Granville Corner School hosts Barn Quilt Mini-Mural workshop, June 27-28
June 15, 2026 | By Kate Stauss
Artist Meg Reinhold will run a Barn Quilt Mini-Mural workshop at the Corner School Resource Center of Granville, June 27-28. Courtesy photo
Driving the backroads, you might spot one. It brightens up the landscape and marks a homestead with singular charm: a mural on the side of a barn.
It’s just one of the inspirations that artist Meg Reinhold uses in her Barn Quilt Mini-Mural Workshop coming to the Corner School Resource Center of Granville on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28.
“Barn Quilt murals draw on a rural history,” Reinhold said. “I’m trying to honor that tradition while putting my own spin on it.”
Though she’s the product of a conventional formal art education, over time Reinhold’s focus has shifted to more practical materials and spaces. “Murals on wood have a more direct relationship to their location than paint on canvas,” she explains.
A keen interest in plants and textiles also influences her craft. A gardener and herbalist, she frequently uses flowers as motif elements, as did the 19th-century quilt makers whose geometric patterns are central to – and celebrated by – her own work.
“Some people,” she noted, “are painterly quilters. I’m a quilterly painter.”
In the two-day seminar, Meg starts by providing background on the designs of traditional barn quilts and Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Hex medallions, as well as the symbolism and folklore of local botany.
“We cover symmetrical design, color theory, and basic painting techniques,” she describes.
With those tools, participants sketch a design that can be transferred to a two-foot by two-foot wooden panel. “And then we start painting!” she said.
The workshop is accessible even for the novice painter. “These skills are not complicated,” Reinhold said. And the payoff is both satisfying and beautiful. “Everyone’s artwork is going to be like their handwriting – unique to you. That’s what makes it special. We start with very simple designs which can become as complex as you like,” she explains.
As previous participants have mentioned, Reinhold offers plenty of support to bring each design to life. Her own work can be seen in public spaces, including in Littleton, New Hampshire, and along the Lamoille Rail Trail. But she gets real pleasure out of seeing her students’ pieces as she travels the local hills.
“I was driving around the back roads of Granville, and I saw a chicken mural, and I thought, Diane lives there!” she recalls. “A barn quilt mural distinguishes your house from others around it. It’s a very practical art.”
The Barn Quilt Mini-Mural workshop will run 1-5 p.m. on June 27 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 28. For more information and to sign up, email vtcornerschool@gmail.com.
Kate Stauss is a volunteer and member of the board of directors at the Corner School Resource Center of Granville.