Artists: Courtney Adair Johnson and Dr. Megan Jordan

Date: 2026

Size: 8x10

Medium: embroidery thread, fabric, mesh, marker, watercolor on paper, white frame

I geeked out on the Highlander Folk School this past year. One of my dear friends, Dr. Megan Jordan started working as a Mellon Foundation Fellow there and inspired me to dig into their history as she helps develop the original Grundy County site. We visited and toured the area with one of her colleagues. They showing us the gardens, histories and stories of the area and community.

I like to dig in archives. I became interested in publications, titles and drawings along with pictures of people in the buildings and of the land the original Grundy county Highlander Folk School. I took screenshots of song books with titles like Songs of Field and Factory Labor Songs, Songs for Workers, and Songs of the Soil. A Guide to Community Action and other pamphlets caught my eye with their bold titles and dated fonts.

Friends Camp is part of a series of 9 that Jordan and I made in collaboration together. The original publication from 1938 that sparked this pieces is viewable here.