Annie Evelyn – The Penland Sketchbook

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Penland

We Make Penland!

the overwhelming everythingness of belonging, collage by Anthony Naimo

Once a year, we celebrate Penland Giving Week. This year our goal was to connect to our Penland family near and far and to inspire 400 gifts of any size. Thanks to this wonderful community, we met our goal, shared your Penland stories online, and raised $100,000 for this place we love!

Giving Week Collage

This year we commissioned some exciting original art to help us get inspired. To create his collage, the overwhelming everythingness of belonging, Penland metals studio coordinator Anthony Naimo got inspired by the Penland archives. The wonderful result is full of easter eggs and archival penland images.

What was the process of creating the collage like? We asked Anthony:

The Penland campus is teeming with miniature installations of delightful, handcrafted offerings left by generations of makers hoping to give back to this really special community we all share.

Discovering these gifts is a magical experience, and there is no end to the discovery. Things seem to just manifest. Like they’ve always been there. Maybe they have. It’s like an army of woodland sprites are hurriedly marching an endless parade of whimsical objects across time and space to amuse and delight us. That’s the fantasy and characterization of Penland’s community I hoped to capture in this collage. Radiant. Abundant. Magical.

Your Stories

Penland memories from our friend Annie Evelyn, this year’s Giving Week spokesperson

During Penland Giving Week, friends shared stories of what this school has meant to them. It was wonderful to discover how people found their way here (a high school literature teacher), the peers that inspired them, the support they enjoyed (pivots, shifts and ventures), and the ways they grew (from student to instructor).

We love hearing about the legacy of creativity (grandkids falling in love with art at kids camp), ideas that inspired (Miss Lucy the badass), creative exploration (the beginning of whole bodies of work), and the sustained relationship with treasured ideas, objects, and memories that link you to Penland.

Connecting your stories shared online with our current campus activities, we created a collage in The Pines dining hall, putting together printed posts with elements added by current students here for Spring Concentration.

We Did It!

For nearly 100 years, this has been a place where people can find friendship, advice, and inspiration in one another. Our teaching philosophy is based on generosity, the free sharing of knowledge and experience. But it doesn’t stop there. Penland people are generous with their hearts. Penland people make this place possible with their many and varied contributions. In a world of challenges and cynicism, Penland continues to be greater than the sum of its parts. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Penland

Photo of the Week: All The Chairs!

spring wood concentration students posing with a table full of mini chair models

This is what a week’s worth of ideas looks like. Annie Evelyn and her furniture students spent the whole first week of their concentration Chairish Every Moment making models. Zany, classic, ergonomic, experimental, sculptural—there was a mini chair for just about anyone at their group critique on Friday. And, now that they’ve gotten their ideas flowing and gathered feedback, her students are prepared to move into making human-sized furniture with energy and intention.

Expect to see some incredible chairs over the next seven weeks!

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Penland

Resident Rock Stars

Penland’s resident artists spend three years living on campus and working as self-supporting artists in their field. Their time at Penland is designed as an opportunity for them to deepen their studio practice, push technical and conceptual boundaries, or explore entirely new directions in their work.

We’re continually amazed by the pieces that come out of each of the resident studios at The Barns, and we’re proud to have such talented artists calling Penland home. Recently, three residents were recognized for their outstanding work with prestigious (and, in our opinion, well-deserved) fellowships.

Annie Evelyn, "The Scotty," collaboration with Scotty Albrecht — Annie Evelyn, “The Scotty,” aluminum, collaboration with Scotty Albrecht

Annie Evelyn
Furniture designer Annie Evelyn was just awarded the 2016 John D. Mineck Fellowship by the Society of Arts and Crafts. The $25,000 award is presented “to encourage and support a young-in-career furniture artist… who demonstrates skill and commitment to their craft.” Annie plans to use the award to purchase tools to outfit her shop post-Penland. She envisions the space as a well-equipped communal studio that will also serve as a venue for community workshops, exhibitions, and events. “Annie’s spirit of community, generosity, and mentorship shined in her application, and will serve her well as she leaves the Penland community and establishes her studio,” the Society of Arts and Crafts stated. Annie is known for her explorations into hard/soft surfaces and applying traditional upholstery techniques to materials like wood, concrete, and metal.

Andrew Hayes, "Dure," steel, book pages, paint — Andrew Hayes, “Dure,” steel, book pages, paint

Andrew Hayes
Andrew Hayes was honored as one of seventeen recipients of $10,000 Artist Fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council for 2017. The fellows are chosen every two years from a talented pool of choreographers and visual, craft, and film/video artists. The Arts Council describes Andrew’s singular book and steel sculptures as “improbable objects of beauty.” They elaborate: “Formally, his sculpture has the spare elegance of mid-century modernism, each one an icon of untold meaning. But as much as his work may recall past styles and forms, it also boldly writes its own history and engages the viewer on its own terms.”

Jaydan Moore, "Ends," found silver-plated platters — Jaydan Moore, “Ends,” found silver-plated platters

Jaydan Moore
Jaydan Moore was also awarded one of this year’s North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowships. He works in metals, primarily with found silver-plated platters and other serviceware that he carefully deconstructs, recombines, and reassembles into new forms. As the Arts Council explains, these pieces “gain a protean quality as they transition to the next stage in their evolution, one that honors their past purpose and history and, at the same time, looks forward to the possibility of something unexpected.”

The Penland resident artists will hold an open studio tomorrow, October 21 at The Barns. Come by between 7-9 PM to meet the residents, see their spaces, and get a feel for their recent work.

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