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Photos of the Week: Celebrating Paulus Berensohn

The post is a photo slideshow. If you are seeing it in e-mail, we recommend viewing it on the blog.

The memorial structure on the knoll was designed and built by Jonah Stanford using Penland bamboo and shade-cloth panels (made from recycled plastic bottles).
People gathering on the knoll.
There were many little reunions as people gathered.
A procession to the knoll, with music.
Umbrellas came out and we took a little break while it poured for a bit.
Debra Frasier welcomed everyone as it started to rain.
As the rain subsided, Joy Seidler continued with the program.
The sun came out as Diann Fuller led everyone in a little bit of qigong.
Nick Joerling spoke about being Paulus's neighbor, friend, and landlord for many years.
David Perrin spoke about Paulus's role as "fairy godfather" to many young people--a number of those young people stood with him as he spoke.
Poet Stuart Kestenbaum read "Goldenrod," one of Paulus's favorite poems by his great friend Mary Oliver.
Debra Frasier and Joy Seidler took turns describing the many ways that Paulus made art and taught others -- dancing, clay, drawing, paste-paper, journals, letters, envelopes, color copies, etc.
Round singing finished out the program.
Everyone gathered for a picture.
In front of The Pines, some folks did the dance that Paulus used to end his workshops.
The last event was Splash -- a social gathering in honor of Paulus's daily ritual of welcoming anyone who showed up around 5:00 PM to join him for conversation and a bit of refreshment.
Splash featured Paulus's favorite drink: cheap scotch and grapefruit juice. It's really quite good.

On July 22, friends of artist and teacher Paulus Berensohn gathered at Penland to remember him. The day began with art making and a chance to visit Paulus’s house. At 3:30 everyone assembled on the knoll, where Jonah Stanford had created a beautiful structure for the event. (Photos by Robin Dreyer)

If you are looking for large files for the group picture, you can find them here and here.

 

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Mia Hall, Penland’s Next Director

Mia HallPenland School of Crafts is pleased to announce that artist, educator, and administrator Maria “Mia” Hall will be its next director, succeeding Jean McLaughlin, who has led the school since 1998. Mia is currently interim chair of the Department of Art and Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), where she has been a faculty member for ten years.

A native of Sweden, Mia holds an MFA in furniture design and woodworking from San Diego State University in California, where she worked closely with renowned woodworker and teacher Wendy Maruyama. In 2007 she was hired by UALR to develop a furniture design program and to teach furniture design and contemporary craft courses. During her time in Arkansas, she worked on the development of the department’s curriculum, served on six hiring committees, helped design and establish a visiting artist workshop series, and organized public events that increased awareness of the university’s craft program. In 2016 she was asked to take the position of department chair, leading fifteen full-time faculty, four staff, and twelve part-time instructors.

She has also been involved with the funding, design, and construction of the new, 65,000-square-foot Windgate Center of Art + Design at the university. She worked on the feasibility study and the design development phase, and she served on the committees that chose the architect and the contractor. As chair, she is the department’s project manager and will be overseeing the task of moving ten disciplines into the new facility before it opens in January, 2018. In addition to her many activities at the university, she has served on several foundation  boards.

Mia’s personal work, primarily furniture and mixed-media sculpture, has been shown in numerous exhibitions at venues such as the Arkansas Art Center, 108 Contemporary (OK), University of the Arts (Philadelphia), and Blue Spiral 1 (NC), and is held in many private and public collections.

Mia describes Penland School of Crafts as “one of the leading institutions for the study of craft-based art making,” going on to say that, “in a society that puts increasing value and importance on science, technology, engineering, and math, promoting the hand skills, decision making, ingenuity, inventiveness, and analysis that are required to practice skilled making is not only necessary, but essential.”

Alida Fish, chair of the Penland board of trustees and a member of the search committee, says that the committee saw in Mia the kind of skills and experience it was looking for in a new director. “We were particularly struck,” she says, “by her genuine interest in people and her commitment to Penland. This, combined with her forward-looking and innovative thinking, is sure to result in a winning outcome for the school.”

In accepting the position, Mia said, “I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the next director of Penland School of Crafts. Jean McLaughlin has for years been a formidable role model for me, and I find the Penland staff truly inspiring. My family and I look forward with great enthusiasm and excitement to being part of this phenomenal institution’s future.”

Mia is married to metalsmith and educator David Clemons, a long-term artist-in-residence at UALR and a regular instructor at Penland. Mia Hall will become Penland director on January 1.

 

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Welcoming Andrew Meers

We learned recently that ceramic artist Yoonjee Kwak, who was slated to join the Penland resident artist program in a few months, will instead be accepting a long-term residency at the Archie Bray Foundation. We are disappointed that Yoonjee will not be joining us, but we are happy that she will have this great opportunity to be part of a close-knit community of ceramic artists.

Andrew Meers

We are just as happy to announce that metalsmith Andrew Meers will be joining the Penland residency this fall. Andrew currently lives in Philadelphia where he works as a metalsmith and master bladesmith. His work has been shown throughout the US, and he has been a resident artist at the National Ornamental Metals Museum (Memphis) and an instructor/technician at the Appalachian Center for Craft (TN).

He has also taught workshops at several schools and universities including Penland. Andrew has an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Boston). As a resident artist, Andrew wants to advance his knife designs by incorporating innovative locking mechanisms and more intricate hidden compartments. He also plans to explore inlay techniques that merge Western and Japanese engraving styles.

“I am attracted to the challenge of balancing the forging process with machining delicate and precise mechanisms.” Andrew said. “Through one functional object I am able to utilize multiple skills and combine my interests in blacksmithing, metalsmithing, engineering, and chemistry. The result is work that is personal, useful, and treasured.”

Andrew has been to Penland a number of times, and are thrilled to welcome him back as a Penland resident artist.

Andrew Meers, Mouse Folder, steel, silver, gold, 6 inches long