During our recent Fall Short Session, clay instructor Andy Shaw and his students visited Daniel Garver and Sean O’Connell, two Penland Resident Artsits who are currently working in clay. The first stop was Daniel Garver’s studio, pictured below.

 

Wrapping up a day of plate-making, the clay lovers walked down to The Barns after dinner to talk shop.

 

Though both residents work in clay, their processes are very different. Daniel Garver is using his residency to refine and expand his use of slipcasting to create clean, geometric objects.

 

Daniel shared some of the secrets of his work, from the challenges of working with porcelain to his use of “deflocculent” in his process.

 

Daniel’s work is linear, organic, and colorful!

 

Fall Short Session instructor Andy Shaw was intrigued by Daniel’s unique use of molds

 

When students arrived at Sean O’Connell’s studio, he was busy carving wooden spoons.

 

Sean is mastering the use of the wood kiln and exploring organic, spontaneous surface design in his work.

 

Students had lots of questions, the most common one being, “How did you make this one?”

 

Making use of wax resists, multiple firings, and gestural embellishments, Sean’s work is a cornucopia of texture and color.

Penland is currently home to eight resident artists, working in different media. The residency is intended to be an opportunity to test ideas and take risks that will have a lasting effect on their work and lives. Penland Resident Artists live and work at Penland for 3 years. Both Sean and Daniel arrived at Penland in the fall of 2021, so we are looking forward to watching their practices evolve over the next two years.

You can visit Sean’s and Daniel’s websites to learn more about their work. If you’re in the area, don’t miss the opportunity to stop by for a visit!