Late June, 2023 in Midcoast Maine meant a long awaited return to a place Megan and I literally stumbled upon fifteen or so years earlier and had daydreamed about ever since. It was with a nervous anticipation, like felt when first heading to camp or to a new school, that we crossed the Eggemoggin Reach, turned onto the Sunshine Road, and were quickly engulfed by a Jericho Bay fog that would not lift until we left two weeks later–– broken only by the rumble of early morning lobster boats, the occasional hum of a tablesaw, the hotshop cacophony of ball peens on brass and the cyclical smacking of waves from lifting tides meeting the thickly lichened pink granite cliffs of Deer Isle and the nearly endless thumping of rain. We had come to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, which is gently nestled amongst electric moss cushions, stunted spruce and fir of the northern boreal forest. Sharply angled and stacked structures of architectural significance, clad in perfectly grey cedar shake, connected by veins of steep wooden stairs and elevated planked pathways, have been peppered with expressive faces, expansive conversations and arts education every summer since 1961.

We each have distinct strengths in craft and art: Megan, from fashion, choreography and fine art, is adept with textiles, spatial orchestrations and the tools of a visual artist’s studio; and I, from furniture and garden, am most confident with a sharp tool, covered in dust and dirt. Interestingly, despite our consistent use of metals inside our design studio MATERIA, neither of us had much experience physically working by hand the various alloys we frequently employ. It was both a critical and a neutral material for us to explore individually and collectively, and the Blacksmithing: Utensils workshop to which we applied and later enrolled was furthermore appropriate, as we were in the early developmental phase of our first collection of tabletop objects. We were met with an incredible instructor and teaching assistant as well as a diverse and engaged cohort that when combined with the cool and wet summer conditions led to very long hours experimenting around the gas and coal fired forges with heated copper, brass and steel held by tongs and hammered against anvils endlessly it would seem–– broken only by the regularity of delicious daily meals and evening presentations shared with people honing other media at various studio perches across the campus.

The interactions we experienced in all of the interstitial spaces between the hotshop, the ever-present North Atlantic and our cabin, turned out to be balm for our COVID-worn souls; shared experiences, space and ideas were inspirational, catalyzing and illuminating. Conversations were meandering and thoughtful and the people were generous with their knowledge; readily sharing tools, materials, techniques and insights. We made many acquaintances and friends with our fellow students, the instructors and Haystack staff, and daydreamed of future studio visits and possible collaborations. On the last afternoon before we all dispersed back to our various corners of the globe, all 100 or so participants mounted informal studio presentations of the work they had created during their individual workshops. Megan and I, eager to see what everyone had been up to, savored the experience of touring the woodshop, ceramics, textile, encaustic and jewelry studios, noting many interesting pieces along the way. We were both captivated by many of the things we saw, many in progress, or in “sketch” form; in particular one collection of small scale metal and fiber works rendered in elegant detail stood out. Crafted by Chicago based multi-media artist Malkia Williams, the predominantly recycled plastic, brass and wool works spoke to a slightly abstracted corporeal investigation, while simultaneously employing a wide variety of interesting materials. Thoughts of this work stayed with us…

The following morning, after many heartfelt goodbyes, we began the slow drive back to the Farm Coast of Massachusetts, which at that moment felt a million miles away. It was incredible to be in this laboratory space with other creative minds and we definitely left the experience craving more, and also the Sun. It took a while for the fog to lift and for us to both digest and metabolize what we had experienced at Haystack. Over the ensuing weeks however, several very clear messages surfaced: Megan and I must make every effort possible to prioritize creativity in our lives, both professionally and personally, and we needed to use our company MATERIA to provide agency and financial support for others to be able to enroll at Haystack.

Since late 2020, we had been in the foundational stages of developing an aspect of MATERIA that we referred to internally as MATERI(A)CTION; an arm of our business designed to provide support of all kinds to the people, environment and causes with which we align in our community. Reflecting on our time at Haystack, it became apparent that it should be the first significant focus of our fledgling program, so Megan and I met with the administrative team and established what we hope to be a MATERIA x Haystack Fellowship in perpetuity; designed to provide tuition, room, board, studio materials and a travel stipend for one deserving applicant each summer season at Haystack.

We have since deepened the breadth of MATERI(A)CTION and its initiatives; during NYCxDesign week held in May 2024, we will present our inaugural exhibition in the MATERI(A)RT series, an initiative that utilizes our SoHo, New York gallery to showcase and potentiate the work of an evolving roster of as-yet unrepresented artists and craftspeople. Born out of our chance meeting, we will present TRACES, by mixed media artist Malkia Williams, which explores the intersection between an elemental and varied materials palette and the human body’s many structures.

“Haystack has greatly affected my practice as an artist. Before that experience I was only really creating large metal sculptures and castings. Haystack reignited another pathway in my brain about materiality and how to translate scale. It was an insane experience of rediscovery. It ultimately led me to think about the kind of artist I want to be and how I'll get there.” Williams states.

Finally the fog lifted!

MUSINGS: HAYSTACK MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OF CRAFTS

BY MEGAN SOMMERVILLE AND MATT ENSNER