Land Alliance Folk School

Home
United States
Oxford, IA
Land Alliance Folk School

Many people long to step back from the demands of life and find time for rest and connection.

Land Alliance classes and retreats offer space to rekindle your creativity, reencounter the land and discover the joy of learning together.

09/08/2026

This weekend! If you’ve been wanting to learn botanical printing, the Botanical Printing Retreat is a beautiful container to begin your journey. Alongside other creative folks, you’ll get an in depth experience of gathering color from the gardens and transforming it into a printed textile. In addition to detailed instruction on the process, you will have plenty of studio time to hone your skills and learn from each other’s projects. I will be there to guide as you begin your exploration into this awe-inspiring art form. Meals and snacks and drinks will be provided to keep you going through the weekend. Come join us! Link to tickets is in bio.

09/07/2026

We had such a fun afternoon with this small group gathered around the table, chatting over our projects at the open studio today. I continued to expand the colors from my buckthorn dye project (more on that below), and there was wool getting blended into bats for felting, and sweetgrass getting braided and turned into cordage. This was the first time I met sweet grass in person and smelled its fragrance. What a wonderful experience! It made the most delicate, fragrant, beautiful cordage. I’m very much looking forward to it drying into its final form. Thank you, Rosie, for bringing and sharing this treasure.
As for the buckthorn, the berries have turned out a lovely range of blues and greens, the leaves a beautiful range of yellows, and the stems a collection of rich browns. I am amazed and delighted that all of these colors came from the same plant. My one disappointment is that I was hoping to get pinks in addition to the browns from the stems. Not sure how I went wrong, but I’m still celebrating this beautiful lineup of colors and maybe I will get to try again someday.
The next Open Studio will be from 10-5 on New Year’s Day. Come join us!

09/05/2026

Natural dyers know that coming up with blues and greens in the natural dye world can be tricky. Because of that, I was very excited when a friend of mine (thank you, Joyce!) brought me some buckthorn. I have read about this plant and I’ve always wanted to work with it, but have never seen it in real life. Joyce just moved into an area where it grows abundantly (invasively). I separated the berries, the leaves, and the stems, since they each will give a different color. The dye from the leaves and stems is not ready yet, but the berries are proving to be amazing! I was expecting green, but my first test piece produced a dark teal! I then made two more swatches with the berries and modified one with iron and one with alum. It’s been a fun experiment so far and I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome of the other parts of the plant. Hopefully by the open studio tomorrow, I will have more swatches to share with you all. In case you need a reminder, the open studio is from 1 to 5 PM tomorrow (Sunday). I’m definitely looking forward to gathering with you all again.

09/03/2026

This sweet little conversation was going on when I opened the bin yesterday to get the sheep a treat. What are a spider and a mouse thinking about when hanging out with each other?

08/31/2026

Two events are just around the corner!
Next Sunday, Sept 6, is an open studio from 1 - 5 PM. Bring a project, (and a friend and a snack if you’d like) and come hang out at the Folk School and enjoy creative time with other folks. For those of you who are new followers of the folk school, this is a great way to meet the space and the community.
And on the following Friday-Sunday, September 11-14 is the Botanical Printing Retreat! The annual Botanical Print Retreat is always a highlight of the year. It was born out of my own observation that students really benefit from extended time in the studio when learning this craft. Students also learn exponentially more when working alongside other students. Each bundle that is opened has lessons for everyone, and each person’s experiments and observations are valuable for everyone. It’s a wonderful atmosphere of collaborative learning and produces so much enthusiasm for what is possible. If you like to join us, you can find a link in bio for more information under scheduled classes, events, and retreats.

08/26/2026

I’ve been gently chastised for not sending out a reminder about the final Summer Grill Night of the season coming up this Thursday, August 27. My apologies folks! Tickets have been selling without much need of a reminder, but if you’ve been wanting to attend one and haven’t, there are a few spots left! This is a great way to meet the farm and you’ll experience a touch of elderberry on everything – marinades, vinaigrette, condiments, and drinks. These evenings have been such fun and you’re very welcome to join us. You can find your way to tickets in the comments.

08/24/2026

Two things I love about the folk school: the community that happens as we work together and the beautiful things that we get to create. As is often the case, I loved getting to know this group of people and watching them support each other throughout the class. As my farming season is wrapping up, I am looking forward to teaching more in September and through the fall. The botanical print retreat is just a few weeks away! That gathering and creative immersion is definitely a highlight for me every year. In whatever creative form you happen to love, here’s to happy crafting!

08/21/2026

All the rainy weather of the last two weeks has kept us from mowing hay and the weeds have made themselves known! Dave was finally able to begin mowing today and you can see from this photo that the field was wooly! This is good timing because Saturday we’ll be hosting a agroforestry field day here and this field will be on display to demonstrate the ally cropping we do in this hazelnut/ alfalfa field. Guests will also get to learn about the silvopasture practice in the chestnuts and the elderberry harvest currently in progress. The field day is from 10-noon and will include sampling of locally grown chocolate hazelnut spread and Iowa grown pecans, along with elderberry drinks and condiments. Katie Hochstedler will also be here as a representative from and can help point to the resources offered there. Please feel welcome! RSVPs are helpful, of course.

08/20/2026

The indigo vat is alive and refreshed after very long dormancy. I’ve been playing with earthy undertones of tannins and willow (yellow) on these scarves, along with some sample stitch demos for Sunday’s class. Keeping the vat balanced and happy always feels like an adventure, and I love the pigment it produces. I’ve been busy with elderberry season and the wedding, and have not shared much about this upcoming class, but if you would like to join, there is still room, and I’d love to have you. While I’m here, I should mention that the Foundations of Natural Dye class got postponed to Sept 20, and an Open Studio and the Botanical Print Retreat are coming up in September. You can find the link to all the upcoming classes and events in the comments, and get excited that the elderberry season will soon wrap up and there will be more time for being in the studio!

08/19/2026

Evening elderberries. The season continues to amaze and surprise me. These berries are the second wave of an extended season and are proving rather abundant. Several of you have asked about picking. U-pickers are absolutely welcome, just contact me to set up a time. If schedules align I will run the destemmer for you. Cost for picked berries is $4.00/lb in clusters or $1.00/lb more for destemming the berries. They freeze beautifully in case you want to stock up your freezer. Or, if you’re like me, and love a field walk at sunset, just come relax among the berries. The bird song, which was a cacophony for most of the summer has become subdued, and the gentle buzz of insects has taken over. The difference is striking.

Address

1259 Rohret Road SW
Oxford, IA
52322

Telephone

+13193256609

Website

http://landalliancefolk.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Land Alliance Folk School posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Land Alliance Folk School:

Want your business to be the top-listed Food & Beverage Service in Oxford?