Snow Farm Summer: Summer Art Program for High School Students

At Snow Farm, you're not a student, you're an artist!   As part of the New England Craft Program, the teen summer program offers small-group studios led by professional artists in a residential setting.  Choose from flameworking, ceramics, painting & drawing, metalsmithing/jewelry, sculpture, and kiln glass for ages 14 - 18.

Snow Farm Summer, part of The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, MA, offers a full immersion art and craft curriculum with 6 hours of instructional time each day in a residential setting.  Small group classes and 1: 4 student teacher ratio gives students plenty of one-on-one instruction and critique. For students ages 14 - 18,  Snow Farm is an excellent choice for high school students and teens who are passionate about art. Participants come with varying levels of previous art experience and have the opportunity to expand both their technical art skills and their creative vision in small classes with one-on-one instruction.

Studio choices include glassblowing, flameworking, metalsmithing, painting/drawing, ceramics and welding/metal sculpture.  All the students who come to Snow Farm Summer have one thing in common – they love making art, and no matter what they walk in the door with, they leave with an unforgettable experience, lasting friendships, and real skills.

For students considering art school or a career in the arts, Snow Farm Summer is an excellent way to expand and develop a portfolio. Recent alumni have gone on to study at RISD, Alfred University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and many other top-level art programs. Many of our alumni are now established artists. 

Students who do not aspire to art school - or aren't sure - are equally welcome and comfortable in the supportive and engaging environment at Snow Farm Summer art program.  The tranquil setting and focused study provide an opportunity to explore something completely new or dig deeper into a topic they studied at school. Some students simply want to access a part of themselves that gets neglected during the demands of a busy academic schedule. 

Students enroll in two studio classes - one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Daily life looks like this:

• 7:30 am - Wake up
• 8:00 am - Breakfast
• 9 am - Morning studio
• Noon to 1:30 pm - Lunch and free time
• 1:30pm to 4:30 pm - Afternoon studio
• 4:30pm to 6pm - Open studio or group activity
• 6pm - Dinner and free time
• 7:30pm - Open Studio, Instructor presentations, or group activity

Individual classes sometimes take short field trips to nearby museums, artist studios, or galleries.  And, of course, there’s time every day for more relaxed activities such as a trip to a swimming hole or a nearby town for ice cream stand or a pick-up soccer game.

On weekends, the pace is different.  On Saturdays, we welcome guest artists to campus. They offer a full-day class in something different than what students have been working on all week, for example illustration, basket making, or fabric dyeing. On Saturday night and Sunday, our creative staff offer fun activities both on and off campus, such as hiking, swimming, movie night, talent shows, dance parties, and bonfires.

The director and assistant director of Snow Farm Summer are both experienced high school teachers who look forward all year long to their month on "the Farm." The faculty, who also live on site during the program, have college degrees and many have an MFA;  they are tremendous role models and mentors for the participants at Snow Farm Summer, who have access to them not only in class but also at meals, activities, and in the dorms. 

Snow Farm Summer at the New England Craft Program began nearly 30 years ago as one of the only places a young person could be taken seriously as an artist.  Today, we are still one of the only places in the country where teens can work with glass in a professional scale hot shop or flameworking studio.  Many programs offer solid instruction and good equipment, but what distinguishes Snow Farm, in the words of our director, is the "culture and community . . . a place that is safe, supportive and healthy."