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Sarah Vaughn’s Sculptures Explore Memory and Nostalgia

Checking In, kiln-cast glass with dye oxide and patina application, steel (base, handle, axle), bronze (wheels), 2024

 

Meet Sarah Vaughn, Penland Resident Artist.

Hello! I am Sarah Vaughn. I am in my final year as a Penland resident. It is wild how time warps here. I am just getting settled in, and it is almost time to pack it all up. I primarily utilize glass in my work and am particularly fond of casting. During my residency, I have incorporated slip casting and metal casting into my practice…but glass will forever hold my heart. My time at Penland has been focused on setting up my studio. It is liberating to know that wherever I land after my residency ends, I can continue making my work.

My work tends toward narrative and nostalgia. This year, I am focused on creating two bodies of work:

The first is an ongoing project for the remainder of my time will be working on a large-scale installation of glass stones. This project will have been ten years in the making when it is installed at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum in February 2025. The installation will comprise over 5000 glass boulders, stones, and pebbles.

Work in progress for an upcoming installation at Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, blown, sculpted, and flameworked glass.
Detail of work in progress for installation at Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, blown, sculpted and flameworked glass
Weather-worn Balance Studies, blown and assembled glass, 2023

Second, in between making boxes of glass rocks, I am also continuing my figurative-based sculpture work. This work draws on recollections of moments that play over and over in my head, often warping into distorted versions of the events.

Please enjoy these images of Sarah’s moving figurative work.

 

Untitled at the moment… still stewing on this one, kiln-cast glass with dye oxide and patina application, 2023

 

Memory of a Conversation | Conversation with a Memory, kiln-cast glass with patina application, 2017

 

Possibilities, kiln-cast glass with dye oxide and patina application, 2023

 

 

Scattered Thoughts, kiln-cast glass with dye oxide and patina application, flame-worked glass, 2021
Stillness, cast  glass, bronze, copper, brass, 2023

 

 

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Kimberly Thomas’s Flamework Combines Realism and Fantasy

Meet Kimberly Thomas, Penland Resident Artist.

Hey! I’m Kimberly Thomas. I’ve just started my residency at Penland!

Over the next 3 years I plan to invent new contraptions, stack miniature piles of trash, and create on an entirely different scale. Swing by The Barns to see me and my work in person or check in on IG for updates on what’s happening in the studio!

Applications for the Penland Resident Artist program are open through July 2.

Please enjoy a selection of Kimberly’s finished works:

Cloud Riding Contraption #3, flameworked borosilicate glass, steel, wood, mixed media, 2022

Cloud Riding Contraption #3, detail

The Grassy Knoll, flameworked borosilicate glass, steel, wood, grout, mixed media, 2022

The Grassy Knoll, detail

The Deeper You Go, The Darker it Gets, flameworked borosilicate glass, steel, wood, grout, mixed media, 2023

The Deeper You Go, The Darker it Gets, detail

Maiden Voyage, flameworked borosilicate glass, steel, wood, grout, mixed media, 2023

Maiden Voyage, detail

No Fishing, flameworked borosilicate glass, wood, grout, mixed media, 2022

No Fishing, detail

Regulatory, Warning, and Guide Signs, flameworked borosilicate glass, steel, wood, grout, mixed media, 2022

Regulatory, Warning, and Guide Signs, detail

Discover more of Kim’s work HERE.

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Geoffrey Bowton is Interpreting the Veteran Experience Through Glass

Meet Geoffrey Bowton, Penland Resident Artist

Hi! I’m Geoffrey Bowton. I’m just three months into my three-year term here at Penland.

I craft army paraphernalia using mold-making and glass-casting techniques, working to create poignant visual narratives. I also fabricate metal armatures and pedestals to display my work.

My practice delves into traumatic experiences that reveal true and transparent human emotion.

My goal during this residency is to continue establishing collection opportunities with museums, hospitals, and galleries in order to share the evocative stories that emerge from this work. I also plan to start writing a book.

This residency is coming at a good time for me. After working from my private studio in Oregon, I now have the opportunity to engage with others about my narratives and studio practice.

Be sure to stop in at The Barns and check in on the progress of my unorthodox works, and please feel free to openly express your views about the world we live in today.

Applications for the Penland Resident Artist program are open through July 2. 

Saints & Savages

Contagion Effect

Sykes Regulars

Mr. Stigma

Impetus Suicidium

Veteran Obsolete – left

Veteran Obsolete – right

Veteran Obsolete – back

Discover more of Geoffrey’s work HERE.