This is the third in our series of annual Penland School of Crafts ornaments. In 2009 we began our tradition of an ornament of the year. We hope each of these ornaments captures a bit of the spirit of creativity that lives at Penland throughout the year.

Penland School of Crafts 2011 Ornament

Created by Lucy Dierks

Lucy Dierks is a full time studio artist who has been working with ceramics since 1997. She was a ceramics concentration student at Penland in 2003 and her work has been flying out of the Penland Gallery since 2004.  Her studio is in Norfolk, VA, but she also spends some quality time at a mountain hideaway in North Carolina.

You can visit Lucy’s website by clicking here www.lucyvdierks.com

“My pieces express my delight with nature and like nature; I want them to reflect a harmony of form, surface, and purpose. I strive to make small intimate pieces whose design and texture invite you to hold them. There is something about birds that speaks to me. The contradictory aspects of their bodies intrigue me. I find the exquisite detail of their claws and the patterning of their feathers very satisfying. I perch them on my containers to encourage contemplation and conversation. Currently I work solely in porcelain and mix my own glazes. I am fascinated with creating surfaces that mimic nature such as lichen, stones, or tree bark. Many of my pieces are designed as flower containers and are intended to reflect and compliment the natural environment they inhabit.”

Chickadee, Bluebird, and Thrush
Hand-built porcelain
2.5 – 2.75” high by 1.5” deep x 2” wide, 3.25” high including ribbon
Each native North Carolina bird is unique and varies a bit in size and shape.
$50 each, plus tax when applicable, includes gift box
Shipping is via USPS, $5.50 for a single bird (shipping cost adjusted for multiple birds).

To order:
Please call the gallery at 828-765-6211 or email penlandgallery@penland.org
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
You may also purchase a bird in person at the Penland Gallery.

We just de-installed the Penland exhibit “Identity” at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in Winston-Salem. They posted this photo on their Facebook page (really doesnt need a caption) We think she looks like a future Penland student! If you didn’t see the show, that is Anne Lemanski’s Super Creature she is contemplating.

 

Compared to artists who create films, novels, and theater, artists who make paintings, photographs, and sculpture have a hard time literally telling a story. However, they can be very effective at making artwork that suggests one. That is the idea behind a new show at the Penland Gallery titled, All This Happened, More or Less: Five Artists’ Use of Implied Narrative. The title of the show comes from the first line of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Slaughterhouse Five,” and the artists are printmaker Susan Goethel Campbell, photographer Maggie Taylor, ceramic artist Shoko Teruyama, and mixed-media sculptors Anne Lemanski and Stephanie Metz.

 

Susan Goethel Campbell is represented by dark, monochromatic prints that have been perforated in patterns derived from data sets that represent wind patterns and other phenomena. Maggie Taylor has a series of digitally constructed dream-like images. Shoko Teruyama is showing functional and sculptural ceramic forms decorated with elaborate, mysterious scenes involving different animals. Anne Lemanski has created a series of animal sculptures built on wire armatures that are covered with paper and other materials that create social and political commentary. Stephanie Metz makes felt sculpture like none we’ve ever seen before. Included in the show is her series of felt skulls that purport to represent different species of Teddy bear.

The show is pretty stunning. It will be up through September 19.

You can see a slide show of most of the work from the show on the Penland Gallery webpage.

 

Susan Goethel Campbell’s website

Anne Lemanski’s website

Stephanie Metz’s website

Maggie Taylor’s website

Shoko Teruyama’s website