Institute for Continuing Learning upcoming events

Appalachian Blacksmithing - Twenty-first Century Frontier Knife (July 21, 2026)

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Instructor - Ray Anderson

Course Fee $25.00

One Time Materials Fee $80.00

Class Prerequisite: Beginner Blacksmith Class.

This three-day frontier knife class will be hot forged using traditional blacksmith skills; hammers, tongs, files, sandpaper. We will be adding riveting and heat-treating techniques to the skill learned in the Beginner Blacksmith Class and Frontier Knife Class. We will hand build a frontier-style knife using traditional techniques of blacksmiths of old. Forging a knife blade on the anvil using a hammer, files, heat treating and sharpening with no or very little electric grinding. Next, we will fashion the handle and attach it using pine tar and hand made rivets to complete! Please note this class is co-ed. Materials fee is payable to the instructor the first day of class.

We will provide all necessary equipment and supplies.

Water

Safety glass and hearing protection.

You may bring your own tools if you have them.

You will need to bring and/or wear

Closed toe shoes (boots preferred)

Long pants

Non-alcohol drink and a snack

Note taking material for your own use

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Raymond Anderson is the owner of The Blacksmith Experience. Ray has been working in metal for a lifetime. He retired from the USN as a boiler maker. His co-instructor is Elmer Rouch, a world famous Blacksmith and National treasure. We hope you enjoy this Blacksmith Experience. Forging a lifetime of memories, and having a great time in the process.

Urban/Rural Sketching (July 21, 2026)

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Course Leader - Julia Stevens

Course Fee - $25.00

Materials Fee - $10.00

Urban/Rural sketching: A beginner’s course to sketching on location. This will include a refresher on 1 point perspective and an introduction to 2 point perspective.

Class will begin in classroom and, weather permitting, will segue to outdoor learning.

Painting by Julia Stevens

Julia began her passion for painting outdoors at an early age by sketching, drawing and painting along the banks of St. Johns River in Northeast Florida. Upon graduating from Florida Southern College with a BA in Fine Ar, Julia began her teaching career in art for the Broward County School District. Julia has won numerous awards for her artwork, including but not limited to Best in Category in 2011 International Fine Arts Competition and Best of Show with the Broward Art Guild.

Piloga - Yoga (July 22, 2026)

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:15:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Shauna Belt

Course Fee - $50.00

Piloga is the perfect fusion of Pilates precision and yoga flow. This class is designed to build core strength, improve flexibility, and enhance mind-body connection through a seamless blend of dynamic Pilates movements and grounding yoga postures.

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Shauna Belt 200 HR YTT Yoga Renew Certification, Pilates Instructor ISSA Certified, Group Fitness Instructor Issa Certified. Shauna is a true believer in the benefits of Yoga and Pilates. She is very passionate about teaching people how to be more flexible and balanced. Come join her on the mat!

What the Torah Saw (July 22, 2026)

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Rabbi Yonatan Hambourger

Course Fee - $35.00

No Class on July 29th

A student study companion workbook is provided for each session.

No knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish tradition required.

Eight Stories from the Hebrew Bible Through the Lens of Jewish Tradition

These are stories you have carried for years.

The Garden of Eden. Abraham arguing with G-d. Joseph in Potiphar’s house. Balaam’s talking donkey. Moses at the breaking point in the wilderness.

This course is an invitation to read them again — this time through the interpretive tradition that has preserved and lived inside these texts for thousands of years. What emerges from that encounter will surprise you.

Over eight sessions we will move through narratives and teachings drawn from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — and reaching into the Prophets and the Writings — through the lens of Talmudic commentary, rabbinic interpretation, and Chassidic teaching spanning two thousand years. Each week we will open the text carefully, follow the rabbis into its layers, bring in the voices of Jewish mystics and legal authorities, and ask: what does this story say to a person trying to live faithfully right now?

What if the stories you thought you knew were only the surface? What if the tradition that preserved these texts has been reading them very differently all along?

No prior knowledge of Jewish tradition is required. No Hebrew is necessary. What is required is a love of the Hebrew Bible and a willingness to read it carefully. The questions these texts raise are often the questions you have been carrying for years without knowing where to take them.

Each session includes a thoughtfully designed study companion with key sources, story summaries, Hebrew vocabulary with pronunciation, and guided reflection questions — allowing you to continue engaging the material between sessions.

Week 1 · The Garden of Eden · Genesis 2–3

Where does moral knowing come from — and what did the serpent actually take from us?

Week 2 · The Creation of the Human Being · Genesis 1:26–27

What does it mean that every human being was created in the image of G-d — and what follows from that claim about how we are obligated to treat one another?

