For over 80 years, the Hop Student Workshops have opened the doors to students diving into a craft, expressing themselves and finding community among their creative peers. And each year, we love sharing with the many friends of the Workshops who have experienced the joy and learning of these magical spaces. As we prepare to return to our revitalized home, we’re excited to share these student stories with you here in digital form.
Finding Joy in Making
Hello from the Student Woodshop. In reflecting on this past year, I’ve been thinking about the wide range of experiences that take place here. Traditionally we host those who are exploring their own creative ideas. This extracurricular endeavor is important because it tends to remove the burden of an expected performance and often stimulates an innovative and free-wheeling atmosphere for creativity. Students from all ends of the College seek out this opportunity to create—sometimes as respite from all else that weighs on their minds, but often the joy of making becomes a central focus.
Aside from individual projects, the Woodshop fully embraces being involved in academic coursework that comes our way. That can be an individual that uses the Woodshop to pursue their designs and prototypes, or an entire class led by their professor to investigate the fabricated world. We work with many departments on campus: Studio Art, Engineering, Computer Science, Classics, Music, special interest clubs; on and on.
We function at the intersection of design, making art, making practical objects, practical skills, and the engineering behind all of that making. Aside from building wooden objects from scratch, we promote repairing furniture, bicycles, electronics or whatever comes through our door. We show students how to make tools to solve their unique needs. Students learn how to look, understand and solve problems.
This is a community of searching for and building skills that get us back to engaging in the world with our hands and minds in equal parts and to experience the enduring value of working with one’s hands. And maybe most importantly, feeling the appreciation and joy that comes from that.
"One day, as a freshman at Dartmouth in 1981, I wandered into the Woodshop in the basement of the Hop. I may have been visiting my mailbox in search of a care package—my Mom is an excellent baker of brownies. Or I may have just been lost. In any case, upon entering, I was amazed, and my amazement only grew as I got to know the place and the people who worked there. Here was a whole room full of fascinating machines and tools you could use to make… anything out of wood. And a group of apron-wearing experts with the job of helping students and others make their wood-working dreams a reality. I was hooked. I spent my free time in the shop, exploring the art of the possible. I made Christmas gifts. I grew confident working with my hands. It changed my life." Tom Eldridge ’85
Mike Villarreal TU’25
The Woodshop provides me with a space to step away from the intensity of the MBA program and focus on something tangible. The process of shaping raw materials into a finished piece offers a calming, hands-on experience that helps clear my mind. It has made me more aware of the skill and effort required to create, giving me a deeper appreciation for the labor and creativity that goes into everyday objects. The Woodshop has become a place where I can relax and recharge, finding a sense of accomplishment in each project I complete.
"The Woodshop holds a special place in my heart. The instructors are incredibly skilled and genuinely dedicated to helping craftsmen grow. Here in this haven, I can truly be myself, surrounded by like-minded individuals who share my love for crafting. It’s more than just a workshop; it’s where dreams transform into reality.” Li’ua Tengan ’25
Our Creative Community
I’m constantly amazed by the wide variety of daily requests that we get from Dartmouth students who utilize the Jewelry Studio. From help with academic projects, to gifts for family and friends, to setting rocks and beach glass found on a Foreign Study Program adventure, to almost weekly group jewelry-making events, the list goes on.
In September 2024, the Hop asked us how many Dartmouth students used the Jewelry Studio in our temporary Black Family Visual Arts Center (BVAC) home last school year. To my amazement, we found that 895 individual Dartmouth students (14% of Dartmouth students) made something with us during that time. Back in the Hop we’d get 750–950 individual students per year. The fact that we got those participation numbers in our smaller, temporary BVAC space is an incredible accomplishment and speaks to the power of our dynamic student jewelry-making community and all who contribute to it.
