Photos: Kobin Dre^er
Penland Line Summer 2004
Ijelt I had an opportunity to learn more new ir^ormation
in a shorter amount oj time than just about any experi
ence in my career. —^John Medwedeff
Everyone was invited to make a small vessel Jot a
liqueur party at the end of the week. Blacksmith
John AledwedJJcouldn’tJind just the right mandrel
in the metals studio tojorm his silver cup. So he
went up to the iron shop and made this beaut Jul
mandrelJot the studio.
Potters Chuck Hindes and Ron Meyers, two of the most irjluential
teachers oJceramics in the country, pulling workJrom a rakujiring.
For at least two years, I have been carrying around a spool of stainless steel
thread and wondering if I could apply my weaving process to that new material.
1 don't know anyone who has woven with it and there are no real resources. Last
week, I wove a piece on the loom and with the help (f^Tom McCarthy in the met
als studio, I was able to torch the woven cloth, adding pattern and texture in a
very unlikely manner Jor a weaver. This would not have happened without the
ready access to another studio and people who were willing to help and offer
advice. The realm of possibility has just been expanded. —Catharine Ellis
Blacksmiths Elizabeth Brim and Christina Shmigel and weaver Janet Taylor examining a
sample oJ cloth woven by Catharine Ellis (IJt) Jrom stainless steel thread.
75th Anniversary Instructor Work Session
From February 27 through March g, Penland’s studios hummed
with the noise of instructors hard at work as the school hosted
the Instructor New Works Retreat. This kick-off event for the
anniversary year was a way to recognize and thank the instruc
tors who have supported Penland throughout its history.
Three hundred former instructors with close ties to the
school were invited to apply to attend the retreat. Their inter
est was tremendous. Participants were then selected at random
from those who responded. While initial planning allowed for
seventy-five artists’ participation, some creative accounting
allowed that number to increase to ninety-seven.
While several activities were planned for the week, the
main desire was to allow six days of unstructured studio time.
The artists arrived on Friday, despite a blanketing snowfall on
the previous day, celebrating the arrival with a reception and
exhibit of participant work at Northlight. The session ended
the following Thursday with a liqueur-tasting party that show
cased small vessels which everyone was encouraged to make
during the week.
The retreat combined aspects of a great Penland session, a
family reunion, a mini-sabbatical, and a symposium. Some
artists worked in familiar media, some used the time to work as
complete beginners (with help from the generous artists who
served as hosts in each studio), and some moved around, com
bining materials along the way. New forms were explored,
experienced teachers remembered what it’s like to be a stu
dent, the potters convened formal discussions each afternoon,
and informal exchanges happened all over the place—the ener
gy level was amazing. When it was over, glassblower and
Penland trustee Billy Bernstein spoke for many when he said
the week felt like a new way of using the Penland facility for
the benefit of craft.
Special thanks go to the National Endowment for the Arts
snd the Windgate Foundation for their support of this project,
to Penland’s hard-working studio coordinators for making
things run so smoothly, and to the whole staff for cheerfully
putting in the extra time and effort needed to make this event
happen.
Not enough can be said about the unique opportunity for a week
of work and conversation unhampered by the pressures of teach
ing, which is usually why we’re at Penland. —Rob Levin
It was a complete c^irmotion of
artistic way of lije can be. There posturing — sim
ply an open and celebratory ^^Utude among peers — the best
kind of situation to promote oreatjyjf^j None of us wanted it
to end. —Virginia DerrybcPfy
Metalsmiths Mary Ann Scherr and Marcia Macdonald after
completing this commemorative piece. The structure and the
ribbon were made in the wood studio by Paul Sasso, Doug
Sigler, Dan McGuire, and Sylvie Rosenthal. Mary Ann and
Marcia carjully covered it with pieces Jcopper (bling blingl).
Most of US work in small communities of artists and craftsmen
and some of us in extreme ^^^^^tion. The opportunity to work
with a great variety oJ mntcire artists sharing processes and
ideas will provide new encTj)^ and directions for everyone for
years to come. -—Gary Noffe
Potters Kent McLaugh
greeting each other in