2025 MCA WEEKEND WORKSHOP @ HAYSTACK
PROGRAM DATES: May 8 – 11, 2025
The MCA invites you (MCA members and non-members) for three and a half days of studio workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Instruction, room, and board are included in the fee. Join us to spend dedicated time in the Haystack Studios with exceptional instructors and fellow students (and to enjoy good food + views!). The MCA Weekend Workshop is our oldest ongoing (and likely favorite!) program that began in 1983 as an annual event in partnership with Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; we cherish our time there and the opportunity it provides our organization and craft artists in, and new to, our network.
For questions regarding the MCA’s Weekend Workshop @ Haystack registration or for more information please contact Simonne@MaineCrafts.org
REGISTRATION OPENS:
Thursday, January 9, 2025 at Noon – ongoing
Is the workshop full, and would you like to be added to the waitlist? Please register, and MCA staff will inform you of your placement on the list or in a workshop in 1 – 3 days.
Salt Fire
& Sgraffito
with Tim Christensen
One spot left!
Handwoven Towels
for the Home
with Hilary Crowell
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
Binding an Artists
Notebook
with Anna Low
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
Let’s
Weld!
with Sophie Glenn
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
Tin – Cold
Connections
with Ellen Wieske
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
Adornments: Objects of Beauty, Status & Ideas
with Lissa Hunter
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
Narrative
Bandsaw Boxes
with Lin Elkins
Currently Full – Waitlist Only
REGISTRATION PROCESS
REGISTRATION DATE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 9 @ NOON – Ongoing
Participants in our 2025 Weekend Workshop @ Haystack must follow the online registration process to be placed in a workshop.
1. Each participant must fill out the registration form for themselves using their own email address. The registration form will not allow two submissions from the same email address.
2. Registration works by selecting a first and second choice workshop and first and second choice accommodations and paying a non-refundable deposit of $100. Workshops and accommodations are available on a first-come-first-served basis, and waitlists are created as options fill. Your placement in a workshop or waitlist will be based on your registration time stamp.
PLEASE NOTE –
- Space is limited and some workshops fill within minutes of opening registration.
- Due to a high volume of applicants, it may take several hours to receive a confirmation of your registration from our system. If you get to a confirmation screen, confirming your application, you have registered.
3. MCA staff will reach out after registration to confirm your placement in a workshop or on a waitlist. In the event that there is not a place in either first or second choices (workshop or accommodations), the $100 deposit is refundable after Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
4. You will receive an invoice for the balance within two weeks with a deadline to pay. If you do not pay by the deadline or contact MCA to set up an installment payment plan, we will assume you are not attending the program and will offer your space to someone on the waitlist.
5. Your payment balance will be based on your accommodation assignment, 2025 membership status, and if applicable, studio material fees. To expedite this process please renew your membership after you fill out your registration form if you have not done so already.
STUDIOS + ACCOMMODATIONS
Haystack studios and accommodations are roomy, light-filled, and unheated.
All accommodations are shared – no single rooms are available
Available accommodations:
– two-person cabins with and without bathrooms
– three-person cabins without bathrooms
– a four-person cabin (quad)
– two dorms. Generally one of the two dorms is all genders, and the other is reserved for all female participants.
For dorms and all cabins without baths, there are bathrooms one flight of stairs up or down. The registration form allows for roommate requests, which we do our best to honor!
Studios are open 24 hours for work. There is no Wifi in the studios or cabins.
HAYSTACK CAMPUS
Built on a cliff overlooking Jericho Bay in the Atlantic Ocean, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has served as a muse to many who have come to create. Located on Stinson Neck in Deer Isle, Maine, the award-winning campus, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2006. For more information about the campus and photos, visit Haystack’s website.
PROGRAM FEES
The program fee for MCA Haystack Workshop Weekend includes workshop tuition (3 days of instruction), all meals, and housing in a choice of Haystack accommodations. Most workshops also have a materials fee and/or supply list of materials to purchase. Materials fees vary by the workshop- see individual workshop descriptions for details.
MCA Member and non-member rates apply, see Membership Information
2025 Program Fees –
Workshop tuition, meals, and housing in a shared DOUBLE CABIN with BATH
MCA 2025 Members $725
Non-Members $825
Workshop tuition, meals, and housing in a shared QUAD CABIN (four beds) and BATH
MCA 2025 Members $675
Non-Members $775
Workshop tuition, meals, and housing in a shared DOUBLE or TRIPLE CABIN (no bath)
MCA 2025 Members $625
Non-Members $725
Workshop tuition, meals, and housing in a shared DORM (no bath)
MCA 2025 Members $525
Non-Members $625
Workshop tuition and meals without housing (DAY STUDENT)
MCA 2025 Members $500
Non-Members $600
WEEKEND WORKSHOP ITINERARY
Thursday
10:00 am -11:45 am: Arrival/Registration
12:00 pm: Lunch + Announcements from Haystack + MCA Teams
1:00 pm: Workshops begin
5:30 pm: Casual, Meet & Greet on top deck or around the fire
6:00 pm: Welcome and dinner
7:00 pm: Faculty Slide Presentations
Friday
8:00 am: Breakfast
8:30 am-5:00 pm: Workshops (Lunch at Noon)
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm: Instructor and Student Exhibition Opening/Reception in Gateway
Saturday
8:00 am Breakfast
8:30 am-5:00 pm: Workshops (Lunch at Noon)
6:00 pm: Dinner
After hours: Music Night in Dining Hall
Sunday
8:00 am: Breakfast
8:30 am-8:45 am: Remove personal belongings from cabins
8:45 am-11:00 am: Workshops
11:00 am-Noon: Studio walkthrough
11:50 am: Group photo on Main Deck Stairs
Noon: Lunch
1:00 pm: Departure
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations received prior to Thursday, March 6, 2025, will be refunded total workshop fees paid to date LESS the $100 non-refundable deposit.
(Example, $600 – $100 = $500, $500 is refunded.)
Cancellations received after Thursday, March 6, 2025, will be refunded 50% of workshop fees paid to date, excluding the $100 non-refundable deposit.
(Example, $600 – $100 = $500, $250 is refunded.)
Cancellations received on and after Thursday, April 24, 2025 will receive no refund.
In either case, the MCA membership fee is non-refundable.
INSTRUCTOR/STUDENT EXHIBITION
The MCA Instructor/Student Exhibition and Sale is held annually in the Haystack campus Gateway gallery during the Workshop Weekend. Program instructors and students are invited to contribute artwork to the Exhibition, and may choose to donate 50% or 100% of sales; donations benefit the Bliss Scholarship Fund.
The exhibition is open to the public for a reception on the Friday evening of the MCA Haystack Workshop Weekend; the next Instructor/Student Exhibition will be Friday, May 9, 2025, from 7 – 8:30 pm in the Gateway Center.
BLISS SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The scholarship provides an opportunity for artists from underserved communities to participate in the MCA Haystack Weekend Workshop program for the first time. Additionally, nominations for the scholarship are welcomed from educational and arts organizations working with New Mainers, Native Americans, refugees, immigrants, and displaced individuals. To be considered or to make a nomination, please email Simonne@MaineCrafts.org.
TEACHING PROPOSALS
While the instructor positions for MCA Weekend Workshop at Haystack are typically invitation only, we are now accepting teaching proposals for those interested in the positions. Proposals will be reviewed when submitted and considered during the program’s planning cycle. MCA staff will reach out if we need more information to consider the workshop.