Six Years and Counting
This fall marks six years since I started coming to the Jewelry Studio, four since I started working here, three since I graduated, and just one or two since I realized I was head over heels for the craft. I used to think I would quit making jewelry when I left Dartmouth; how would I ever follow up such a well-resourced, well-mentored environment and hope to find the same spark? Thankfully, those very resources and mentors have helped illuminate my path forward, using professional development funding to send me to craft schools like Haystack and Metalwerx and giving me constant notes on whose work might inspire me, which MFA programs might suit me, and who I might seek out as a mentor wherever I go next. Beyond that, the community at the Jewelry Studio helps me grow every day and is one of the greatest joys of my young adult life. We see hundreds and hundreds of students, each one teaching us something as we sync up our teaching and learning styles, trying to understand and be understood by one another well enough to cocreate. The Jewelry Studio has taught me this model for seeking earnest connection with everyone who crosses my path, and I’m incredibly grateful to take that with me into the rest of my life.
Sonu Shaik ’25
2024/25 Hop Fellow
When I came to Dartmouth, I had no idea that I’d love making jewelry. I didn’t even have an intention to go to the Jewelry Studio, let alone to become its fellow during my senior year. I ended up with a little topaz during a trip to India during my freshman winterim, which drove me to the studio out of curiosity and a desire to turn my stone into a ring. I fell in love with the studio and the art it allowed me to create. Very quickly, I became incredibly grateful for this part of my Dartmouth experience—Dartmouth’s peer schools offer comparable resources in many aspects, but if I didn’t go here, I would never have discovered my love for jewelry.
I’ve worked at the Jewelry Studio since my sophomore year, and it is now my favorite space on campus. I love that I can show up and always be greeted with open arms by artists I’ve created deep bonds with and would never have connected with in my Dartmouth life outside of the studio.
"The Jewelry Studio has given me the chance to explore a creative medium that was once out of reach, offering a unique form of expression. It provides a valuable balance to my academic work at Tuck.” Susan Chen TU’25
Focusing in the Ceramics Studio
The second year in the Black Family Visual Arts Center swing space has been productive with students enjoying our two-part introductory classes and making good work. Instructor Sarah Heimann leads many of these classes with very successful results.
This year, I hosted two visiting ceramic artists, Marc Leuthold and Sana Musasama. Both artists offered hands-on, one-day workshops for students.
Leuthold’s workshop involved transforming solid clay forms into fired boxes, cylinders and rings using only a kitchen utensil. The students especially enjoyed these small-scale projects and have continued to use these techniques on other pieces.
Musasama gave the Allen Root Distinguished Lecture at the Hood Museum accompanying an installation of her ceramic sculpture in the exhibit “Immersive Worlds.” During her visit I asked her to meet with ceramics students in the studio. She introduced the making of signature rollers, derived from an African tradition of individuals creating their unique pattern that can be incorporated into soft clay pieces.
Studio Art sculpture and drawing classes created projects in the studio during the spring term. This fall I worked with Professor Powell’s NAIS 42 Gender Issues and Professor Park’s Advanced Sculpture classes.
Working in the BVAC 333 studio with a dedicated group of ’25s during their last year at Dartmouth, I am grateful for their enthusiasm towards learning ceramics. It is not always easy, yet it is important enough to them to devote their time without receiving academic credit for their efforts.
Gabriel Modisett ’25
I first came to the Ceramics Studio in my freshman fall and instantly fell in love. Even with no prior experience working with clay, aside from Play-Doh, I was welcomed with open arms. Jenny and Sarah are always there to help execute every zany idea that pops into my head, and ceramics has become a fundamental part of my practice as an artist. Having the opportunity to learn wheel throwing has changed my life and I will never look at a mug the same. I have found a community in the studio, one where we bounce ideas off of each other and learn from one another, which has been an amazing bonus. Recently I visited Jenny’s local exhibit with master potter Dave Ernster, a trip that permanently changed my outlook on the possibilities of ceramics. As I prepare to graduate this year, the Ceramics Studio will be an unforgettable part of my life at Dartmouth.
"I love the Ceramics Studio! The teachers Jenny and Sarah are so helpful and supportive, and we are so lucky to have such an awesome creative space on campus.” Amelia Tucker ’26
We’d love to hear from you:
- Greg Elder, Woodworking Shop Director | gregory.elder@dartmouth.edu
- Jeff Georgantes, Donald Claflin Jewelry Studio Director | t.jeffrey.georgantes@dartmouth.edu
- Jenny Swanson, Ceramics Studio Director | jennifer.s.swanson@dartmouth.edu