Penland Line
SHOWS
Many Penland artists were invited to participate in a show at
the Blue Spiral Gallery celebrating the importance of Asheville
in the American craft movement. A Hundred Mile Radius fea
tured work by dozens of craft artists from this region along
with student work from Arrowmont, John C. Campbell Folk
School, Haywood Community College, and Penland.
Mary Ann Scherr has been busy with shows at the
Jaffe Baker Gallery in Boca Raton, FL and the Mobilia
Gallery in Cambridge, MA. She shared the spotlight with
her daughter Sidney Jo Scherr in a two-person show at
the Cannon Gallery of NC State University.
The Ebeltoft Glasmuseum loaned twenty-one pieces
from its permanent collection to the Danish Museum of
Decorative Arts for a show celebrating American art and
craft. Included was work by Stephen Dee Edwards,
Richard Jolley, Robert Levin, Marvin Lipofsky,
John Littleton and Kate Vogel, Harvey Littleton,
Joel Philip Myers, and Mark Peiser.
The Danish show also included a basket by Billie Ruth
Sudduth. Her Fibonacci #5 will be on exhibit at the
Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery for six months as part of a
rotating show of work from the permanent collection. Billie
Ruth was one of five exhibitors in the 1997 Smithsonian
Craft Show to win a special merit award.
In her spare time, Billie Ruth has been exploring new
dimensions in craft marketing: she was invited to sell her
Carolina Snowflake ornaments on the QVC home shopping
channel. She got help filling the large order from Tamara
Kerlin, a student in the Mayland/Penland Entrepreneurial
Craft Program.
THE PENLAND TRAVEL SECTION
Suzanne Lipson just returned from six months in
Venezuela where she taught blacksmithing to over eighty
people in six different classes. She taught in Caracas at the
Community News
Venezuelan Association of Fine Arts, in Merida for the
Association of Jewelers, and also at the University of the
Andes. Suzanne did all her teaching in Spanish but she’s
managed to switch back to English now that she’s home.
Billy Bernstein was invited to the Jerusalem’s Bezalel
Academy in December where he taught a two-week work
shop for the Academy’s fledgling glass program. Bezalel is
interested in hearing from other Americcin 'glass artists who
would be willing to do some teaching there. Billy had a
great time and suggests that interested glassblowers contact
Daniel Verberne, Haarava 7, PO Box 3693, Mevaseret,
Zion, 9080^, Israel.
Ben Simmons reports from Japan that former Core
student Peter Lane just won First Prize in the Tokyo/New
York Sister Cities Annual Ceramics Competition. The prize
was a trip to Japan with an exhibition and a two-week
workshop at the clay studio of Ebinuma Saika outside Tokyo.
Peter has been living in New York since leaving Penland and
now works at Greenwich House Pottery.
STAFF UPDATES
Mary Katherine Williams left the position of services
coordinator at the end of Spring Concentration. She will be
replaced by Robert Chiarito who will also continue as
the night-time security person. Robert will be assisted by
Sara Runkel who was a work/study student and weekend
cook during the spring. Chris Martell has finished two
years as the staff coimselor and facilitator. Her position will
be taken by Lynn Wilkinson. Maria Lopez-Ibanez has
left the garden staff, but she is still living nearby. Stacy
Lane is our new metals coordinator replacing Lilith
Special thanks to fifteen textiles artists who worked
on our looms one weekend in April. Each person cleaned
and adjusted one or two looms and then wove a small
warp to take home with them. It was a great time for
discussing w'ork, comparing notes, showing samples, and
catching up.
THE PENLAND EXPERIENCE
The mission statement ojthe Penland School r^ers to “personal tran^ormation through the practice craft,”and we often talk to people whose
experience here refects that ideal.We would like to invite students who have been particularly irfuenced by their time at Penland to share
their stories with the readers of the Penland Line. Our first story comes from KelsyWoodard.
Quite simply, my experience at Penland changed my life.
When I was seven, my artist mother died. My father, a banker, raised me to be a well-educated, suburban wife and mother—
not unusual for the ’^os. Being dutiful, I did that (for a while). But the part of me that loved and played with color, design, and
texture-the part of me I tried to discount-would often burble up to the surface for a quick “Yoo-hoo! I’m here. Pay attention!”
A year ago, Joan Morris, a friend and Penland instructor, urged me to go to Penland. In a leap of faith 1 registered for three
courses, each of which related to designing paper and creating something with it. I so loved my time at Penland and the work I
did that I returned for the fall Concentration in books and boxes.
Halfway through my first Penland course I started to pay attention. I had been filled with amazing energy—to bed at mid-
night, up at dawn, all possible time in the studio. One particular morning I was gathering scraps of metal from behind the
forge to cut for my culminating project, a huge “quilt” of handmade, indigo-dyed paper with metal embedded in it. 1 was cut
ting large pieces somewhat mindlessly when I sensed an overwhelming presence and emotion within me. Angels and I go back
a long way but I knew at that moment that 1 had connected my essence with my mother’s.
Thinking I needed a few more bits of metal, I returned to the scrap pile. Among the random sizes and shapes lay a shiny
rectangle with a neatly cut-out keyhole. For the next few minutes, I lay on the grass with the keyhole. Looking through it, I
could see limitless possibilities and the sun rising over Penland’s wonders.
Oh, by the way, my paying attention resulted in my leaving a full-time job-a giant step for me, but one I haven’t regretted
for a nanosecond. —Kelsey Woodard
Eberle. Congratulations to Lilith who has now has baby
boy and an MFA. Kenny Pieper replaced Robert
Gardner as glass studio coordinator. Holly Jones is a new
face in the office and the school store. Holly Walker, who
was the director of they Watershed Center for the Ceramic
Arts, is working at the Gallery and will be coordinating
Outreach programs. Holly’s husband, Geof Finkels,
joined the maintenance staff in May. Eric Nutter is leaving
maintenance to work
for his father. And
Larry Cate, Penland’s
electrician foV some
years, has decided to
strike out on his own as
an electrical contractor.
As more or less his
last official act at
Penland, Larry decided
that it was time we
started flying a North
Carolina flag. He could
n’t find one, so he called
everybody who had one to see where they got theirs. He
called the Sheriff, the Highway Patrol, the post office and
the court house; nobody knew where to get a state flag.
Finally he found one at Burleson Plumbing in Spruce Pine.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise; they have everything else.
Welcome to new Core students Caverly Morgan,
Daniel Price, and Troy Hines. Caverly works primarily
in clay, Daniel in printmaking and books, and Troy in metals
but they be will trying out most of the studios while they
are here.
SEARCH COMMITTEE
The Board of Trustees is forming a committee to initiate a
search for a new director. The committee will meet soon to
establish a timetable and a list of qualifications. Anyone
interested in receiving this information should contact the
Search Committee through the Penland office.
Larry Cate
Smoking camels are passe, but these very cool llamas seemed
right at home in the Penland catalog. They were made last sum
mer by instructor Nico Yektai and his assistant Joel Urrity. Dan
Dubovsky took this picture while the llamas were relaxing in
front of the Pines. When we were putting the catalog together we
couldn’t remember who had sent it to us and so it ran with no
credit. We want to thank Dan for providing us with a nice touch
of whimsy; look for the llamas on a postcard at the Penland store
this summer.