Summer 2004 Penland Line It^I
SPRING FLING
Penland s Spring Concentration runs from
March 13 through May 6, 200^ with seven
great classes. Northlight will be humming
with overlapping work
shops in books and pho
tography. Jean Buescher
Bartlett will inspire an
investigation into words,
images, and the page’s
surface in Books as Voice,
Books as Architecture.
Deborah Brackenbury’s
photography class will
explore how images
function in a sequence,
series, or narrative. These
two classes will share
demonstrations, materi
als, and inspiration and are
open to book and image makers of all levels.
A team of studio potters, Michael
Connelly, Allison McGowan, and Alleghany
Meadows, will share their complementary
working methods and everyday experiences
in Utilitarian Pots. Wheelthrowing and glaz
ing skills are required.
Maegan Crowley will be Forging Form in
the iron studio, exploring the skills neces
sary to generate form in sculptural and
functional steel objects. Sheet forming.
Michael Connelly, Lidded Jar
joinery, and finishing techniques will help
students of all levels make ideas come to
life. Metalsmiths and object-makers of all
skill levels will delight in Mixed-Media
Techniques for Metalsmiths with Diane
Falkenhagen. Plastics,
glass, eggshell, wood,
wax, metal leaf...rivet
ing, bolting, tabbing,
pronging...Need we say
more? Creative solu
tions to technical chal
lenges will join content,
form, material, and
technique.
Kerr Grabowski chal
lenges students of any
level to expand their
mark-making and push
past inhibitions. Exploring
the Possibilities will combine
fiber reactive dyes, screenprinting, painting,
collage, stitching, and much more to create
layered and expressive imagery on cloth. And
finally, Eddie Bernard says it best in his
whimsical class title. Yo Hablo in Glass! is an
all levels glassblowing class with a great
instructor. Any takers?
Complete information and an applica
tion form are available at w'ww.penland.org
or call 828-765^-235^9 and request a
fall/spring catalog.
THANKS, FEET
Last fall we bid a fond farewell to Feet and
Denise Williams. Feet had been director of
facilities «ince 1997 and Denise was office
manager for several years. They decided to
return to the Raleigh, NC R^kinOrejer
area where they are closer
to their family. Both of
them brought profession
alism and experience to
their areas of the school.
Feet took on the daunting
responsibility for Penland’s
complex and aging physi
cal plant. We asked direc
tor Jean McLaughlin for a
few words about Feet’s
special contribution to
Penland. She wrote this
appreciation:
We could always count on
Feet for astute observa
tion and humor, thought-
Feet Williams offering somefriendlj
instruction in the proper procedure for
ful responses, and hard ,,^^,,ti„gjadnties work: Fill out a
work. As part of a heady
conversation during a
strategic planning process in 1998, the
board and staff were talking about what
causes Penland to be remembered and
cared for by so many people. Feet’s opin
ion was that, “the appeal of this place is
not in its deterioration,” and his quote
became bedrock to our plan.
Holding faciUty maintenance, renova
tion and new construction to high stan
dards and “doing it right the first time,”
were hallmarks of Feet’s tenure at
Penland. From removing bats in the Craft
House attic to supervising
the construction of the
new iron studio. Feet’s
accomplishments were
lengthy and noteworthy.
His sensitive renovation
of Ridgeway will bear his
mark for many years. But
it is his dry wit and unex
pected performances that
will be the hardest to
replace. At a staff meeting
in the winter of 1999 Feet
used his yellow fleece hat
to impersonate a candle, a
flashlight, and a crayon
and at later staff meeting,
he mysteriously admon
ished us against the “inap
propriate use of the color
yellow.” His greatest per
formance, by all accounts
was one I missed. He took the op{X)rtunity
of my absence at an all-school meeting to
engage in a carefully crafted impersonation
of me which reduced the staff to tears of
laughter. We miss you, Feet.
{Continuedfrom page 1
worked in familiar studios, others tried
something completely new. The group
ranged from artists who started teaching
here relatively recently to artists who have
been involved with the school since the
early 1960s. It was an uplifting, rowdy,
exciting time, combining aspects of a family
reunion and the very best of Penland ses
sions. For more information and pho
tographs, see page 4.
In addition to the book and the museum
and gallery events, it seemed important to
have something that would make each ses
sion a little bit special—a way to bring this
year’s instructors and students into the cel
ebration. Sarah Warner, assistant to the
director, designed a small Memory Book to
give to each student and instructor this
year. The book has information about
Penland history, several intricate collages
made from archival images, and a few
recipes (including fried chicken for 200 and
the coffee house’s popular gingeraid) For
something more event-like, the school
turned to video artist Dan Bailey. Dan is a
former Penland resident artist and current
trustee who runs the media lab at
University of Baltimore. He spent months
looking at photographs, reviewing video
tape, some old, some recent, and shooting
new footage. Then he put together a remark-
Pent.AND Retrospect
The Penland Retrospect exhibition at the
Penland Gallery included Lucy Morgan’s handmade
dress along with other objects, photographs, and
irformation which illuminated Penland’s history.
able piece tided Slides Tonight which is being
shown at the beginning of each session.
The video includes a bit of history,
footage from classes, performances,
parades, dances, dozens of still pho
tographs, and some startling animation. The
piece captures the spirit of Penland and has
been deeply appreciated by all who have
been lucky enough to see it.
Several other events were planned and
executed elsewhere by good friends of the
school. An exhibition at Roanoke Festival
Park Gallery in Roanoke, NC exhibited
work by Penland’s resident artists. Current
exhibitions atW.D.O. Gallery (Charlotte,
NC), Hodges-Taylor Gallery (Charlotte,
NC) and East Carolina University
(Greenville, NC) all honor Penland’s
anniversary (see page 8).
All this activity has brought the school
an unusual level of media attention. Penland
has been featured in American Craft, American
Style, Our State, Southern Living, FiberArts,
Glass Quarterly, the Charlotte Observer, and
other publications. The state of North
Carolina designated a celebration of North
Carolina craft encompassing the anniver
saries of Penland and the Southern
Highlands Craft Guild (which celebrates its
seventy-fifth in 2005) along with other craft
activities across the state. State
Representative Philip Frye and State
Senator Joe Sam Queen introduced a joint
resolution in both houses of the North
Carolina legislature recognizing Penland’s
anniversary. And Penland School was placed
on the National Register of Historic Places
as the Penland Historic District. Special
thanks to Clay Griffith of Edwards-Pitman
Environmental of Asheville, NC and
Penland archiVist Michelle Francis for their
work on the National Register application.
And, of cout-se, there have been sponta
neous and personal activities. A memorable
July 4 parade included a choreographed sev
enty-fifth birthday cake (see page 8), a glass
class taught by Dinah Hulet, Richard Ritter,
and Jan Williams collaborated on a com
memorative murrine, and students are con
tributing all year to a time capsule which
will be sealed and placed in the archive.
All together, it has been a busy, exciting,
and successful anniversary year. Penland
School is being widely and well celebrated;
its history has been beautifully presented;
and the events of the year will resonate in
the craft world for some time to come.
—Robin Dreyer