Every year, on the first Saturday in March—about a week before classes begin—Penland opens our studios to the public for an afternoon of free hands-on activities. Assisted by our fabulous studio coordinators and over 100 volunteers, visitors can try their hands at blacksmithing, glassblowing, throwing clay, paste paper painting, and many other crafts. This year the weather was a little cold; nonetheless, the event attracted over 500 enthusiastic participants.

Some Fun Numbers
500+ visitors,
9 studio coordinators, and
160 volunteers produced:

45 paperweights and drinking glasses,
250 glass beads,
Hundreds of paper hats, letterpress cards, and monoprints,
180 cloth pendants with photo imagery,
175 pounds of ceramic pottery and sculpture,
180 enameled copper brooches,
25 hand-decorated postcards,
75 sheets of painted paste paper, and
$150 in donations to the Mitchell County Animal Shelter

Special thanks to the studio coordinators and volunteers who always make it such a fantastic day!

Click here or on the picture to see a slideshow.

Or you can click here to see our Community Open House photo album on Facebook.