Summer 2004 Penland Line
tructor Work Session
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
and 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
^lappen.
"'re the
- sini-
f how givinc] and pc
^yas no ego posturing
dude among peers — the best
'^tivity. None oj us wanted it
y
uties of artists and craftsmen
fon. The opportunity to work
artists sharing processes and
iti directions for everyone for
It is d^icult in daily life to have the time to work in a
concentrated manner, and to work with very few distrac
tions. These experiences are fuel for an artist’s work.
Without them, we cannot make technical or conceptual
leaps. I can already see changes in my work because of the
retreat. —Pad Scobev
j
Paulus Berensohn spent the week making a series of
journals which incorporated drawings he had made
during a trip to Australia.
Weaver Edwina Bringle and ceramic sculptor James Tanner in the
Jlameworking studio.
Being able to tackle a new medium in an intense situation like this is an
experience rarely enjoyed in a Ifetime. [It’s] got to be one f the best art
experiences of my career. —Deborah Brackenberry
Potters Kent McLaughlin and Nick Joerling
greeting each other in the clay studio.
Dinah Hulet has been workingfor several years to recreate an Egyptian paste that works like clay but
Tires into translucent glass. She brought her rTerence books and raw materials and spent the week
experimenting and consulting with other glass artists including Mark Peiser and Richard Marquis.
This retreat has enabled me to slow down, wait, and listen. What an
awe-inspiring experience captured in a moment of time.
—Arlene Burke-Morgan