The Penland School of Craft Community Open House will take place on Saturday, February 21 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. Rain or shine, snow or sun.
Here are the activities for the afternoon: In the books studio create a simple, blank book or cut and fold a paper hat or a wiggling paper snake. In clay you can make a pot on the potter’s wheel or create a little clay sculpture and decorate it. Over in the drawing and painting studio, paint your own watercolor postcard to mail to a friend. In glass you can use a neon torch to bend a piece of glass tubing into a silly straw.
At the Ridgeway building, make decorative paper using paste-paper painting. In the metals studio, volunteers will assist participants in casting small files in pewter. 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 two-color poster. In textiles learn how to make a small woven piece you can take home and watch weaving demonstrations on the loom. In wood create your own flower using a wooden dowel, plugs, and veneer.
The Penland Coffee House will be open, and Lil Pete’s BBQ Truck will be on hand (the truck is cash only). 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.
PHOTO ABOVE: A Penland volunteer helping a guest in the metals studio at the 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.