Toryn Black

Toryn Black is a fine wood­worker currently based in South­ern Appalachia raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a life­long seeker dedi­cated to under­stand­ing herself, the world, and the people around her. This led her to a fulfill­ing twenty-year career as a clin­i­cal social worker living Mass­a­chu­setts and Oakland, CA. 

In 2018, the Blue Ridge Moun­tains, a place of comfort and beauty she knew from her early life, called her back. The shift from an urban pace, living with the trees, and the slowing down in the pandemic years gave her the space to redis­cover an intense longing for creativ­ity and making that she had long ignored.

Coming from a long line of crafts­peo­ple, artists, and makers, Toryn felt the pull to explore these prac­tices and tradi­tions. In 2022, she began the Profes­sional Crafts Program at Haywood Commu­nity College, taking up her place in the lineage of artisans.