We are happy to announce that four artists have been selected to join Penland’s resident artist program. Dean Allison, Maggie Finlayson, Tom Jaszczak, and Seth Gould will join Andrew Hayes, Mercedes Jelinek, and Jaydan Moore in mid-September, 2015, to begin their three-year residencies.
Dean Allison
Dean Allison’s cast glass portraits exploit the nature of his chosen material and process to capture the finest details of the human form as he explores the subtleties of the human condition. Dean has worked at Penland for the past six years as our glass studio coordinator. In this time he has established himself as a respected emerging artist in the national glass community. He has exhibited his work widely with esteemed galleries such as Habatat Gallery and Riley Gallery. He was represented by Riley at 2014 SOFA Chicago and was named a “2013 Rising Star” by the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. Dean has been a visiting artist and workshop instructor at The Glass Furnace (Istanbul) and Pittsburgh Glass Center, and will be an instructor at Penland this spring and a demonstrator at this year’s Glass Art Society conference in San Jose, CA. Dean is ready to take the leap to become a full-time studio artist. During the residency he plans to build and acquire necessary studio equipment while devoting time and research to develop the type of glass most suited to his technical and aesthetic ideals. He looks forward to working with glass artists in the extended Penland community like Richard Ritter and Mark Peiser to develop his research and learn from their combined expertise. Meanwhile, he will continue to make new work and seek and strengthen professional opportunities and relationships that will support his career. Dean holds a BS in Studio Arts from Illinois State University and an MFA from Australian National University. deanallison.net
Maggie Finlayson and Tom Jaszczak
The work of collaborators Maggie Finlayson and Tom Jaszczak spans the full spectrum of contemporary ceramics. Maggie’s recent work explores ceramics, mostly porcelain and earthenware, in combination with a host of other materials (fabric, wood, bone, horse hair), merged and deftly handled to create rich, intimate installations that explore domestic objects and spaces, ritual and memory. Tom combines traditional and digital techniques to create thoughtfully designed functional pottery with rich, subtle surfaces that inspire and speak of daily use. The pair will come to Penland from Montana where they have, most recently, been resident artists at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena. While continuing to make their own individual work, Maggie and Tom look forward to exploring a line of collaborative functional work—combining their technical and creative strengths and sensitivities. They see this residency as the chance to combine resources for a future career that will support them both as artists/makers. Between the two of them, Maggie and Tom have exhibited work and taught at art centers and universities all over the US and Canada. They have also received several awards and grants to support their creative endeavors. Tom earned a BA in Visual Art and a BS in Biology from Bemidji State University (MN); Maggie earned a BA in Religion/Philosophy from Concordia University (Montreal) and an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Minnesota. tomjaszczak.com
Seth Gould
Seth Gould is a contemporary metalsmith and toolmaker dedicated to the study and stewardship of traditional metalwork techniques. His work is strongly influenced by historic design and technique from both Western and Eastern craft traditions. Seth draws inspiration from the classically forged forms and highly ornamented designs of European ironwork from the 17th-19th centuries. He forges, files, chases, and carves utilitarian objects in steel—ranging from hammers to cookware—following in the intricate footsteps of this tradition. Once the work is formed, he moves to a jeweler’s bench to develop detail and ornamentation through inlay and engraving of nonferrous metals; these techniques borrow heavily from Japanese traditional metalwork. During his residency he hope to continue his education and mastery through complex projects of his own design. The skills and techniques Seth uses in his work were once more widespread, but there are fewer and fewer metalsmiths practicing them. He hopes to pass on this knowledge through his work and studio practice. Seth shows his work nationally and has been an instructor/demonstrator/presenter at the 2014 Society of North American Goldsmiths Conference, Peters Valley School of Craft (NJ), Smith Shop (Detroit), SIMS Conference at Southern Illinois University, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a Penland instructor and will return this fall to co-teach a toolmaking concentration in the iron studio with renowned smith Peter Ross. Seth has a BFA in Metalsmithing from Maine College of Art and was a Penland Core fellow from 2011-2013. sethgould.com