Week 3 · Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife · Genesis 39

What is Joseph actually protecting when he refuses — and what does the Torah’s understanding of intimacy say to the world we live in now?

Week 4 · Hidden Integrity · Genesis 29–31 · Genesis 31:19–35 · Exodus 16

Who are you when no one is watching — and does the Hebrew Bible believe the hidden moment is ever truly hidden? (Jacob and Laban · Rachel’s Theft of the Idols · The Manna in the Wilderness)

Week 5 · Abraham Argues with G-d for the City of Sodom · Genesis 18 · Exodus 22 · Deuteronomy 24

What gives a human being the right to argue with G-d about justice — and what does Abraham’s audacity demand of us?

Week 6 · The Mother Bird · The Muzzled Ox · The Laws of Animal Compassion ·

Deuteronomy 22:6–7 · Deuteronomy 25:4 · Leviticus 22:28

Why does the Torah legislate how we treat animals — and what does our treatment of the smallest creatures reveal about who we are becoming?

Week 7 · Balaam and Balak · The Spies of Moses and Joshua · Numbers 22–24 · Numbers 13–14 · Joshua 2

What is the difference between speaking truly and speaking with integrity — and what happens when the most powerful voice in the ancient world is permanently for sale?

Week 8 · Moses and the Seventy Elders · Eldad and Medad · Numbers 11

When G-d takes the spirit resting on Moses and places it on seventy others — does Moses lose anything? And what does the answer tell us about what we are supposed to do with whatever we have been given?

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Rabbi Yonatan Hambourger shares the wisdom of Torah with Jewish and non-Jewish audiences of all faiths and backgrounds. His work is especially focused on helping people encounter the Hebrew Bible through the depth of Jewish interpretation — in a way that illuminates rather than challenges whatever they already carry. Over the past four years he has taught at the Young Harris College Institute for Continued Learning, in Georgia prisons, and on military bases.

He is the author of Echoes From Sinai, a collection of Torah-rooted moral reflections available on Amazon, and A Pathway of Moral Clarity for Seekers of All Faiths, available as a free download at TasteofTorah.org/pathway. He writes a weekly Torah reflection and a weekly moral essay, distributed across Substack, email, and several weekly newspapers across Georgia.

Plein Air Painting with Watercolors (July 23, 2026)

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Virginia Tinsley

Course Fee - $30.00

Plein Air Painting with Watercolors will meet at various locations in the area to paint the beautiful scenes around us. Virginia will email the location of the first class and the supply lists to registrants before the first class. Everyone should bring a portable lawn chair or a portable watercolor easel when we meet outdoors.

Virginia Tinsley has always loved painting with watercolors. Since living in Young Harris, she has participated in plein air groups and events capturing the beautiful scenery around us. Her works have won awards in plein air painting competitions. She is a signature member of the Georgia Watercolor Society.

Blissful Balance (July 23, 2026)

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Anastyne Gibson

Course Fee - $50.00

This 75 minute yoga class focuses on balancing postures in the Hatha Yoga Practice. Balancing poses help improve stability and proprioception, increase core strength, and focus while reducing injury risk. Balancing postures also improve mental health and longevity.

Personal mats are recommended, though not required (i.e., we have mats students can borrow for each class).

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My name is Anastyne and I am a 200 hour registered yoga teacher specializing in gentle, beginner friendly Hatha yoga. My approach is rooted in slowing down, tuning in, and creating a space where you feel safe to explore your body and breath. My yoga journey began shortly after graduating high school. I found that yoga is what made me feel most at home in my body and clear in my mind, and was something I could practice both on and off the mat. It has changed the way I carry myself and the way I view the world. My practice is inspired by my love for nature, animals, and a free-spirited, earthy lifestyle. My classes are designed to help you reconnect, not only with your body but with the world around you. It is an honor to be able to share my love of yoga with you and to help guide others on their journey to peace and equanimity.

Hatha Happy Hour (July 27, 2026)

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Anastyne Gibson

Course Fee - $50.00

Hatha yoga is a yoga practice focused on balancing the mind and the breath through yoga postures or “asanas.” This is a beginner friendly class that offers many of yoga's foundational poses, which are held for short periods while practitioners explore alignment, strength, and flexibility. Expect a mixture of standing and seated postures.

Personal mats are recommended, though not required (i.e., we have mats students can borrow for each class).

