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Sound Mandala

The frequency of healing… in glass.

We are captivated by summer instructor Nisha Bansil’s Glass Mandala series, undertaken during her residency at the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass.

Nisha writes:

This project was an investigation into Cymatics. In 1880 a German scientist named Ernst Chladni discovered that when you strike the edge of a metal plate covered in sand with a violin bow predictable figures appear.

These figures are created by the pressure waves of sound vibrating the material on the plate.  I was interested in capturing the resonant patterns of the vibration of sacred instruments. Lama Tsultrim and Lama Lordo from Karme Ling monastery played traditional instruments called Gayalings into a microphone which was connected to a modified speaker.

The speaker vibrated glass frit poured on top of thin glass plates.  I made 36, 16” x 16” glass patterns from that recording. I found that the patterns lined up in visual chords and the nodes intersected in such a way that the stacked plates began to reference patterns found in sacred geometry and Muslim architecture.

You can explore the art of embedding patterns in glass castings through a variety of methods this summer with Nisha in her Penland glass workshop:

“Embedded Pattern and Thick Forms”
Nisha Bansil
June 30-July 12, 2024 (11 STUDIO DAYS)

Registration opens January 15!

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Traditional Yoruba Dyeing Techniques with Indigo

Students hang recently dyed work to dry on a beautiful day

Gasali Adeyemo taught us so much during a recent workshop in the Penland textiles studio. Students in the textiles studio learned traditional Yoruba adire eleko (cassava-paste starch-resist) and tie-dye techniques and how to prepare an indigo vat.

Penland Core Fellow Nicholas McDonald with instructor Gasali Adeyemo

The class experimented with intricate patterns and learned about the history and meanings behind the traditional designs.

Students remove the cassava-paste starch-resist after dyeing with indigo, with help from instructor Gasali Adeyemo.

Gasali has been learning and teaching traditional dyeing techniques for over 30 years. He currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico and travels frequently, sharing sharing the arts and culture of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. You can find his work HERE.

A special T-shirt comes out of the indigo vat!

Want to take a textiles workshop at Penland? Find our upcoming workshops HERE.

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The Core Show 2021

This post starts with a slide show. If you are seeing it as in e-mail, please click here for best viewing.

The core show is a highlight of each Penland year.
The evening begins with a beautiful dinner cooked by friends of the core fellows.
Program coordinator Courtney Dodd paying tribute to each of the core fellows.
Sarina Angell; Collector's Jacket; toned cyanotype on cotton canvas
Molly Bernstein; A Map of the World; ceramic material
Mia Kaplan; Bullseye Ring; brass, copper, silver, magnets
Maria Fernanda Nuñez Alzata; What if we kissed in the crack of a kernel; cast denim, abaca, and corn husk fiber, 18k gold leaf, graphite
SaraBeth Post; Symbol to Play II; cast glass
Tony Santoyo; Roadmap; acrylic, handmade abaca and cotton on canvas
Erika Schuetz; Corkybara 1 &2; cork, leather
H. Mitsu Shimabukuro; Hypotaxis; hand-pulled sheet of paper with blowout stencil, cotton, abaca, and denim fibers
The core fellows in the gallery.
Core Show Card
Core Show Card

A highlight of every year at Penland (except 2020, because…) is the core show: an exhibition of carefully selected work made during the year by our wonderful core fellows. The evening starts with a beautiful, quiet dinner made by their friends. This is followed by a reception and moment for honoring each of these hardworking artists. This year’s exhibition was in Gallery North, which is part of the Northlight complex.

The Penland Core Fellowship is a two-year work-study residency that has brought generations of hard-working, dedicated artists into the Penland family–taking workshops, covering important work assignments, and inspiring everyone around them. We are also delighted to say that many core fellows continue to have a long-term relationship with the school after their fellowship comes to an end. We are always delighted to welcome them back as instructors, staff members, and in other roles.

Thank you, Erica, Mia, Mitsu, Mo, Molly, SaraBeth, Sarina, Tony, and Scott (who left for grad school before this event) for everything you have brought to Penland. Because everything was canceled in 2020, we got to keep this group for an extra year, and it’s getting hard to imagine the place without them!