NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAOK paid PENL.AND, NC PERMIT # 1 P E N U A N D LINE ^ENLAND school of crafts - PENLAND NORTH CAROLINA 28765 ■ SPRING 1993 KEN BOTNICK S FIFTH DIRECTOR M y life has been a series of surprises,” said Ken Botnick, appointed Penland's fifth di rector by the Board of Trustees in March. These surprises have shaped his life as an artist, teacher, administrator, husband and parent. Throughout his life he has always been involved in several projects at the same time and this proven ability to handle multiple responsibilities captured the imagination of the Search Commit tee which considered it a good qualification for director. A recap of his life and his surprises reveals his other qualifications. During the years he was growing up in Akron, Ken often worked for his father's construction business, doing exterior work such as drainage and driveways. As a business major at the University of Wisconsin/Madison, Ken quickly discovered he was not in sync with the rest of the business majors, but this background has had other uses in his life. As an antidote to business courses, he enrolled in some classes in landscape architecture and architectural design and found one of his first surprises: he had a talent for design. But perhaps the most formative surprise was when he first discovered one could make paper by hand. One day Ken Botnick ami his wife, Karen Werner his route to a class took him past the art department's paper mill. There on the sidewalk, he found some handmade paper. He was so excited by the look and feel of it that he went into the building and found someone who told him that the paper was made from blue jeans and old underwear! At that time, the University of Wisconsin was an important force in the development of the paper and book arts, centering around the work of Walter Hamady and his students. It was not uncommon for people to have a handmade book perhaps made by a friend. After discovering the paper, Ken began to be increasingly aware of these books. One day he held in his hands a book of poetry, which had been made by Steve Miller, and felt a deep response to the synthesis of book, paper, typography and content. He set out to find the artist, bought a copy of the book, and made a friend who has continued to play a large part in his life. Although not a student of the book arts at Madison, Ken began making paper with Miller and developed friendships with Hamady and others involved with book arts. After graduation, Ken decided to continue with land scape architecture. He went to the Conway School of Landscape Design in Massachusetts where the next surprise awaited: participation in an alternative ap proach to education and the discovery of the immense satisfaction of living and working within a community of people with similar interests. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE"^ A WFLFOHF CHALLENGE: $50,0011 A $50,000 Challenge Grant from a New York founda tion, awarded to Penland earlier this year, has already been a stimulus to contributors to increase their giving. Citing Penland for its "creativity and the furthering of the teaching of crafts," the foundation, which has asked to remain unnamed, extended the challenge for the purposes of building a permanent endowment to be a continuing source of income for the school. The grant will match on a one-to-one basis each new or additional contribution up to $ 10,000 between now and June 30 of this year. The amount eligible to meet the match must be above any gift made by an individual donor in 1991, the base year of the Challenge. While the foundation funds are designated for endowment, the match can be given for any purpose, such as a memorial gift, a studio or scholarship fund, or for the Friends of Penland. Interim Director Connie Sedberry said about the grant, 'This is yet another opportunity to add to the pool of funds available for upgrading the studios, our number one goal for 1993-94." Gifts to the 1992 Annual Fund have already gone a long way toward meeting the Challenge. Friends of Penland responded in record numbers to this past year's Annual Fund, contributing over $40,000 for general operating expenses. Well over half of this amount fulfills the foundation's requirements for its Challenge; howeveV we still need $20,000 to meet the match . For information about how to make a gift that will help Penland meet this $50,000 challenge, see page 11 .SO