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About Penland
On This Page:
General Information
Movement
Concentration
Core Students
Penland Residents
Penland Gallery
Visiting Penland
Outreach Programs
Support for Penland
Annual Benefit Auction
Also: Information about Penland's Studios
Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Penland was founded by Miss Lucy Morgan, a teacher at an Episcopalian school that once occupied several buildings which are still part of Penland. In 1923, she organized the Penland Weavers which provided looms and materials to local women and marketed their handwoven goods. She invited guest instructors to teach weaving, and when requests for instruction began to come from other parts of the country, Penland School was born. Soon after the first students arrived in 1929, other crafts were added and the school began to raise funds, acquire property, and construct buildings.
Since that time, Penland has grown to encompass about 400
acres and 41 structures. Today, over 1,200 people come each year
seeking instruction in ten craft media. The school offers one-
and two-week classes in the summer and and eight-week sessions
in the spring and fall. Each class is structured by the teacher,
but most are a mix of demonstrations, lectures, individual studio
work,and field trips. A stay at Penland also offers daily movement
classes, evening slide shows, visits to nearby studios, a library,
volleyball games, dances, walks in the beautiful countryside,
or a swim in the Toe River.
An on-campus coffee house provides hot and cold drinks, snacks, and a place to meet or hang out. The school supply store features a variety of hand tools and craft materials along with UPS shipping, books, postcards, film, snacks, drinks, and other items.
Students live at Penland and may participate in activities
on a twenty-four-hour basis. Housing is simple but adequate.
(We can only house students enrolled in classes.) The Pines dining
room provides three delicious meals each day. There are always
choices for vegetarians, but we cannot accommodate special dietary
needs. The nearest medical facility is the Spruce Pine Hospital,
located ten miles away.
Studios and student activities are consolidated in a central
campus. However, not all of the housing is centralized and some
students have the benefit of an early morning walk to breakfast
and a starlit stroll home.
What can you expect from a sojourn at Penland? You can expect
to work hard, learn a lot, make friends, and forget about the
rest of the world in an isolated setting without the distraction
of phones, television, or daily newspapers. You can expect to
have fun, eat a lot, and get the kind of rest that comes from
total immersion in something you love.
Movement
Craft is about materials, design, technique, equipment, and
the creative impulsebut it is also about movement. Whatever
the medium, there is a particular stance, a rhythmic repetition,
or an engagement of the body which is inherent to the process
of art making. The movement program at Penland is based on the
belief that ease of movement is an aid to the creative process.
Movement classes, available during summer sessions to all
students at no charge, are scheduled in the afternoon and sometimes
before breakfast. Our approach to movement is based on the idea
that if an activity is learned with tension, it may be carried
out with tension. We believe that combining movement classes
with craft study helps diminish that tension. Movement instructors
come from various disciplines, but all are dedicated to the same
result.