendy Carpenter

I Forged a Carving Knife and I Know How to Use It #30   
Jeremiah Backhaus & Erik Rinkleff

June 28 - July 4

Beginning & Intermediate Pastel #31   
Sandy Place

Beginning & Beyond Beginning Quilting #32   - LIMITED-
Carol Hay

Paper Arts: Marbling, Bookbinding & Cartonnage #33   
Nancy Akerly

Baskets & Blacksmithing: Make A Basket & A Forged Swing Handle For The Basket #34   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Denise Arzberger & James Viste

July 5 - 11

Chamber Music For Strings #35   
Katherine Decker & Jacki Thering

Hand Caning: The Seven-Step Method #36   
Lynn Nulicek

Books By Hand: Introductory & Independent Study #37   
Florian Bieschke

July 12 - 18

Recorder At The Clearing #38   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Pat Badger

Drawing Nature In Colored Pencil #39   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Kimberly Mullarkey

Hike, Bike & Paddle Door County #40   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Bob Bultman & Kelly King

July 19 - 25

Soft Pastel Landscape Adventure #41   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Kay Brathol-Hostvet

Edith Wharton: Myth-Maker For The American Soul? #42   
Betsy Lovell Arsenault

The Joy Of Weaving: Open Studio #43   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Geke de Vries

Glass Fusing #44   - LIMITED-
Nance Tucker

July 26 - August 1

Watercolor Pure & Simple #45   
Judy Barnewolt-Jones

The Writers Workshop: Exploring the Writer’s Muse – Spirit and Duende #46   
Albert DeGenova

The Writers Workshop: The Poetry Workshop #47   - LIMITED-
Albert DeGenova

Creative Weaving From Nature #48   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Carol Heil

Entree: A Fine Pairing of Forging and Woodworking #49   - LIMITED-
Curt Wessel & Jeremiah Backhaus

August 2 - 8

Foundational Watercolor #50   
Dawn Flores

Voices Long Silenced #51   
Jeff Doane

iPhone-ography: The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You #52   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Jerry Hug

Making Glass Beads & Blowing Glass Ornaments #53   
Julie Lukosaitis

August 9 - 15

Awakening The Art Quilter Within #54   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Wendy Butler Berns

Cultivating Mindfulness: Growing A Lifelong Practice #55   
Beth Coleman

Glass Fusing #56   
Nance Tucker

August 16 - 22

Door County Landscapes In Watercolor #57   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Chris Sommerfelt

Touch The Earth - Connect With Nature #58   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Deb Gille

Landscape “Painting” With Fabric #59   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Susan Hoffmann

Woodworking Bootcamp #60   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Mike Stapleton

August 23 - 29

Essential Somatic Movement Retreat #61   
Theresa Evans

Geology & Natural History Of Door County & The Niagara Escarpment #62   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Roger Kuhns

Small Space, Big Ideas: Painting In Acrylic #63   
Kay Brathol-Hostvet

Making Leather Handbags #64   - LIMITED-
Molly Grant

August 30 - September 5

Painting The Sky With Watercolors #65   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Gary Hanks

Landscape Design: Through The Eyes Of Jens Jensen #66   - LIMITED-
Bob Grese

Moku-Hanga: An Introduction To Japanese Woodblock Printmaking #67   
Alfred Stark

A “Fire” Sampler: Raku Pottery, Glass Bead Making & Forging #68   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
John Dietrich, Julie Lukosaitis & James Viste

September 13 - 19

Watercolor Fresh & Loose: Paint With Confidence! #69   
Jane Barnard

Knitting On The Cliff #70   
Joan Sheridan

The Craft Of Wood Carving: Open Studio #71   
Erik Rinkleff

Open Forge For Blacksmiths #72   
Dan Nauman

September 20 - 26

Quilting: Brick By Brick, Block By Block #73   - LIMITED-
Judy Hasheider

Wood Carver’s Workshop #74   - LIMITED-
Ann Fawver

Social History Of America’s Underclasses From The Gilded Age To The 1920s: African Americans, Native Americans, Women, Children & Immigrants #75   - LIMITED-
Lou Covotsos

September 27 - October 3

Create Landscapes, Water, Beaches & Skies In Watercolor & Pencil #76   
Lee Mothes

Women’s Writing Retreat #77   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Judy Bridges

Dostoevsky and Solzhenitsyn: Two Great Russians On God & Society #78   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Jim Severance & Les Longden

Sculptural Welding: Volumetric Fabrication #79   - LIMITED-
Nathan Hatch

October 4 - 10

Open Studio For Artists #80   
Frankie Johnson

Open Studio For Experienced Knitters #81   
Arnhild Hillesland

Off the Beaten Path: Exploring Door County’s Natural Treasures #82   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Terrie Cooper & Mike Schneider

October 11 - 17

Watercolor Studio #83   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Bridget Austin

The Art Of Nature & Outdoor Photography #84   
Hank Erdmann

Open Studio For Woodworkers #85   
Curt Wessel

October 18 - 24

Watercolor Techniques #86   
Betty Delinck & Barb Farrell

Primitive Rug Hooking #87   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
Cathy Tokheim

Wood Turning #88   - LIMITED-
Robert Nelson

Beginning Blacksmithing #89   - FULL - Call to be added to wait list
James Viste