Escape to Frog Hollow

J-term allows students to discover what lies just around the corner
Issue date: 01/07/06
Publication: Freelance
Kerren McKeeman

With a little less to do and a more concentrated schedule, J-term welcomes the chance to break from the pattern and explore what you may have overlooked during the rush of the semester. Students get a chance to venture out to enjoy the beautiful Vermont outdoors, as well venturing in to find small, cozy atmospheres that offer a peaceful escape. One place that comes with a feeling of warmth and a hub of creativity is the world you find when you set foot in Frog Hollow. Anyone who has eaten at the Storm Café or trafficked the foot bridge that brings you over Otter Creek and into Marbleworks has come very close to this special place, perhaps without quite knowing what they were missing.
Started in 1971 as an after school clay program for young people, Frog Hollow has since then grown into a non-profit organization that includes a year-round Craft School offering classes in many media to all age groups, as well as three Craft Galleries located in Middlebury, Manchester, and Burlington, Vermont. The Middlebury Gallery resides in the front half of the building overlooking the Otter Creek falls, and is filled with the detailed artwork of over 250 juried Vermont artisans who specialize in anything from blown glass, intricate jewelry, to wood carvings, framed photographs, and household furniture. Everything is handcrafted with delicate care and overwhelming precision.
Entering from the back into the Craft School you find yourself stepping into quite a different atmosphere, as the light shade of clay dust softens the color of the walls, floor, furniture, and, depending on how long you have been there, your clothing. Classes offered to adults range from pottery, knitting, glass bead-making, wood-carving, woodblock print-making, wax-carving, and jewelry-making, to painting, drawing and even the occasional guitar and song-writing lessons. A lucky group of Middlebury students come to Frog Hollow four times a week during January for Mathematics Professor David Dorman’s hands-on ceramics class, Trial by Fire, in which students experiment with the wheel and learn about giving up their creation to the fire of the kiln.
Of the many places to explore during J-term, Frog Hollow is a true gem of Middlebury and a strong sustainer of fine art and crafts in Vermont. Whether it be to take the opportunity to enroll in a class for the upcoming Spring semester or to simply browse the gallery for a beautiful handmade gift to bring home to your family, Frog Hollow is a place we are lucky to have in our backyard.
Frog Hollow is located up the hill from the Storm Café on Mill Street, which is a left off of Main Street when coming from the College. For more information about classes, scholarships, or the gallery, visit www.froghollow.org.