Location: Walnut Family Bakery in Walnut, North Carolina 

Dates: April 11th and 12th. 9am to 3pm both days

Price: $375*

Tickets available: 10 (8 full-price, 2 scholarship – see note below)

What’s included: All baking, floral, painting instruction & materials, deliciously prepared lunches on both days + a handmade ceramic palette to take home.

Join Molly Reeder and Brennan Johnson for a two-day workshop celebrating the Appalachian spring outside of Marshall, North Carolina! 

Modeling our own work on the spring energetics of Appalachian plants–pushing out from their winter fortifications, unfurling towards the light, adding vibrancy back into the mountainsides–we’ll be coming together in a legendary culinary and educational space in Walnut, North Carolina for two days of shared inspiration and creative exercises. 

The mornings will be centered upon cooking and baking with foraged plants. We’ll discuss how to forage sustainably, where to look, and how to celebrate the different flavors and textures of Appalachian plants. Brennan will teach some baking techniques like a rustic pie dough, which we will use to make savory galettes with foraged greens and blossoms, and other pastries and foods that showcase their flavors. We’ll utilize the brick oven for our work, cooking down vegetables and baking our galettes. 

Afternoons will be devoted to watercolor painting. Molly will lead us in our painting sessions as we learn about her approach to painting, focusing on the way ritual and mindfulness can hold us through our art making process. Our own subject matter will be the plants we forage and the foods we cook with them. Painting back to back days will provide ample time to practice watercolor techniques such as wet on dry painting, and learning how to observe and capture your subjects without rushing.

We hope to inspire continued creative practices for participants in this two-day workshop, and offer students an opportunity for community and collaboration as we all rise up after a long winter. Lunch will be cooked by Brennan both days, and vegetarian and gluten free options are available for those who ask. Participants will have the chance to take home their paintings, their baked goods, and a handmade ceramic palette. 

*2 scholarships are available for this workshop! We are asking around $200 per ticket for these. Please send us an email at brennan@walnutschoolhouse.com and molly@mollyreeder.com if you are interested, and include a paragraph about your interest in the workshop. There will be no questions on our end asking you to explain your financial situation or justify your need for a scholarship–we just want to hear why you are interested and what you hope to learn!