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Urban/Rural Sketching (July 28, 2026)

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Course Leader - Julia Stevens

Course Fee - $25.00

Materials Fee - $10.00

Urban/Rural sketching: A beginner’s course to sketching on location. This will include a refresher on 1 point perspective and an introduction to 2 point perspective.

Class will begin in classroom and, weather permitting, will segue to outdoor learning.

Painting by Julia Stevens

Stay Gold, Ponyboy: America vs. Appalachia (July 28, 2026)

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Mikala Jones-Wall

Course Fee - $25.00

Please note dates and times. The first class will be in the Classroom C and the other two classes will be on Zoom.

Join us in our comparison of S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders and Ron Rash’s short story “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” Both offer similar themes–thanks largely to Robert Frost’s influence–but in very different settings and circumstances. This class will establish confident threads of ‘literary lineage’ and bridge understanding of the nation with localized understandings of Southern Appalachia. Participants should obtain a copy of Hinton’s novel The Outsiders and Rash’s short story collection Nothing Gold Can Stay. Additional digital materials will be provided by the instructor. Author Ron Rash will be present during the final class for live Q&A.

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Mikala Jones-Wall joined Young Harris College’s Department of Literature and Languages in 2020. She holds an MA in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a BA in English Literature from Young Harris College.

Piloga - Yoga (July 29, 2026)

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:15:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Shauna Belt

Course Fee - $50.00

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Plein Air Painting with Watercolors (July 30, 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Virginia Tinsley

Course Fee - $30.00

Blissful Balance (July 30, 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Anastyne Gibson

Course Fee - $50.00

Personal mats are recommended, though not required (i.e., we have mats students can borrow for each class).

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Making a Smash Book/Junk Journal (July 30, 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Instructor - Cheryl Warner

Course Fee - $25.00

Materials Fee - $25.00 for each class

2 Classes - July 9th and July 30th

This class combines the art of junk journals with the creativity of smashing it all into pages you've created.

A Smash Book is a free-spirited way to capture your thoughts, memories and inspirations using "junk" (ticket stubs, old book pages, receipts, packaging, fabric scraps, buttons, pictures, tags, etc).

A Junk Journal is a handmade book filled with a mishmash of papers, ephemera, scraps, and embellishments. Junk journaling embraces chaos and imperfection.

Both invite you to explore the art of collage, mixed media and storytelling in a freestyle manner. The beauty lies in it's nature where each page is a unique expression of colors, textures, memories and feelings. Whether you're documenting your days, creating mood or vision boards, or just making art, your book is a space just for you.

It's total creative freedom. It's also therapeutic and you deserve to spend time focused on yourself.

In the first class you will make your book and begin on the first few pages.

In the second class you'll bring all the things you found around the house and start working on your pages.

There will be a LOT of supplies for you to use but feel free to bring anything you want. It's also a great way to get rid of little crafty things you've had but never used.

Supplies to bring: Xacto knife, detail scissors. There are suggestions in the pictures.

Deep down I'm still a Louisiana girl-- but Georgia has been my home since 1992. My BA degree was in elementary/ special education, M.Ed in Curriculum & Instruction and Ed.S in Arts Integration. I loved elementary-aged, but after moving to the high school level, I worked there for 14 years. After retiring and moving to Blairsville four years ago, I taught GED classes at the Detention Center through NGTC.

I began "creating" anything I could around the age of 6. I can remember making cat beds out of kleenex boxes and popsicle sticks. I designed my own Barbie clothes and made my own outfits in high school.

The hardest question to answer is "what type of art do you do?" I don't knit. I don't crochet. But I like painting, wood crafts, papercrafts, sewing, mixed media projects, sewing, quilting, and a lot more.

My daughter and I craft together as Mumsy & Me Creations, LLC when we have time. Our creations are in Cable's Gallery, Keen Creations & The Farmer Mercantile.

I'm excited to join ICL staff so I can share my two favorite talents: teaching and crafting!

Hatha Happy Hour (August 03, 2026)

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Anastyne Gibson

Course Fee - $50.00

Personal mats are recommended, though not required (i.e., we have mats students can borrow for each class).

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Urban/Rural Sketching (August 04, 2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Course Leader - Julia Stevens

Course Fee - $25.00

Materials Fee - $10.00

Urban/Rural sketching: A beginner’s course to sketching on location. This will include a refresher on 1 point perspective and an introduction to 2 point perspective.

Class will begin in classroom and, weather permitting, will segue to outdoor learning.

Painting by Julia Stevens

Piloga - Yoga (August 05, 2026)

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:15:00 GMT

Course Instructor - Shauna Belt

Course Fee - $50.00

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What the Torah Saw (August 05, 2026)

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT