at penland

Penland is some kind of gorgeous!  Once you arrive, you don't want to leave. The property is a beautiful, art-filled landscape (hand-forged railings, mosaic signage, bead-sprinkled paving, exotic plantings.)  Atmospheric housing.  Even better, it is filled with committed artists.  It did my heart good to soak it all in.

Many of Penland's buildings have evocative names.  The one I slept in was called "Heavens Above".  It was enclosed by natural stone and filled with wood walls and furnishings.  Like a camp cabin but several notches up.  (Refined Rustic?) This is the path  toward the "Lily Loom House" that housed the clay, metals, main office and the two textile studios.  My class was in "upper textiles," above weaving and adjacent to dyeing.  Below is the back door, seen below, where I entered twice a day.

Just before my arrival, there was an exhibition in which my work was included at the Penland Gallery & Visitors Center.  It was entitled "I dwell in Possibility: Unconventional work by Penland instructors" (March 27 - May 13, 2018).

If you ever want to learn from the country's finest instructors in the company of committed artists in this beautiful setting, please contact:

Penland School of Crafts
Post Office Box 37
Penland, NC 28765-0037
(828) 765-2359
@penlandschool
​www.penland.org

​There are scholarships and work-study opportunities available.