Spring Visiting Artist

Each fall and spring, Penland invites a visiting artist to join us for one or two weeks to engage with Concentration instructors and students. This spring we are delighted to have two visiting artists.

Cristina Córdova

Cristina Córdova is a ceramic sculptor and teacher. Her awards include the USArtists Fellowship and the North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship. Her work is in the collections of the Renwick Gallery (DC), the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. She has taught at Penland, Haystack (ME), Santa Fe Clay (NM), and Anderson Ranch (CO).

cristinacordova.com

Cristina will give a visiting artist lecture on Tuesday, April 2 at 8:15 PM in Northlight titled Manos abiertas: making from where you are. This event is free and open to the public.

“Many of the themes that ground my practice are rooted in the identity of someone from the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico. Amidst all the vantage points that catalyze creativity this one, time and time again, offers a clear stance from which images of weight emerge. And yet, having lived for years amidst the ebb and flow of Penland, this once impermeable identity now has softened boundaries that are in constant dialogue with all that is received and understood outside of the small, evergreen territory I still consider home. This lecture will speak to the influences that have shaped my creative practice and explore the emergence of themes tied to identity and displacement through the lens of figurative ceramics.”

Jaime Suárez

Jaime Suárez is a sculptor, ceramist, installation artist, set designer, draftsman, and teacher. His work has been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), the Museum of Art in Colombia, and the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico. He is an associate professor in the school of architecture at the Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico.

Jaime will give a visiting artist lecture on Wednesday, April 3 at 8:15 PM in Northlight titled Clay Beyond Ceramics. This event is free and open to the public.

“Three experiences during the first year of architecture studies influenced my development as an artist: reading The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura, a lecture by Louis Khan, and an investigation and paper on the work of Antonio Gaudi. An appreciation for nature and the passing of time, the inherent quality of materials, and the search for originality have shaped a diverse expression through clay which has extended to paper and concrete. Through the talk, I will share both conceptual concerns and techniques.”    

Fall Visiting Artist

Each fall and spring, Penland invites a visiting artist to join us for one or two weeks to engage with Concentration instructors and students. The intent is to add an invigorating presence to the session, enhancing the experience for everyone.

Tift Merritt

Tift Merritt is a singer and songwriter. In her nearly 20-year career, she has recorded seven albums of original material and earned a Grammy nomination. Tift is known for her short-story-style songwriting and her creative collaborations. She has shared the stage with bands as varied as Nick Lowe and Jason Isbell and was a member of Andrew Bird’s band, The Hands of Glory. In 2017, she designed a fabric collection for Bernhardt Design inspired by the guitar straps she makes with vintage ribbons. Most recently, she has been a regular contributor to the Oxford American, chronicling her tours with her young daughter Jean. The New Yorker called Tift “the bearer of a proud tradition of distaff country soul that reaches back to artists like Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry.”

tiftmerritt.com

Letterpress Summer Session 7
August 14–19

Heinrich Toh
High-Rolling Monoprints

In this workshop artists and image makers who want to create one-off pieces will discover opportunities for working on paper with the layered monoprint. We’ll balance process and content as we build layers using color, composition, and imagery. We’ll cover various applications for monotypes and inked-xerox image transfers (paper lithography). We’ll explore materials and methods for creating depth and space between background and foreground with texture, mark-making, and brushstrokes. Incorporating pattern, shape, and personal imagery from your photographs or drawings will further define your personal aesthetic. All levels. Printmaking studio.

Studio artist; teaching: Kansas City Art Institute, Arrowmont (TN), Pratt Fine Arts Center (Seattle), Oklahoma Fine Art Institute at Quartz Mountain; exhibitions: Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (Seattle), Bellevue Art Museum (WA); collections: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City), Albrecht-Kemper Museum (MO).

heinrichtoh.com | @heinrichtoh

Books & Paper Summer Session 7
August 25-30, 2019

Jiyoung Chung
Joomchi! Why Not?

Joomchi is a traditional Korean method for making textured paper using water, mulberry paper, and eager hands. This workshop will cover its history, practice, and role in Korean society as well as the hands-on techniques and adaptations that have made it into a contemporary art form. Joomchi creates strong, textural, and painterly surfaces by layering and agitating Hanji (Korean mulberry papers). Its uses are diverse, and it can be incorporated into surface design, collage, drawings, wearables, unconventional body ornaments, or sculptural objects. All levels. Code 07PM

Studio artist; teaching: Arrowmont (TN), Sacramento Fine Arts Center (CA), Pacific Northwest Art School (WA), Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education; exhibitions include 31 solo shows in the US and abroad; collections: Fidelity Corporate Art Collection (Boston), Museum of Arts and Design (NYC); author of Joomchi & Beyond.

jiyoungchung.com