resident artist – The Penland Sketchbook

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Penland

Sarita Westrup’s Intuitive Baskets

Meet Sarita Westrup, Penland Resident Artist.

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Hey there! I’m Sarita Westrup. I’m doing the one-year residency here at Penland and it feels good to be back in this capacity!

While at Penland, I’ve been weaving a large-scale sculptural basketry piece for a group exhibition titled Flow States – LA TRIENAL for Fall 2024 at El Museo del Barrio in NYC. The show opens October 2024 and it’s the museum’s second large-scale survey of Latinx contemporary art.

I’m also in my studio working intuitively on new works while considering the bi-cultural aesthetics of my upbringing in south Texas. My forms are woven, joined, mudded, painted, and rubbed with graphite or coated with cochineal ink!

Check out my website or swing by The Barns or “The Weight of Wonder” exhibition at the Penland Gallery to see my work in person.

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Here are some of Sarita’s finished works:

Sarita Westrup, brushy woodlands I, 2024, reed, mortar, paint, ixtle, dimensions variable

Sarita Westrup, infinity II, 2023, reed, mortar, paint, cochineal ink, 21 x 28 x 21 inches

Sarita Westrup, klein bottle brush, 2023, reed, mortar, paint, cochineal ink, ixtle, 21 x 21 x 8.5 inches

And here are some scenes from her Penland studio at The Barns:

-Explore more of Sarita’s work HERE.

-Discover the work of Penland’s current Penland Resident Artists HERE.

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.

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

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Penland

Kimberly Thomas’s Flamework Combines Realism and Fantasy

Meet Kimberly Thomas, Penland Resident Artist.

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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!

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

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Please enjoy a selection of Kimberly’s finished works:

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