J
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
US POSTAGE
PAID
PENLAND, NC
PERMIT #1
JlPenland Line
I II PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS • PENLAND • NORTH CAROLINA •
28765-0037
Spring 1996
PENLAND CELEBRATES THE FIGURE
In the Pcnland summer catalog, sculptor Bob Trotman
refers to the human figure as “the oldest of aesthetic prob
lems.” Beginning with the earliest examples of artistic expres
sion, in all times and in all places, humans have depicted
themselves using every material imaginable. In celebration of
this primary artistic impulse, Penland will dedicate this sum
mer’s third session to figurative work.
“We were putting the program together and I noticed that
several of the instructors we had in mind use the figure as
their source of imagery,” explains director Ken Botnick. “It
occurred to me that we could have them here together to spur
real investigation of this idea across media. The opportunity
this presents for us to promote collaboration and break
boundaries is tremendous.”
Although it took more than just a few phone calls to make
it happen, an extraordinary group of craft artists has been
assembled for this special session, each of them qualified to
share a distinctly personal approach to the human form. The
result is an array of offerings that reflects the diversity of craft
itself.
Nick Cave, Sound Suit #8, cotton, ajghan, wire, beads, plastic, mirror
An unusual class in book arts,
taught by Susan Share and Nancy P.
Smithner, will view the book as an
extension of the body, using bookbind
ing techniques to create boxes, masks,
costumes, and sculpture. Tim
Taunton’s class on the clay figure will
explore imagery and cover special
handbuilding techniques such as arma
tures, braces, etc. Sculptor Peter
Gourfain will teach relief carving in
low-fire terra-cotta clay.
Bob Trotman, Black Box, Honduras mahogany, pine, brass lock, escutcheon, bleach, aniline dyes, pigments
In the glass studio, Richard Jolley will use the figure as
a vehicle to teach whatever techniques are necessary “to get
from idea to object.” Lampworkers Shane Fero and Fred
Birkhill will investigate mythical forms which arc animal as
well as human.
Paige Davis’s iron class will explore the figure using
sheets, rods, tubing, screen, found objects, light and shadow.
Photographers Jay Phyfer and Ben Simmons will approach
the human image as portrait, as abstraction, and as composi
tional clement.
Body imagery will be part of jeweler Marcia
MacDonald’s class. She will also explore the relationship
between jewelry and the body. Paula Garrett’s students
will use metal wire as a three-dimensional drawing medium,
attempting to translate experience into form. Bob
Trotman’s class in the wood studio will include a look at
drawing, casting, modeling, and opaque projection as meth
ods for expanding the student’s ability to carve the figure.
In the weaving studio, Barbara Eckhardt will teach the
use of dyed and painted warps to create images. Nick Cave’s
experimental garment-making class will work directly from
the body and will include movement and performance.
The drawing studio will be devoted to an in-depth explo
ration of human imagery led by painter Elizabeth Wolfe,
and special figure-drawing classes open to all students will be
taught by David Schorr. “It will be great to have everyone
drawing together,” Bob Trotman commented. “Drawing is
about observing and then using your hands to rcficct what the
eye secs. It’s working in a visual way. You never outgrow the
need for that.”
Movement is always part of the Pcnland program, but
instructor Judith Grodowitz feels that this session calls for
a special approach. “I will try to give people an inside view—a
heightened understanding of the body and how it functions,”
she explains. “1 will also use improvisation and small composi
tions to help students see the body itself as a vehicle for cre
ative expression.”
As the summer approaches, no one is more excited about
the possibilities for this session than Ken Botnick. “I think it
will be amazing to have so many studios in such a concentrat
ed space and time all focussed on one issue. This is a chance
for in-depth exploration, a chance to think about what has
made the figurc-since people began scratching on cave
walls—such an incredible representational force.”
“ /Tie hodv
is
a language
we
understand
more
thoroughly
than
anything else
we
encounter.’*
For a discussion of
figurative work,
see page 3.
Shane Fero, She Stalks My Dreams,
Flameworked borosilicate glass, plate glass,
sandblasted