By Age Group
The Bascom is working towards creating a more integrated and user-friendly experience for our visitors. Please read the following information to familiarize yourself with the process.
How does it work?
Whenever you register for a class or workshop online, you'll be prompted to create a user account during the registration process. The information you provide there can then be used to log in here.
- Register for a Workshop
- Create your username and password during the registration process
- Check your email (Don't see it in your inbox? Check your junk/spam folder and mark it as not junk/spam)
- Click on the activation link in the email and... Voila! You're good to go!
3 Day Leather Crafting Workshop with Tom Slavicek
You will have time to work on 4 or more leather projects depending on size and complexity. Choices for your projects can be from the following: Make a leather shoulder bag or two, make a tote, learn how to use a wood burning tool to inscribe a design onto the leather and then colorize it. With your first bag all done on Day One you can make some accessories for days two and three, such as a leather belt, phone pouch, key fobs, “magic braid” bracelets, and other smaller projects…OR…you can make another bag such as a Fringe Bag, portfolio, etc.!
Using the Extruder for Creative Ceramics
Intro to Watercolor I: Learning the Strokes
Artists will have the opportunity to try their hand at watercolor, learning a variety of Watercolor strokes. Guided by your experienced instructor, Caryn Raming, this workshop is perfect for those who haven’t tried watercolor in a while, or those who are brand new to the medium!
All Materials are provided – just bring your willingness to learn. Come ready to paint, explore, and grow your skills in a supportive, creative environment.
1 Day Leather Crafting Workshop with Tom Slavicek
This hands-on workshop introduces the fundamentals of leatherworking in a creative, supportive environment. Participants may choose to create a leather shoulder bag or select from a variety of functional projects while learning cutting, stitching, and basic tool techniques. All materials, tools, and instruction are provided, and no prior experience is required.
Intro to Watercolor I: Learning the Strokes
Artists will have the opportunity to try their hand at watercolor, learning a variety of Watercolor strokes. Guided by your experienced instructor, Caryn Raming, this workshop is perfect for those who haven’t tried watercolor in a while, or those who are brand new to the medium!
All Materials are provided – just bring your willingness to learn. Come ready to paint, explore, and grow your skills in a supportive, creative environment.
Beginning to Paint: Color, Composition & Confidence with Cath Connolly Hudson
View the Supply List HERE
This workshop offers an easy, supportive path into oil painting for those who are new to oils or seeking a fresh, confidence-building start. We’ll take our inspiration from the Impressionists and through clear demonstrations, guided exercises, and step-by-step instruction, you are introduced to the essentials of oil painting in a relaxed and encouraging environment. Everyone will finish a painting ready to hang.
Paper and Bookmaking Workshop
Explore the expansive world of book arts in this 3 day workshop, where you will learn the basics of papermaking and a variety of bookbinding techniques! This beginner level class will introduce how to make paper from organic and recycled pulp, using a process simple enough to be recreated at home or in the classroom. Students will learn how to use a mold and deckle to pull their own sheets that can be later used in their hand-made books. Mia will be demonstrating book-binding techniques using stitching and folding, and students will have the opportunity to create two bound works. This is the perfect class for art teachers looking to bring back new skills to their classrooms, or anyone interested in expanding their 2D practice to a 3D form!
View the Supply List HERE
Mindful Creations: Kintsugi Collage
Inspired by the Japanese practice of Kintsugi, this collage workshop invites participants to explore mindfulness and self-compassion by transforming fragments into a unified work, honoring imperfections as places of strength, beauty, and light.
This class is presented in partnership with the Counseling Center of Highlands and the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation as part of their Bee Kind mental health awareness initiative.
Breaking into Portrait Painting in Oils with Nicholas Thorp
View the Supply List HERE
In this hands-on workshop you will paint four portraits over three days to establish a foundation in painting portraits in oil. Three portraits will be painted with an alla prima technique, and one will be painted using the slower indirect, academic approach. This will give you a wide variety of tools to start you on the exciting road of painting portraits.
The Language of Layers: Discovering Your Artistic Voice in Oil and Cold Wax with Lisa Boardwine
View the Supply List HERE
This workshop is designed for artists eager to explore the expressive possibilities of abstraction through the versatile medium of oil and cold wax. Together we’ll experiment with mark making, layering, texture and color to build rich, luminous surfaces that tell a story. Through guided exercises and demonstrations, you’ll learn how to combine intuitive gestures with thoughtful composition — allowing your personal artistic voice to emerge naturally. This class invites freedom, play, and discovery. The workshop will encourage you to take risks, embrace process, and trust your intuition as you create compelling, light and texture-filled abstract paintings.
Whether you’re new to cold wax medium or seeking to deepen your practice, you’ll leave with fresh techniques, finished pieces, and renewed inspiration for your art journey. Join me and let's paint together May 20th-22nd!
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Visit: 323 Franklin Road
Highlands, NC 28741 (Map It)
Call: 828-526-4949 (Main)
828-787-2892 (Ceramics Studio)

This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Learn more at NCArts.org

Funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Learn more at SouthArts.org.

Funding is due in part to a Tourism Grant with Visit Highlands, NC. Learn more HighlandsChamber.org