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!
The Bascom's Education Department is committed to providing life-enriching experiences through comprehensive arts education for children and adults. We offer a variety of educational programs which include workshops, ongoing classes, Art by Appointment, Open Studio Packages, field trips, demonstrations, community classes, and clubs - designed to meet the needs of artists of all skill levels.
Registration
To register for any of our classes or workshops, simply click the REGISTER button for that class or workshop.
Prefer to register over the phone? Call 828.526.4949.
Refund Policy (Please Read!)
50% of your tuition payment is a non-refundable deposit. In the event that a student requests cancellation prior to 45 days of class/workshop commencement, he/she will be offered a course transfer or refund of 50% of the tuition payment. If a student cancels within 45 days prior to the first day of class, no refund will be made. The Bascom reserves the right to cancel any program that does not meet minimum enrollment, and full refunds will be issued.
The Bascom's Education Department is committed to providing life-enriching experiences through comprehensive arts education for children and adults. Our lectures and seminars are designed to provide informative and educational opportunities for artists of all skill levels in a variety of mediums.
Registration
To register for any of our classes or workshops, simply click the REGISTER button for that class or workshop.
Prefer to resister over the phone? Call 828.526.4949.
REFUND POLICY (Please Read)
50% of your tuition payment is a non-refundable deposit. In the event that a student requests cancellation prior to 45 days of class/workshop commencement, he/she will be offered a course transfer or refund of 50% of the tuition payment. If a student cancels within 45 days prior to the first day of class, no refund will be made. The Bascom reserves the right to cancel any program that does not meet minimum enrollment, and full refunds will be issued.
One of the great benefits to becoming a member of The Bascom is having the opportunity to participate with like-minded individuals in one of the clubs or artist groups that convene on our campus.
Fall Exhibition Reception
The Fall Reception celebrates three new exhibitions on view across The Bascom's galleries and opens the weekend of the 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Guests move through the galleries to honor community artists whose work speaks to the influence of women in the arts, encounter Jo Sandman's experimental practice through The Bascom's partnership with the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and meet the featured ceramic artists of The Bascom Clay Symposium. The evening also offers a first look at the weekend ahead, with a preview of the festival's floral-themed programs and a recognition of Michelle Radford as winner of the 2026 Dahlia Poster Contest.
Studio Dahlia Pottery Show
Bascom Studio Members will present a collection of wall pockets and vases, adorned with fresh dahlias, which will be available for purchase during the Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Don't miss the chance to visit the Studio Barn and be truly dazzled!
Trunk Show: Kate Furman
The Bascom Shop welcomes jewelry artist Kate Furman for a trunk show Friday and Saturday, September 11–12, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., held in conjunction with the Dazzling Dahlia Festival.
Furman earned her MFA in Jewelry + Metalsmithing from Rhode Island School of Design in 2012 and her BFA in Jewelry and Metalworking from the University of Georgia in 2008. Working from her studio in Greenville, South Carolina, she gathers materials on long stretches spent in the wilderness: seed pods, bark, bone, and stone shed by the landscape itself. Each piece carries the marks of where it was found, scored by storms and whitewater, and set into fine jewelry that reads like a field journal of place.
Furman's collection will be available for purchase both days of the festival.
Single Bloom Competition
The festival's signature juried competition invites growers and floral designers of all ages to enter single blooms or arrangements across open, novice, youth, and arranged divisions. Free to enter. The juried show will be on view Friday, September 11 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Growers, click here for more information on how to enter.
Youth Collage: Everything's Dahlias!
Young artists will explore color, texture, and layering as they create vibrant collages inspired by the bold shapes and beauty of dahlias.
All Matierials included. Ages 7-12
The Dahlia Dialogue with Sonya Carpenter
Highlands ecologist and garden designer Sonya Carpenter examines how the dahlia's color and form draw pollinators, birds, and butterflies to the garden, and what it takes to keep them nourished on the Plateau. Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. Free.
Beginner Collage: Everything's Dahlias!
Artists will explore color, texture, and layering as they create vibrant collages inspired by the bold shapes and beauty of dahlias.
All Matierials included.
Resident Artist Series: Hand Building Dinnerware and Tableware Accessories
In this 4 day hand building class, we will make objects commonly found on your dinner table using the slab roller and slabs of clay, texture pads, etc. Objects to be made could be Plates, Bowls, Salt/Pepper Shakers, Candle Sticks, Pitcher, etc. Templates will be provided for students to use, although students are welcome to create their own. In an effort to get through as many projects as we can, this class is designed to make examples, not entire plate settings or dinnerware sets. The class includes Open Studio only on the day of class. There is no glazing component to this class. Please see Glazing Class in the Resident Artist Schedule.
Resident Artist Series: Hand Building Dinnerware and Tableware Accessories (2)
In this 4 day hand building class, we will make objects commonly found on your dinner table using the slab roller and slabs of clay, texture pads, etc. Objects to be made could be Plates, Bowls, Salt/Pepper Shakers, Candle Sticks, Pitcher, etc. Templates will be provided for students to use, although students are welcome to create their own. In an effort to get through as many projects as we can, this class is designed to make examples, not entire plate settings or dinnerware sets. The class includes Open Studio only on the day of class. There is no glazing component to this class. Please see Glazing Class in the Resident Artist Schedule.
Learn to Turn II: Woodturning Skill Building with John Tagliarini
Take your woodturning skills to the next level in this intermediate-level workshop. Participants will expand their repertoire by learning pull and shear cuts while focusing on projects such as bowls, Christmas ornaments, and small vases. The class will also explore surface enhancements to add depth and character to turned pieces. Additional projects and diagnostic turning may include making a mallet or a tool handle.
This workshop is designed for students with prior turning experience who are ready to refine their technique and broaden their creative possibilities.
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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