Category: Penland Residencies

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Penland Core at the HOW Space in Boone

yellow steel sculpture, ceramic tumblers
Two pieces that will be on view at the HOW Space. Left: Thomas Campbell, Right: Luke Gnadinger

The HOW Space at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC is a gallery and education space that seeks to advance creativity, collaboration, and community. It’s used for workshops, talks, social events, and, this week, for an exhibition of work by Penland’s core fellows.

Core: Contemporary Selections from the Core Fellowship at Penland School of Crafts will open April 5 and run through April 12, 2018. The exhibition will feature Penland’s current and recent core fellows: Stormie Burns, Thomas Campbell, Luke Gnadinger, Rachel Kedinger, Elliot Earl Keeley, Kyle Kulchar, Sarah Rose Lejeune, Alexandra McClay, Corey Pemberton, Kento Saisho, Katherine Toler, and Devyn Vasquez. The work will range from clay and metal to paper and print, with the common thread being the creative exploration and inquiry that are at the heart of both Penland and the HOW Space.

Please join us at HOW this Friday, April 6 from 6:00-9:00 PM for a reception to celebrate Core and the work of these Penland artists. The HOW Space is located at 182 Howard Street in Boone, NC. More information here.

printed paper and thread sculpture, metal sculpture
Left: Alex McClay, Right: Sarah Rose Lejeune

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Molding James

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

This is Penland resident artist Dean Allison beginning the process of creating a mold from the head and shoulders of 10-year-old James Haley. The mold will be used in the creation of one of Dean’s mesmerizing cast-glass portraits. James’s mother, Penland program director Leslie Noell, was close at hand to coach him through the 45-minute process. James got to pick the soundtrack, so Hamilton was playing throughout.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

The first step was to coat James’s hair with cold cream. Then Dean began to carefully cover his face with a silicone rubber that starts to set up in about about 10 minutes. He used his fingers to make sure all the details of James’s face would be well molded. He also took care to maintain breathing holes for James’s nose.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

With his whole head and shoulders covered, James began to acquire a Halloween-enviable, Creature from the Black Lagoon look. At this point it was important for him to sit very still as the material began to set up. “Pretend you are thinking about the hardest math problem you’ve ever had to do,” Dean instructed.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

The next step was to create a two-part plaster shell that will be used to keep the flexible mold rigid later when filling it with hot wax. Dean and his assistant Sarah Beth Post formed the shell using the same kind of cloth/plaster strips that are used to make a cast for a broken bone.

Once both halves of the shell were complete, they were left briefly to harden and then were carefully removed.

Here’s the front half of the shell coming off.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

Dean carefully slit the mold up the back while Sarah Beth separated the rubber from the shirt.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

And with Mom’s assistance, the mold was removed as gently as possible.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

There it goes.

Penland resident artist Dean Allison making a mold of James Haley's head

And James emerged intact!

“I was thinking about bagels the whole time,” he said to Leslie, “so now we need to go get a bagel.”

Hmm…well played.

This process is just Dean’s first step. Here’s the rubber mold back inside the plaster cast (upside down on the chair). The next step is to fill it with hot wax to make a wax positive.

Here is the wax model of James. Dean will clean this up quite a bit and do some additional sculpting—particularly on the hair.

He will use this wax model to create a new mold made of reinforced plaster, which will retain all the detail that’s in the wax. Finally he will melt out the wax and fill the plaster mold with molten glass to create the glass sculpture. After the glass cools Dean will put in hours of polishing and cold work to refine the piece before it will be ready for mounting.

Before joining the Penland residency, Dean Allison was Penland’s glass studio coordinator. He has a Masters of Art in Visual Art from Australian National University. His work has been exhibited recently at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, SOFA Chicago, and Blue Spiral I in Asheville, NC. You can see many examples of his portraiture on his website.

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Announcing Our Newest Resident Artists

We are very happy to announce three new resident artists and welcome them into the Penland family. They will arrive on campus in September to begin their three-year residencies.

Nate Cotterman

“My position in the glass world is to use the material to solve problems and pay homage to the craft tradition. I strive to make work that is intriguing, functional, and timeless while looking for the unique in the mundane.”

Nate Cotterman currently lives with his family in Los Angeles, CA, where he works as a professional gaffer at 141 Penn Studio. A native of Ohio, Nate graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a BFA in glass and has taught and demonstrated across the US at institutions such as the University of Montana, Cleveland Institute of Art, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pilchuck School of Glass, and Penland. As a glass designer/maker, Nate brings a modern interpretation to glass objects using traditional Venetian glass blowing techniques, challenging low-end production with innovative design and handmade quality. During the residency at Penland, Nate plans to explore larger ideas in both complexity and scale and looks forward to the opportunity to be influenced by and collaborate with “a community of exceptionally skilled and creative people” in a range of media.
natecotterman.com

Jason Hartsoe

“I believe good art has a firm foundation in the work that came before it. It is by building on and blending the influences of historic ceramics and by varying these themes into new translations and experimentations that my work and career will progress.”

Jason grew up in NC in a home full of pots made by his grandfathers and their fathers before them. After receiving a BA in English from Belmont College, in NC, Jason chose to pursue a ceramic education by apprenticing with master potters; he learned on the job as an assistant in England at Winchcombe Pottery, in Virginia with Dan Finnegan, and as an apprentice with Michael Hunt and Naomi Daglish at Bandana Pottery just down the road from Penland. Jason’s work reflects these influences and experiences and has continued to evolve during short residencies in Star, NC; Shigaraki, Japan; and Cortona, Italy. During his residency at Penland, Jason is looking forward to the opportunity to build a wheel in order to explore larger forms, establish his own studio for the first time, develop his voice as a maker, and seek an audience and market for his work.
hartsoepottery.com

Kit Paulson

“[In transitioning from furnace glass to flameworking] I learned that in unfamiliarity with a process or material can lie great freedom and possibility….I want to make meaningful, intentional objects.”

Kit’s interest in glass started in the hot shop and led her to earn a BFA at Alfred University. She followed her degree with years of assisting other glass artists and developing a production line of functional glass. Though her love for the material persisted, she began to feel disillusioned with what she was making. At that time she discovered flameworking and began to shift her process and intention to include time-based work incorporating flameworked glass. With this new direction, Kit made the commitment to earn an MFA at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where she will culminate her studies in May. Kit’s most current work uses ornament and intricate, time-intensive constructions as a way to collect and tell stories. During her residency Kit will build a flameworking studio to support her new creative direction as she seeks balance between making meaningful work and supporting her career as an artist.
kitpaulsonglass.com

Our 2018 Resident Artist Program selection process was, as always, thorough, thoughtful, and difficult! There were many outstanding candidates but only three available positions. This year we received 71 applications from across the US and abroad. Our selection committee did an outstanding job reviewing and evaluating applications; they generously offered time, energy, and perspective to the entire project. Thank you to everyone involved in this year’s selection.

We do not anticipate any openings in the Resident Artist Program in 2019; our next application deadline will be January 15, 2020 for artists working in all media except hot glass.