Evangelos Courpas

Art i(s) fact, Wood is Fiction: Turning and Stacking Stories

August 9 - 14, 2026

Open to All Skill Levels

Woodturning

Overview

This workshop explores the introductory aspects of both green woodworking and lathe-turned wood objects to create small wood sculptures, or three-dimensional collages. The process involves two contrasting approaches: students will first engage in green woodworking, starting with a log and learning to split, rive, and shape parts like dowels on a shaving horse with a drawknife and spoke shave; this method works with the natural grain of the wood, allowing its unique twists and turns to be visible. Conversely, this workshop will focus on spindle turning techniques on the lathe, where the end grain is cross-cut to form various geometric shapes—cones, spheres, and semi-spheres—that serve as the artifacts. The final sculptures are created by threading an assembly of these artifacts onto one or more dowels extending from a sculptural base, and the workshop will include discussions on narrative in the stacking and re-stacking of the pieces, and in the wood itself.

Course Fee : $852.00

Scholarships & Material Fees

Need help covering workshop costs? Arrowmont offers financial aid opportunities to broaden access to our arts and craft programs. We believe a diverse community enriches the learning experience for all.

Material fees are not included in our national workshop costs, but are included with the cost of our winter short workshops. A material list with estimated costs will be emailed about 30 days before the national workshop begins.

TUITION & FEES

SCHOLARSHIPS

Cost Breakdown

Registration Fee

$50.00

One Week Workshop Tuition

$852.00

Estimated Cost*
*Fees exclude housing and meal plans

$902.00

VIEW HOUSING & MEAL PLAN COSTS

Artist Bio

Evangelos Courpas

Evangelos Courpas is an artist and woodworker living and working in Central South Carolina. Growing up in a diverse, artistic community in Baltimore, Maryland, one of his earliest and most important influences was an apprenticeship with a neighbor, John Alexander, with whom he learned green woodworking and chair making from ages 13 to 17. Courpas holds a BA in Studio Art from Oberlin College (1984) and an MFA in Electronic Integrated Arts from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (2004). His current body of work examines the limitations of cultural hierarchies versus the openness of diversity, often using the abacus as both a structural and metaphorical starting point. He primarily uses trees as his material, believing their unique structural growth, colors, disease, and deformity mirror those of the human body and individuals. His work has been exhibited at venues such as ArtFields in Lake City, SC; Materials: Hard + Soft in Denton, TX; and most recently in a solo exhibition in the Jerry Drown Wood Studio Gallery at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Artist Website

Explore the Wood Studio

With a dedicated building to all things wood, the John Jordan Wood Building, it should come as no surprise that our wood workshops have developed a bit of a reputation for being the best of the best. A dedicated woodturning studio, machine room, and woodworking studio offer a wide range of equipment and options for students and instructors alike. From woodturning to furniture making, greenwood appliques to carving, the sky is the limit for what our wood workshops can do.

Explore the Wood Studio