Finishing Up

After Easter, most studios provided time for students to focus on and complete projects in time for the Spring Auction on May 5 and the final Show and Tell exhibit on May 6.  The auction is important at Penland.  Instructors and students contribute pieces, made individually and collaboratively, to be sold at live auction, and the money raised--often $10, 000 and over--is used to support the scholarship program. Since many of us have benefitted from it, we work hard to give back.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures from the auction (I was just too tired, too busy, and my batteries were dead).  You'll have to take my word for it: it's fun and the bidding wars can be spectacular.  Students, instructors, staff and community people are all there for the action.

I do have a few final pictures from other studios:

The Clay studio, after one of the kiln openings

Cathy's cups (left)
The busy work space (below)

An empty kiln (left) Mirriam working on a clay whistle (right)

The Textile studio, once all the felted hats were completed

more hats and other soft sculptures (below)

               A spread from Susan's felt "touch and feel" book (right)








And here are a few shots of students with their work:

Ann, a city planner and ceramics artist from Alaska (on the right in picture at left) who made a herd of ceramic wooly mammoths;

Mammoth in different stages: from sketch to finished ceramic with removable felted coat

 Lee (left), a computer programmer from Seattle Washington, who made complicated small objects and jewelry out of metal;






the little house (below) has a chair at the window

Callie (singer and musician from North Carolina) and Pete (school counselor from Hawaii), both of them talented blacksmiths with their own anvils and years of experience:

 Callie









 hamburger jewelry box
                          (right)

detail (right) of wooden  piece (left)

Pete with martini "glass"




















In retrospect, I wish I'd taken more time to document all the amazing artists I met at Penland.  We learned so much from each other, and perhaps more so from comparing techniques, applicable to a wide range of creative pursuits, in different media.

During the last week, we each finalized our own work, while paying close attention to each other's,  and then we said our good byes:

Here are two pictures from the last events:  a couple of auction items (right) and the paper table at the show and tell exhibit (left)

The last day in the Book and Paper studio: 

from left to right, Barbara, Amanda, Josiah (partially behind Amanda) and Jenna

Saying "Thank you!" to Melissa Jay Craig and Heather Bella for all the hard work they put in over eight weeks

And all the while, people still had to eat so work-study and core students continued to keep the dining hall going.  It was open 24 hours so students could come and go and grab a bowl of cereal or cup of tea at weird hours (which many did).  The core students did a wonderful job of keeping everyone entertained with drawings and schedules they posted on a chalk board each morning.  Here's Rachel drawing a Penland version of "The Scream" at 6:45 in the morning, before starting on dining hall set up, so it would be ready for us at breakfast at 8 AM.

And no matter how busy we got, dogs still had to be walked.  Here's Jackie, the wood studio instructor, taking  her German shepherd (whose special wheels offset tired old legs) for her daily walk.