Tag: We Make Penland

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We Make Penland!

the overwhelming everythingness of belonging, collage by Anthony Naimo

Once a year, we celebrate Penland Giving Week. This year our goal was to connect to our Penland family near and far and to inspire 400 gifts of any size. Thanks to this wonderful community, we met our goal, shared your Penland stories online, and raised $100,000 for this place we love!

Giving Week Collage

This year we commissioned some exciting original art to help us get inspired. To create his collage, the overwhelming everythingness of belonging, Penland metals studio coordinator Anthony Naimo got inspired by the Penland archives. The wonderful result is full of easter eggs and archival penland images.

What was the process of creating the collage like? We asked Anthony:

The Penland campus is teeming with miniature installations of delightful, handcrafted offerings left by generations of makers hoping to give back to this really special community we all share.

Discovering these gifts is a magical experience, and there is no end to the discovery. Things seem to just manifest. Like they’ve always been there. Maybe they have. It’s like an army of woodland sprites are hurriedly marching an endless parade of whimsical objects across time and space to amuse and delight us. That’s the fantasy and characterization of Penland’s community I hoped to capture in this collage. Radiant. Abundant. Magical.

 

Your Stories

Penland memories from our friend Annie Evelyn, this year’s Giving Week spokesperson

During Penland Giving Week, friends shared stories of what this school has meant to them. It was wonderful to discover how people found their way here (a high school literature teacher), the peers that inspired them, the support they enjoyed (pivots, shifts and ventures), and the ways they grew (from student to instructor).

We love hearing about the legacy of creativity (grandkids falling in love with art at kids camp), ideas that inspired (Miss Lucy the badass), creative exploration (the beginning of whole bodies of work), and the sustained relationship with treasured ideas, objects, and memories that link you to Penland.

Connecting your stories shared online with our current campus activities, we created a collage in The Pines dining hall,  putting together printed posts with elements added by current students here for Spring Concentration.

We Did It!

For nearly 100 years, this has been a place where people can find friendship, advice, and inspiration in one another. Our teaching philosophy is based on generosity, the free sharing of knowledge and experience. But it doesn’t stop there. Penland people are generous with their hearts. Penland people make this place possible with their many and varied contributions. In a world of challenges and cynicism, Penland continues to be greater than the sum of its parts. We are deeply grateful for your support.

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Your Penland, Your Words

three images of Penland with the "We Make Penland" logo

Last month, as we celebrated our 4th annual Penland Giving Day with all of you, there was a sentiment we repeated over and over: We Make Penland.

We chose that phrase as the foundation of our campaign for a few reasons—its sense of continual action, the nod to creativity and craft inherent in the word “make,” but mostly the reference to community in the word “we.”

Penland is about people. It’s about the people who come to teach and share their knowledge. It’s about the people who bring fresh ideas and energy to the studios. It’s about the people who work every day to make sure that Penland can continue to deliver its creative programming. It’s about the people who explore and learn and grow in the studios and inspire others to do the same. In short, it’s about all of us—all of you.

As a way to celebrate this community and all of you who make it so rich, we wanted to share some of your #WeMakePenland stories. The quotes below are just a handful of the 250+ posts that you shared during Penland’s Giving Day this year. Each one illuminates a different facet about time at Penland and what it means to share it with this creative community of likeminded folks.

Three Penland staff members with "We Make Penland" postcards

In that first week there a revolution happened inside of me, liberating my vision and creative voice and showing me a life I hadn’t been sure was possible. —Susan

The people make Penland … well OK, the setting, the classes, the staff, the food, AND THE PEOPLE make Penland. —Mary

Penland changed my life—When I first moved to this area it was to learn to make pots from the amazing potters surrounding the school. What I found was finally feeling accepted as a maker and a human. These are my people!! —Courtney

My first time at Penland I was only 21 way back in 1988. It immediately changed my vision of what craft could be… Penland is imprinted on my soul. Such a powerful place to learn and share. —David

Penland gave me the confidence to pursue my passion for ceramics, taught me that true friendships can be made in minutes, and to trust myself both in the studio and out in the “real world.” —Alissa

Penland is a MAGICAL PLACE. There is so much creativity, camaraderie, and joy in a beautiful natural setting with the best-equipped studios open 24/7, delicious food, and much more. But most of all, Penland is about the PEOPLE, the special gathering of like-minded souls who come together to make art and community and leave with life-long friendships and a renewed faith in the world. Penland will always hold a special place in my heart. —Sharon

Penland reminds me what it means to be human, to connect through my heart and hands, to share, to laugh and to make. —Mary

When I think about places and experiences that have had the greatest impact on my life, Penland School of Craft is at the top of the list. During my two years as a core fellow, the trajectory of my life and career came into focus. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the skills I learned, the relationships I formed, and the encouragement and support that pours out of this magical place. —Rachel

Thank you, friends, for your love and commitment to the Penland community. We are so grateful for each and every one of you. WE MAKE PENLAND, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Want even more #WeMakePenland stories? Here’s a roundup from last year and another from 2018. Enjoy!