Penland Instructor and iron artisan Erica Moody is widely admired for her fine crafted metal wares. Inspired by craft tradition, her human scale works elevate everyday life.

In this video by Lone Spruce Creative, Erica speaks about her creative process– “For me creativity is staying curious and open to possibility,” she says.

At Penland, we have enjoyed observing Erica’s creative process as an instructor and a winter resident. This coming spring, a small number of students will have the opportunity to spend eight weeks with Erica in the iron studio during her spring concentration workshop, titled “Balancing the Spoon: Metal Craft and Studio Practice.”

Erica writes of her upcoming workshop,

With utensil making as the framework, students will learn the foundations of mid-sized metalsmithing and will explore how our craft can foster play and awareness of our surroundings. Through demonstrations and experimentation (with optional prompts), students will design and realize their own eating and/or serving utensils, which may be entirely practical or purely sculptural.

We will work with raw materials and repurposed utensils, consider individual as well as batch production, collaborate, and discuss balancing life and a craft business. Using mostly brass, copper, and steel, instruction will include cold and hot forming (forging, sanding, cutting, sinking; hand hammering only), cold and hot connections (riveting, wrapping, silver soldering/brazing), finishing (sanding, hand filing/white smithing, texturing, coloring, burnishing), and combining different materials (wood, bone, scrap metal, etc.).

The workshop aims to use this nice, long time frame to both upset and balance our practices as we inspire and support each other.

Registration for Erica’s iron workshop and all spring offerings opens on October 15th.