Join educator Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper and artist-in-residence Caroline Ross for an immersive, hands-on workshop exploring how to use the entirety of a deer for culinary and craft purposes. Hosted by the artist residencies Marble House Project and In Situ Polyculture Commons, this workshop will share a broad range of introductory techniques and skills.
Rooted in ancestral practices shaped by risk, proximity, and care, the workshop treats the animal as a precious and integrated resource—one in which little is wasted, and every part has potential. Further, while deer are majestic and important animals, deer populations are the number one threat to forest health in the Northeast (see note below).
What You’ll Learn
The length of the workshop allows for broad exposure to introductory techniques. Content will evolve in response to time, weather, and participant interests, encouraging curiosity, adaptability, and deep engagement.
Participants will be introduced to:
Which parts of an animal are useful for specific products
How to remove, sort, clean, and preserve materials
Basic butchery for both food and utilitarian purposes
Techniques spanning multiple technological levels, from stone to steel
The course emphasizes foundational skills and ways of seeing, rather than finished objects.
Details
Dates: Evening of May 14–17, 2026
Location: Marble House Project, Dorset, VT
Capacity: up to 14 participants (two spots reserved for scholarships)
Prerequisites: None
Meals & Lodging
Meals: Lunches and dinners will be prepared using the deer and course materials.
Breakfasts: Simple self-serve breakfasts will be available for on-site participants.
Accommodation Options: Workshop participants are invited to stay on-site at Marble House, a historic estate home that offers a mix of private and shared accommodations. Rooms are thoughtfully appointed, with shared common spaces that encourage connection and conversation. Staying on-site allows for an immersive experience—moving easily between workshop sessions, meals, and moments of quiet on the grounds—while engaging with the ecology of one of the Green Mountains’ most picturesque historic estates.
For those who prefer other options, participants are also welcome to commute from nearby lodging or camp on the grounds, offering flexibility to shape the experience in a way that best suits your needs.
Contact: Edward Morris with questions (edmorris@marblehouseproject.org).
Cost
$1,000 – Private room
$750 – Shared room
$450 – Commuter & Camper
Scholarships: 2 funded opportunities available (shared accommodations)
All course materials, the animal, and communal lunches and dinners are included.
Marble House includes a number of comfortable common areas for relaxation, connection, and creative expression.
Scholarships Available
Our organizations share a commitment to reducing barriers to entry. We are proud to offer two scholarships to attend the workshop for those with financial need, sponsored by In Situ Polyculture Commons.
If cost is a barrier, please apply for one of our scholarships by emailing Candace at: hello@insitupolyculture.org with a subject line “Using the Whole Animal Scholarship.”
Deadline: March 15, 2025
Application questions:
How will you apply this knowledge?
How will you share it?
Those awarded will receive:
Full tuition waiver
Shared-occupancy accommodations
All workshop meals and amenities
Meet the Team
Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper is an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and primitive technology of all kinds. An interest which came in part from growing up in the Rocky Mountains, where backpacking, hunting and fishing were part of the culture. She has followed this interest into the academic field of Experimental Archaeology in which she holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the UK. Theresa has been tanning skins using traditional technologies for over 30 years.
Learning to tan was a natural offshoot of the attempt to use as much of the animal as possible and had the added bonus of producing a beautiful end product. She includes in her instruction a diverse range of information, from skin morphology to helpful hints in dealing with the numerous and frustrating problems which are often encountered when first learning to tan.
Caroline Ross lives and works in Bournemouth, Dorset, UK, making drawings and paintings from wild and ancient materials, from small illustrations to large murals. She has taught life drawing as well as painting and currently teaches people how to make the materials she uses in her own studio, online and as a guest at centres across Europe and UK [and more recently the USA on Turtle Island, at In Situ!]. She teaches at Dartington both in her own unique course ‘Found and Ground art materials’, and with the Dark Mountain Project, online and in person at Schumacher College. Having spent decades indoors in art and recording studios, she now spends her life outdoors as much as possible, sourcing materials, making art, and immersing herself in nature. She writes about Tao, the embodied life and art where earth matters every Monday morning at her Substack, Uncivil Savant.
About the Hosts
Marble House Project (MHP) is a not-for-profit arts residency and forum for art and ecology located in Dorset, VT. MHP brings together artists, thinkers, and practitioners working at the intersections of creative practice, environmental inquiry, and place-based research, fostering dialogue, experimentation, and public engagement.
In Situ Polyculture Commons (ISPC) is a nonprofit arts residency, commons and eco-cultural catalyst located in Westminster, VT. They champion the intersection of cultural and creative practices with ecology, supporting cross-pollination between creative and research disciplines. Residencies and programming support re-skilling and material knowledge sharing for artists, collaborative groups, and our communities.
We are both based on unceded traditional lands of the Abenaki people in the Dawnland of Turtle Island.
Note on the Ecological Impact of Deer
Deer overpopulation due to a variety of factors has led to a crisis in our forests. For example, see this article on efforts to control deer populations. According to the article: “A 2023 study by the Ecological Society of America monitored seedling and sapling density across 39 national park forests from Virginia to Maine. Of the 39 forests, 27 of them were classified as experiencing imminent or probable failure due to lack of regeneration. The research concluded that “deer browse impact was consistently the strongest predictor of regeneration abundance.”
For more on the deer issue see this excellent webinar and collection of resources from Eli Arnow and Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley.