This is a two day workshop; attendance on both days is required in order to sign up.

 In this workshop we will explore the methods and traditions surrounding St. Mary's County Stuffed Ham. The instructor, Bertha Hunt, will be teaching a stuffed ham recipe from the "300 Years of Black Cooking" cookbook. Over the course of this two day workshop, she will share what we know about the history of stuffed ham, then we will demonstrate and teach the steps that go into making St. Mary's County Stuffed Ham.

Bertha Hunt

Bertha Hunt, a native of St. Mary's County, learned her recipe for stuffed ham from her mother. She is the seventh generation to prepare stuffed ham from this recipe. Out of respect to her mother, she will pass the recipe on, but never write it down.

In this workshop, participants will learn the art and history of printmaking and its various types. After a brief introduction to printmaking, the participants will use Gelli printmaking products in order to produce some note cards that they can take with them. They will also be able to take the Gelli printmaking supplies to use on their own and to build on what they learn in the workshop. Lunch will be provided.

Lunch break from 12 noon to 1:00 pm.

Jeanne Hammett

Jeanne Norton Hammett has been working as a silkscreen artist for over 45 years. She is a graduate of St. Mary's College of Maryland with a degree in art. Following her graduation she worked at Historic St. Mary's City as an exhibits designer, she then worked variously as a graphic designer, sign painter, exhibits designer and draftsman for various companies in the Southern Maryland region. She started her own business in 1989 as a freelance graphic artist and silkscreen artist. Jeanne shows her work in various galleries throughout the state of Maryland and in selected shows around the country. Her work can be found in private and corporate collections around the world.

Whether first peoples or early colonists, they survived by relying on the bounty of natural resources here in St. Mary's County. Nature provides water, food, and materials for shelter and tool making. We will explore all of these with hands-on activities. We will use a seine net to catch small fish from near shore waters (get ready to get wet!) and then examine them up close (yes, we get to hold them) in order to identify them and learn more about them. We will also walk along the shore and in nearby green areas catching and identifying insects and finding plants and mushrooms and how they were helpful or dangerous to early people. Last, but not least, we will see how the native plants could be used to create materials and tools that helped them lead their daily lives and create complex and advanced societies and finish by making some cordage from native plants. Students will wear their cordage bracelets home and watch as they last for weeks or months.

Dorothy Birch

Dorothy Birch is the current Natural Resources Management teacher at the James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, a part of St. Mary's County Public Schools. She teaches students in 10th-12th grades about the natural resources provided by the earth and how we can better manage and conserve them. Dorothy has taught nature and environmental science for the past 17 years, both inside the classroom and in the field, working with students of all ages. Originally raised in Reston, Virginia, Dorothy earned her environmental science undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech (1999) and her master's in environmental education from Nova Southeastern University (2006). She has studied and taught the ecosystems in the Appalachian mountains, central Texas, the Gulf Coast, and now on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. In her (very limited) free time, Dorothy likes to hike, kayak, and travel with her beloved daughter and wonderful husband.

This is a two day workshop; attendance on both days is required in order to sign up.

 In this workshop we will explore the methods and traditions surrounding St. Mary's County Stuffed Ham. The instructor, Bertha Hunt, will be teaching a stuffed ham recipe from the "300 Years of Black Cooking" cookbook. Over the course of this two day workshop, she will share what we know about the history of stuffed ham, then we will demonstrate and teach the steps that go into making St. Mary's County Stuffed Ham.

Bertha Hunt

Bertha Hunt, a native of St. Mary's County, learned her recipe for stuffed ham from her mother. She is the seventh generation to prepare stuffed ham from this recipe. Out of respect to her mother, she will pass the recipe on, but never write it down.