glass – The Penland Sketchbook

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Penland

Welcoming Two New Penland Resident Artists

Anna Johnson and Jason McDonald will be joining the Penland Resident Artist Program next spring. Both will arrive in March 2025 to begin three-year residencies alongside current residents Geoffrey Bowton and Kimberly Thomas, who will stay two more years in the program.

Penland’s resident artists are full-time artists who spend one or three years living on campus and dedicating themselves to a proposed project or career transition. Many residents use this time to explore new ideas and directions, undertake ambitious projects, or develop new bodies of work. Please join us in welcoming Anna and Jason!

Anna Johnson

Anna had this to say about how the Penland Resident Artist Program will affect her practice,

“The studio space, physical location, financial relief, and community support create an ideal setting to develop a strong body of sculptural and non-wearable work that is key in achieving my goal—transitioning from a full-time contemporary jeweler to a full-time interdisciplinary artist…I am committed to being an asset to the program and a resource for others, ensuring that my time at Penland is mutually enriching for myself and those around me.”

Photo of Anna Johnson in her studio. Anna is a young, white woman with long light brown hair and a big smile.
Here are some impressive examples of Anna’s work:

To learn more about Anna and follow her journey, we invite you to visit her website and follow her on instagram.

Jason McDonald

“Being a resident at Penland will mean the opportunity to craft a sustainable practice by having the room to build and store the equipment required to run a functional glass studio. To work toward the goal of a sustainable practice to create products for sale as well as completing commissions. To practice rigorously. To grow my most valuable resource: my network. Finally, and most importantly, a Penland residency will provide me an outlet for continuing my work of fostering the BIPOC community through mentoring makers underrepresented in glass.”

Photo of Jason McDonald in a glass studio. Jason is a young, black man with crossed arms and a warm, pensive expression.

Here are some stunning examples of Jason’s work:

To learn more about Jason and follow his journey, we invite you to visit his website and follow him on instagram.

Thank you!

Resident artists are recommended by a national committee of artists, curators, educators, and professionals who are knowledgeable about material-based work and understand what it takes to be successful in a self-directed residency. Panelists rotate frequently to bring a range of perspectives to the application review process. We received an impressive group of applications this year, and it was especially difficult to select only two residents. Thank you to our review panelists who offered their time and attention to a thoughtful review process:

Granite Calimpong, studio artist and educator living and working in Seattle, WA; Granite has taught glass classes at Haystack (ME), Penland, Pilchuck (WA), Pittsburgh Glass Center, University of Washington

Tanya Crane artist and educator; Assistant Professor of Jewelry, Sculpture and 3D Design at Long Beach City College (CA); 2024 USA Artist Fellow; 2023 Center for Craft Fellow in their inaugural Teaching Artist Cohort

Brad Cushman, independent curator, visual artist, and writer living in Little Rock, Arkansas; former gallery director and curator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; former art department chair at Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Mercedes Jelinek, artist and photographer living and working in Brooklyn, NY; professor, lecturer, visiting artist, and resident throughout the U.S. and Italy, including East Carolina University in Certaldo (Italy), Penland, The New School Parsons, and Yale University School of Art; former Penland resident artist, current Penland trustee

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Penland

Dan Friday: Glass and Heritage

One of three Penland Benefit Auction featured artists, Dan Friday is a Seattle-based glass artist and a member of the Lummi Nation. For twenty-five years, he has made his own work and has worked with other prominent glass artists, including Dale Chihuly, Paul Marioni, and Preston Singletary.

The themes and images in Dan’s work are often drawn from his Coast Salish culture, which he also credits with his initial attraction to art making. “Creativity was fostered in me by my family from an early age,” he says. “Living without TV and knowing the rich cultural heritage of the Lummi Nation meant that making things with our hands was a regular activity.”

Dan has taught at Penland, Pilchuck, Haystack and other schools, and he has had numerous residencies, including at the Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA), the Corning Museum (NY), and the Dream Community (Taipei, Taiwan). His work has been exhibited at the Bellevue Art Museum (WA) and in multiple exhibitions at Stonington Gallery (Seattle) and Blue Rain Gallery (Santa Fe).

This exciting Dan Friday piece will be featured in the 39th Annual Penland Benefit Auction:

Dan Friday
Aunt Fran’s Woven Basket
Blown glass
9½ x 8¾ x 8¾ inches

Original video by Ian Lewis, edited by Lu Kania, music by Nauxjonkeith.

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Penland

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.

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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.

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