Handwork Week at BARN
Handwork Week at Bainbridge Island’s BARN is underway, featuring artist talks, demonstrations and tours celebrating American craft. (bainbridgereview.com) It’s a good live spot for woodworking inspiration and hands-on technique demos if you’re planning spring projects. (bainbridgereview.com)
BARN’s Handwork Week is scheduled for Sunday, April 26 through Friday, May 1, 2026, organized as a five-day program of intensive classes described by the venue as “5 Days, 10 Workshops.” (bainbridgebarn.org) Course offerings pair specific instructors with studio disciplines, including “Make a Salish‑Style Cedar Bentwood Box” with Randi Purser, “Handwork in the Foundry: Cast Bronze Bell” with Jeff Oens, Mario Oblak and Frank Wurden, and “Speak Your Piece: Artist’s Books with Meaning” led by Alisa Banks. (bainbridgebarn.org) A public schedule lists a live bronze pour on Monday, April 27 from 6–9 p.m., multiple evening artists’ talks (including Daniel Winterbottom and Richard Parrish), and a Ricardo Ruiz poetry reading at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on Thursday, April 30 from 6–8 p.m. (bainbridgebarn.org) Handwork Week at BARN is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America with partnership from the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery that involves more than 280 museums, galleries and craft organizations across all 50 states. (craftinamerica.org) BARN opened member registration in advance and listed public registration as opening Oct. 3 (2025), noting that most weeklong workshops had reached capacity while evening demonstrations and talks remain free and open to the community. ( ) Organizers say Handwork Week students will have monitored open‑studio time and additional work sessions during the week, and BARN’s promotional materials note the campus on Bainbridge Island is approximately a 35‑minute ferry ride from Seattle. ( )
