Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at the doorstep of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has long been a tourist mecca with an abundance of recreational and cultural opportunities ranging from amusement parks to a first-class aquarium.

Weeks after our early November visit to the area, a fire ravaged the hillsides of Sevier County, in which Gatlinburg is located. The blaze covered 17,140 acres, including 11,000 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel. It burned or destroyed 2,460 buildings, many of which were in or near Gatlinburg.

One of several Gatlinburg establishments we visited and became concerned about was Arrowmont, an arts and crafts school. Arrowmont is located on a 13-acre hillside campus a mile from the entrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, an area ravaged by the fire. The school’s administration says the school is still operating despite losing two buildings to the fire.

Arrowmont is a special place that began life as a settlement school in 1912 when formal schooling in the area was unavailable. Pi Beta Phi Sorority filled that void, taking on the project of educating the local children.

The students’ parents thanked teachers by giving them handicrafts such as baskets and small tapestries. This led to the establishment of the Arrowcraft Shop, where handicrafts were sold with receipts returned to the families. It also resulted in summer craft workshops at the school.

When Sevier County assumed responsibility for educating children in the early 1940s, the sorority began focusing strictly on arts and crafts. The school has since attracted students who include the crafty and not-yet-crafty.

Arrowmont offers one and two-week workshops from June through November. In 2016, it hosted 167 workshops devoted to nearly every type of handicraft including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, jewelry making and basket weaving. Students work with clay, metals, glass, enamels, fibers, textiles and wood.

Most workshops are open to participants of all skill levels, although a few require some advanced knowledge or skills pertaining to a particular craft.

Instructors come from all over the world. Some teach in universities, while many are studio artists. All are excellent at their respective crafts and take pride in sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

Asked how the school recruits such talented artists, Arrowmont’s executive director Bill May told us, “Instructors love teaching here because they work with individuals of all ages and abilities who want to be here. They are surrounded by creativity and there is no grading and no pressure.”

Past participants at Arrowmont have come from every state and 26 countries. Students arrive either as beginners who want to learn a craft or experienced craft people who wish to improve their skills. May said students come to learn, but also to experience the camaraderie that exists with fellow participants. “There is a community aspect to art. It brings people together. They find a way to respect each other and share. They don’t feel judged.”

During our campus visit, we walked through several studios where workshops were in progress. We observed Holly Cooper’s students watch carefully as she used a blowtorch to decorate a glass bead. Bill May summed up the scene when he said, “Technology changes but the thrill of making things with your hands, your heart and your head hasn’t changed for the passionate students.”

We were surprised to encounter one workshop where each participant was making a pair of shoes. The instructor, Molly Grant, is owner of the Cordwainer Shop in New Hampshire. She explained that cordwainers, or leather shoemakers, sold shoes as kits in the depression of the 1930’s when they were worn by well-known people such as Mary Pickford. Molly has made shoes for Bill Murray, Demi Moore and other celebrities. She said she particularly enjoys teaching others how to make shoes for themselves.

Two participants in the shoemaking workshop, Susan Stewart and her daughter, Annie Pennington, have participated in five workshops during the past few years. They live in different states and consider the week at Arrowmont a special time together doing something they each enjoy.

The majority of Arrowmont’s participants and instructors take advantage of on-campus lodging and dining facilities. Living quarters range from dormitory-style rooms with a shared bath to single rooms with a private bath. Two of the five lodging buildings were destroyed in the fire, so lodging is currently limited, but plans for replacements are in the works. Lodging at the school includes three daily meals.

Arrowmont gives back to the community with an Artreach program that brings more than 700 of Sevier County’s students, from grades 4 through 12, to the campus. Each student participates in a day-long workshop of his or her choosing.

During January and February, Arrowmont offers programs and workshops for the local community. Adult workshops are held in the evenings, while children’s workshops are offered Saturday mornings.

Arrowmont encourages all teachers to promote the arts by offering them half-price tuition.

To discover more about workshops and events offered at Arrowmont throughout 2017, visit www.arrowmont.org; or send for their catalog at: Arrowmont, School of Arts and Crafts, PO Box 567, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.