The Penland School of Craft Community Open House will take place on Saturday, February 24 from 1:00 – 5:00 PM. This is an afternoon of fun and education for all ages with hands-on activities in most of Penland’s teaching studios. No admission is charged. Many activities are messy, so don’t wear your fancy clothes.
Here are the activities for the afternoon: In the clay studio you can make a pot on the potter’s wheel or create a little clay sculpture and decorate it. In the metals studio, you can emboss designs based on local plants and wildlife onto metal foil. In photo, make an original cyanotype print by combining patterns from nature, science, and architecture. In iron, work with a blacksmith to forge your own hook. Iron studio spaces are limited; time slots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. The studio will start taking names at 12:45 PM. You must be present to reserve a time.
In the letterpress studio you can use an antique press to print a poster designed by Mayland Early College High School Youth to Youth students. In the textiles studio, make a small tapestry and watch a weaving demonstration. At the Ridgeway building, make decorative paper using paste-paper painting. In the paper studio you can learn the basics of sheet forming and pulp painting while making fun paper butterflies. In wood, customize a wooden magnet through shaping, carving, and painting. And in the glass studio, you can make a glass bead and/or watch a glassblowing demonstration.
The Penland Coffee House will be open. Many thanks to the more than 100 volunteers who make this event possible and to Mitchell County Transportation for helping move everyone around the campus.
Penland School is located near Spruce Pine in Mitchell County. For more information and directions to the school, visit penland.org or call 828-765-2359.
Visitors printing posters in the letterpress studio during the Penland Community Open House.
Penland School of Craft is a national center for craft education dedicated to the creative life. Located in Western North Carolina, Penland offers workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, printmaking and letterpress, photography, textiles, and wood. The school also provides artists’ residencies, an outreach program, and a gallery and visitors center. Penland is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution that receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resource. More information at penland.org.
