HI
Penland Line
PENLAND DAY
—the day the Glass Art Society
came to town—was a study in
contrasts. The heat and light of the glass studios contrasted with
the cool, cloudy, and then very wet weather. Delicate work
made over the lamp with onlookers crowded around contrasted
with athletic glassblowing demonstrations. The homey, funky
atmosphere of the old glass shop—where a couple dozen spec
tators stood shoulder-to-shoulder—set off the high-ceilinged,
spaciousness of the newly dedicated Bill Brown Glass Studio.
Perhaps the greatest contrast, however, was between the
first and last demonstrations of the day. Italian master Lino
Tagliapietra took the first gathers from the furnace in the new
hot shop, and then worked for two hours with rapt concentra
tion. He seemed almost oblivious to the crowd, which filled
every corner of the studio but watched in near silence. Five hours
later, sculptor Gene Koss brought the day to a close with a flat-
out, rock & roll glass-casting demonstration which was pure
performance art. Working with seven leather-clad assistants
wielding large-caliber blow torches. Gene poured pounds and
pounds of taffy-like hot glass into a succession of medieval-
looking steel devices. After each piece was excised from its
mold, blasted with flames, hot-worked, and then carried tro
phy-like to the annealers, Koss’s crew would throw off their
leather jackets and shake hands around while the crowd cheered.
The day began with activity all over campus. Caterers
prepared supper for the masses, beverage stations were set up,
studios were cleaned, and the Penland office was a buzz of last
minute preparations for the six or seven hundred Glass Art
Society conferees who were .expected to make the trip from
Asheville—the main site of this year’s conference—to Penland,
where the Society was born twenty-five years ago.
In the new glass studio, kids swept the floor and gas lines
were tested. A number of well-known artists were adjusting
burners and doing some last-minute welding in preparation for
the afternoon’s festivities. At 2:00 PM, while Ken Botnick was
dedicating the building to the memory of Penland’s second
director. Bill Brown, a grinder was still whining inside.
But when Jane Brown, with children and grandchildren
at her side, cut the ribbon and opened the doors and the crowd
poured in, the glory hole, the garage, and the lamp were lit and
Brown’s memorial was a living one. Both the new studio and the
old were in use throughout the afternoon as one amazing
demonstration followed another. The work produced by Gary
Bcecham, Ricky Charles Dodson, Richard Jolley, Ruth
King, Gene Koss, Robert Mickleson, Don Niblack,
Roger Parramore, Emilio Santini, Lino Tagliapietra,
and Lewis Wilson gave testimony to the
richness and diversity that characterizes
glass art today.
MANY THANKS
CUT THE RIBBON! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Before the doors were opened, how
ever, many thanks were in order, and a
succession of .speakers attempted to rec
ognize everyone who had made the new
studio a reality. Special mention went to
the members of the glass community who
put time and creativity into both building
and equipment, especially Richard
Ritter who contributed leadership and
Studio coordinator Robert Gardner after a
lot of overtime.
Many hands equipped the studio.
Mignon Dunn and Donna Jean Dreyer who spearheaded
the fundraising effort—with considerable help from the many
glass artists who gave work to the last two Penland auctions.
Thanks were also due to studio coordinator Robert Gardner,
who worked day and night, tended to hundreds of details, and
coordinated the volunteers who came forward to help in the
weeks leading up to the dedication. Robert also taught the spring
glass class, and his students made regular trips up the hill to join
the effort as well.
Final thanks, however, were reserved
for Bill Brown, who not only initiated the
glass program but began the Penland Resi
dent program which has done so much to
build the North Carolina glass community.
“For that kind of vision,” said Rob Levin,
“there’s no way to say thanks.”
When the final demonstration was fin
ished, the food was cleared, and the last tour
t bus pulled off into the dark, there was, along
^ with a general sigh of relief, a feeling that
c
5 something amazing had happened. A beauti -
ful new workspace had been completed on
time and on budget, and Penland had suc-
Grandmaster Lino Tagliapietra and a very quiet crowd.
countless hours of his time. Board member Rob Levin praised
Ken Botnick, whom he credited with pushing the project from
talk to action. Thanks went to the Board of Trustees and to
cessfully hosted a large and vibrant craft organization. And it had
rained, thundered, and hailed, but as near as anyone could
remember, everyone just kept smiling.
Robert Mickleson turning glass in the new lampwot
TH