Fifty-one Years in the Making: Peters Valley Is Back
Grants for new technology have enabled the historic craft village to thrive
Enrolling in a workshop at Peters Valley School of Craft was like taking a journey back in time. You could have an immersion experience studying, say, blacksmithing, ceramics or weaving, living communally in the historic village of Bevans in Layton, N.J.
Those were the Before Times.
Last spring, during the pandemic, Peters Valley – a utopia-like retreat in the natural surroundings of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area – moved into the online world for instructor presentations, workshops, even its renowned craft fair.
This all coincided with the 50th anniversary of Peters Valley. While some may have hoped for more – the anniversary year slogan became “50 Years in the Making” – the organization succeeded with several major efforts: An exhibition at the Hunterdon Museum of Art in Clinton, “From the Ground Up,”