These “baskets” appeared on the knoll halfway through our summer, making their entrance during our annual handmade parade.
They captured our imaginations as we crafted till we could craft no more.
The letters were anonymously rearranged to spell “FART” several times during the summer.Students like Ellie Taubner interacted with the basketsInstructor Brad Vetter made this inspiring print in the letterpress studio.Posing with the baskets during the Penland Benefit Auction
Made of introduced (non-native) vines from the Penland property, they are a random weave (official basketry term) of mostly wisteria as well as some bittersweet, kudzu, honeysuckle, and ivy.
An armature was created to support the randomly woven vinesWeaving the giant baskets was lots of fun.
Claire Drennan dreamed up the CRAFT baskets up and wove them with Rachel Brettinger, Erin Castellan, Susan Feagin, Lori Brook Johnson, Mirrah Johnson, Sarah McDowell, Jeffrey Milloy, and Therese Watkins. All of the harvesting and weaving happened in two short weeks on nights and weekend.
Alena Applerose, Zanne Cox, Ashley Poole, and Marianna Popp joined the fun in the handmade parade.Penland Resident Artist Sarita Westrup’s furry friend Lobo enjoyed the baskets too.
Penland’s resident artists are full-time artists who spend one or three years living on campus and dedicating themselves to a proposed project or career transition. Many residents use this time to explore new ideas and directions, undertake ambitious projects, or develop new bodies of work. Please join us in welcoming Anna and Jason!
Anna Johnson
Anna had this to say about how the Penland Resident Artist Program will affect her practice,
“The studio space, physical location, financial relief, and community support create an ideal setting to develop a strong body of sculptural and non-wearable work that is key in achieving my goal—transitioning from a full-time contemporary jeweler to a full-time interdisciplinary artist…I am committed to being an asset to the program and a resource for others, ensuring that my time at Penland is mutually enriching for myself and those around me.”
Here are some impressive examples of Anna’s work:
To learn more about Anna and follow her journey, we invite you to visit her website and follow her on instagram.
Jason McDonald
“Being a resident at Penland will mean the opportunity to craft a sustainable practice by having the room to build and store the equipment required to run a functional glass studio. To work toward the goal of a sustainable practice to create products for sale as well as completing commissions. To practice rigorously. To grow my most valuable resource: my network. Finally, and most importantly, a Penland residency will provide me an outlet for continuing my work of fostering the BIPOC community through mentoring makers underrepresented in glass.”
Here are some stunning examples of Jason’s work:
To learn more about Jason and follow his journey, we invite you to visit his website and follow him on instagram.
Thank you!
Resident artists are recommended by a national committee of artists, curators, educators, and professionals who are knowledgeable about material-based work and understand what it takes to be successful in a self-directed residency. Panelists rotate frequently to bring a range of perspectives to the application review process. We received an impressive group of applications this year, and it was especially difficult to select only two residents. Thank you to our review panelists who offered their time and attention to a thoughtful review process:
Granite Calimpong, studioartist and educator living and working in Seattle, WA; Granite has taught glass classes at Haystack (ME), Penland, Pilchuck (WA), Pittsburgh Glass Center, University of Washington
Tanya Crane artist and educator; Assistant Professor of Jewelry, Sculpture and 3D Design at Long Beach City College (CA); 2024 USA Artist Fellow; 2023 Center for Craft Fellow in their inaugural Teaching Artist Cohort
Brad Cushman, independent curator, visual artist, and writer living in Little Rock, Arkansas; former gallery director and curator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; former art department chair at Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Mercedes Jelinek, artist and photographer living and working in Brooklyn, NY; professor, lecturer, visiting artist, and resident throughout the U.S. and Italy, including East Carolina University in Certaldo (Italy), Penland, The New School Parsons, and Yale University School of Art; former Penland resident artist, current Penland trustee
We did it! The 39th Penland Benefit Auction was a beautiful gala weekend, filled with friends, music, art, and great weather. We honored our friends, celebrated craft, and enjoyed demonstrations in the letterpress, glass, and clay studios. We shared a cocktail party, coffee at The Barns, studio visits with the Penland Resident Artists, a Penland Core Fellows pop-up, curated gallery shows, and artists talks. We admired and acquired art during two silent and one live auctions, and we soaked up the beautiful views from Penland’s Blue Ridge Mountain campus.
Over the course of the weekend, we used our revelry to support a special place that is greater than the sum of its parts. Mia Hall, Penland’s director, reminded us that our storied auction supports our mission of making lives meaningful through making, and helps make manifest the ideas in our strategic plan: “leading with access, inclusion and sustainability.”
Next year, the 40th Annual Benefit Auction will be held August 22-23, 2025. Please save the date!
-More photos HERE.
