Did you ever stop by your elementary school during the summer when you were a kid? Remember the funny feeling of the place, how quiet and empty it seemed? It’s a bit like that around here in the winter. It’s nice, for a while – everyone’s mellow and focused, and a lot gets done, both in terms of art-making and housekeeping. We have core students and resident artists, winter renters and printmakers hard at work in the studios, and the staff settle in with hot beverages and woolly sweaters to clear out the inbox. But eventually the moment comes when it’s time for students to come back and for classes to begin again.

That moment has arrived. It’s time. And we’re ready. For all the other wonderful things we do here at Penland, ultimately it’s all about the moment when you round the bend, step into the studios, and start doing that thing. You know, that thing that’s at once work and play, exploration and homecoming, that thing we’ve been here for every year since 1929. It’s time. We’re ready for you. The rocking chairs are back on the porches (some of which are brand new – wait ’til you see them!), the blankets back on the beds, the bacon back on the griddle. Bring your curiosity, bring your imagination, bring your appetite and your dreams and warm socks and an umbrella. We’re ready. And excited. It’s time to do that thing.

See you soon!