Blacksmith and sculptor Jim Adams and mixed media artist Laurie McIntosh took collaboration to another level after meeting at Penland last winter. This fall, they put on Penland Connections, a show of their works at Gallery 80808 in Columbia, South Carolina. (The show closes tomorrow, for those in the area.) In recognition of their memorable Penland experience, Adams and McIntosh decided to do something out of the ordinary: donate a portion of their earnings from gallery sales to Penland’s work-study scholarship program.

“[Penland] is not like any art place I’ve ever been,” said McIntosh in a radio interview with the South Carolina Business Review. “You eat, sleep, everything is art. Every time I’ve ever been [to Penland] has been a complete milestone in my career.”

Almost half of Penland’s students receive financial assistance. Penland’s work-study scholarships serve as a major vehicle in bringing students from diverse economic backgrounds and locations to our studios–a fact not lost on Adams and McIntosh. Students and instructors donate some works they have made during their session at seasonal work-study scholarship auctions. Monies raised go back to the work-study program. The next Penland work-study scholarship auction is Thursday, November 13, beginning at 8:00 pm in the Northlight building.

Thank you to Jim and Laurie for their unconventional gift. To find out more about Penland’s work-study program and how to create a scholarship, go here.

Interested in a scholarship to Penland? Our scholarship deadline for spring 2015 concentration workshops is November 28.

Photograph courtesy of The State newspaper.