-Short video HERE. -39th Annual Penland Benefit Auction Catalog HERE -Please enjoy this slideshow of all the fun:
Sustaining Funds for Penland
This year’s “Fund-a-Need” invited guests to directly support improvements to The Barns complex, home of the Penland’s Resident Artist Program. Established in 1963, the Resident Artist Program is one of the longest-running residencies in the US. Inspired by former resident artist David Chatt who regaled us with tales of indoor woodland creatures, patrons donated $84,250 towards renovations of The Barns studios and living spaces for Penland Resident Artists.
More than 200 inspiring works of art, donated by generous invited artists, found new homes as we turned our love of craft into funds that will sustain our mission of making lives meaningful through making. Thanks to a bevy of artists, collectors, and donors, we raised a total $467,000 for Penland.
Auctioneer Jesse Miller with Director Mia Hall, “Captain” Corey Pemberton, and contributing artist Mercedes Jelinek. Photo by Jennifer Sudul Edwards
Inspiring Art
Dan Friday, Kreh Mellick, and Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata were the 2024 Penland Benefit Auction Featured Artists . The school commissioned original short videos to highlight their work, and each artist donated a piece that was featured in the auction. We invite you to click on the name of each artist above to view the videos and learn more about them.
Featured Artists Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata and their beautiful work at the Penland Benefit Auction
Over 200 works of art were donated to the 39th Annual Penland Benefit Auction by invited artists. Each was created by a Penland affiliated artist, and we celebrated works in clay, books, paper, drawing, painting, glass, iron, metals, photography, print, letterpress, textiles, and wood.
A newcomer at this year’s benefit auction, Judilee Reed, president and CEO of United States Artists, remarked upon the event’s place in the wider craft world–
“When you come to an event like this you can see work that is very resonant of a long history of the discipline of craft as well as work that shows artists innovating on that history. Its’ lovely.”
We are deeply grateful to the more than 200 generous artists who donated their work and made this event possible–and special! You can see all of their beautiful pieces in the auction catalog.
This stunning piece by Thomas Campbell created a stir when it sold for four times its retail value!
Morgan Hill, Jack Mauch, Nick Fruin, and Courtney Dodd created a special moment with their item, “Round of Drinks,” including a round of handmade cocktail glasses (with cocktail), marquetry coasters, and cocktail-themed jewelry for the winning table.
Special Honors
Named for Penland’s founder, the Lucy Morgan Award celebrates people who have made an extraordinary contribution to the school. This year’s award honors three long-time staff members: Kathryn Gremley, Robin Dreyer, and Stacey Lane. We celebrated their combined 100 years of dedication to Penland. Together they have led us with honesty, humor, empathy, and kindness– our tastemaker, our voice of reason, and our goodwill ambassador.
Thank You!
The Penland Benefit Auction is a labor of love, made possible only by the collaboration of hundreds of dedicated individuals. We are so grateful to our volunteers, contributing artists, staff, patrons, and sponsors. It was complex, ambitious, and totally worth it.
Thank you to the over 100 volunteers! We could not have done it without these wonderful folks.
Thank you to our staff! Here Clay studio coordinator Susan Feagin demonstrated how to apply her famous “floofs” to create surface design on clay.
Thank you to our patrons. Here admiring featured artists Dan Friday’s piece, “Aunt Fran’s Woven Basket.”
Thank you to our contributing artists! Clay buds and contributing artists Kurt Anderson, Sean O’Connell, Julie Wiggins, Suze Lindsay, and Courtney Martin get silly in the photo booth.
Thank you to our Sponsors! Seen here Kevin Bitterman and friends from of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts with Judilee Reed, president and CEO of United States Artists.
39th Annual Penland Benefit Auction Sponsors
Auction Leader ($10,000) Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts
Auction Supporters ($5,000) Brown Brothers Harriman
Society of North American Goldsmiths
Auction Patrons ($2,500) American Craft Council Art in America The Laurel of Asheville WNC Magazine
Artist Table Sponsors ($1,500) Norman Audio Video Sysco Foods of Knoxville US Foods Classic Event Rental EbenConcepts Sculpture Magazine John Marek
Beverage Sponsors Pennycup Coffee Pisgah Brewing Company
Auction Contributors Grassy Creek Hardware Edwina Bringle
Individual Artist Sponsors: Alan Peterson & Priscilla Kistler Virginia A. Kraus
Table Sponsors: MINT Museum Char Walker and Dianne May Tom Oreck Lillian and Greg Giornelli Gina Phillips Greenhill Center for North Carolina Art
Auctioneer Jesse Miller with Director Mia Hall, “Captain” Corey Pemberton, and contributing artist Mercedes Jelinek. Photo by Jennifer Sudul Edwards
Morgan Hill, Jack Mauch, Nick Fruin, and Courtney Dodd created a special moment with their item, “Round of Drinks,” including a round of handmade cocktail glasses (with cocktail), marquetry coasters, and cocktail-themed jewelry for the winning table.
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