Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
Workshops are open to serious students of all levels unless specified in course description; beginners welcome.
Scholarship application deadline is August 15.
Regular enrollment begins October 2.
NOTE: Before you apply, please read our COVID-19 Safety Guidelines document.
Clay–Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4-studio days)
Liz Zlot Summerfield
Developing Depth with Handbuilt Slab Pots
This workshop will demystify working with soft slabs and offer the essential components for creating unique slab-built pots. Students will begin with simple functional forms and expand to include components such as lids, feet, and spouts. Surface techniques will include stamping, slip trailing, and stenciling in conjunction with terra sigillata, underglaze, and glaze. Students can expect to leave with many new skills, several unfired pots, and a set of finished tiles fired at low-fire and mid-fire temperatures. This workshop will provide one-on-one interaction in a supportive, positive environment where experimentation is encouraged and individual development is nurtured. All levels. Lower clay studio.
Studio artist; teaching: Mars Hill University (NC), Penland, Arrowmont (TN), Idyllwild Art Center (CA), Double Island Studio (NC); representation: Clay AKAR (IA), Schaller Gallery (MI), Penland Gallery; collections: Mint Museum (NC), Ceramics Monthly; publications: Beginners Guide to Hand Building, Terra Sigillata: Contemporary Techniques, A Studio Handbook; DVD: Hand Built Forms with Soft Slabs.
Glass – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
Wesley Fleming
Bugs, Figures, Plants, and Beyond
Using soft glass, you will learn through demonstration, discussion, and practice to sculpt at the torch using the “Italian Technique.” We’ll show you how to create bugs, flowers, bodies, and fantastical objects without continuously reheating finished parts of the object, working from one side of your creation to the other as it cools. You will learn how to prepare components and assemble them cold in the flame without cracking. We’ll cover heat control, shaping, fine details, and proper annealing as we work through the meditative process that is flameworking. All levels. Flameworking studio.
Wesley: Studio artist; teaching: The Studio at Corning (NY), Kobe Lampwork Museum (Japan), Penland, Snow Farm (MA); collections: Corning Museum (NY), Racine Art Museum (WI), Tacoma Museum of Glass (WA); publications: American Art Collector, Make, numerous glass magazines, several Schiffer books.
wesleyfleming.com | @vetropod
Iron – Spring Short Session
April 28-May 3, 2024 (4 Studio Days)
Addison de Lisle
Leaf it to Me: Botanical Candlesticks
Candlesticks are a great way to explore the sculptural potential of ironwork while keeping a toe in the functional world. This workshop will walk students through the process of forging botanical-style candlesticks that take advantage of the organic qualities of forged iron. Along the way we’ll get comfortable with using forge-welding to make visually exciting pieces from simple parts. Other blacksmithing techniques will include drawing down, bending, upsetting, hot cutting, and drifting. This workshop will be of use to beginners looking to develop their technique as well as experienced students interested in pushing their design skills. All levels.
Studio artist; former professor of blacksmithing at American College of Building Arts (SC); workshop teaching: Haystack (ME), Appalachian Center for Craft (TN), Center for Metal Arts (PA), University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale; exhibitions; Metal Museum (TN), Institute for Contemporary Art (ME), Wayne Art Center (PA).
addisondelisle.com | @de_lisle_iron
Scholarship application deadline is August 15.
Regular enrollment begins October 2.
Metals – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
Eliana Arenas
Pop, Pop, Pop!
Students in this workshop will experiment with nontraditional coloring techniques and create a wearable jewelry piece. We’ll embrace low-cost color treatments such as powder coating, flocking, spray paint, colored pencils, and alternative materials to create rich, engaging jewelry—no need for expensive equipment. Demonstrations will include sawing, filing, cold connections, soldering, and tab settings. All levels. Lower metals studio.
Studio Artist: teaching: Arrowmont (TN), Winthrop University (SC), New Mexico State University, University of Texas at El Paso, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (Mexico): published in the Compendium Finale of Contemporary Jewellers, 500 Pendants and Lockets, 500 Earrings, 500 Necklaces, 1000 Rings, and 500 Paper Objects; representation: Ombré Gallery (OH), Baltimore Jewelry Center (MD).
Papermaking – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
SR Lejeune
What a Relief: Techniques for Pulp Casting
Using experimental casting processes rooted in hand papermaking techniques and the distinct properties of different fibers, students will learn to record dimension, texture, surface, and form with paper pulp. We’ll begin with basics such as fiber processing in the Hollander beater and sheet forming and then apply these skills to a variety casting methods, such as embossing with the hydraulic press and vacuum table; laminate-casting of objects with high-shrinkage fibers; and packing low-relief, miniature, and found moulds. Through material exploration, this experimental workshop will emphasize the unique possibilities of various paper pulps as casting media. We’ll cover ways of working applicable to both professional and improvisational studio contexts. All levels.
Studio artist; MFA in sculpture from Yale School of Art (CT); former Penland core fellow; teaching: Women’s Studio Workshop (NY), Dieu Donné (NYC); solo exhibitions: AS220 Reading Room (RI), Sculpture Center (Cleveland), Green Galleries at Yale School of Art (CT).
Letterpress – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
Jenn Graves
Printing, Books, and Boxes, Oh My!
This workshop will start by covering the fundamentals of letterpress printing on the Vandercook press, giving students an opportunity to set and print both metal and wood type. We’ll explore other matrices and techniques—linocuts, legos, pressure printing—and alternate substrates such as bookcloth. And we’ll learn folded, adhesive, and sewn book structures. Students can expect to complete several letterpress-printed books and, if time permits, construct a clamshell box. Experimentation and collaboration will be encouraged. All levels. Letterpress studio.
Studio artist; teaching: Otis College of Art and Design Extension Program (CA), International Printing Museum (CA); exhibitions: Love Letters Pride,Ink on Paper Letterpress Showcase (CA), Reverting to Type: Protest Posters at Standpoint Gallery (London); collections: Escalette Permanent Art Collection (CA), University of Washington Libraries (WA); residencies: The International Printing Museum (CA), InCahoots (CA).
Textiles – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
Martha Clippinger
Intuitive Geometries
This quilting workshop will encourage students to use their intuition rather than planning and making a quilt with predetermined patterns and precise cutting. We’ll study our fabrics, noting their colors and textures, and consider potential arrangements. During the process of piecing, students will divide, add, split, shift, flip, and turn their compositions into new designs. The broken patterns and irregular symmetries of these intuitive geometries will produce quilts that are full of color, texture, and most of all, rhythm. Given the brevity of the session, students may want to create a wall hanging rather than a bed-sized quilt. All levels. Upper textiles studio. This workshop takes place in a third-floor walk-up studio that has partial access by a stair lift.
Studio artist; teaching: Penland, Duke University (NC), Drew University (NJ), Fordham University (NY); collections: Columbus Museum (GA), Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (KS), Truist (NC); residencies/fellowships: Kohler Arts and Industry (WI), Fulbright (Mexico), MacDowell Colony (NH); representation: Elizabeth Harris Gallery (NYC), Hodges Taylor (NC).
Wood – Spring Short Session
April 28 – May 3, 2024 (4 studio days)
J. Bud Smith
Woodcarving: A Cherokee Perspective
During this workshop students will learn the unique characteristics of the Cherokee style of carving, including technical, historical, and cultural information. We’ll cover safety; basic chisel, knife, and finishing techniques; Cherokee stylistic techniques; and the fundamentals of creating a wood sculpture from start to finish. The workshop will also include introductions to Cherokee carvers throughout history, giving students an understanding of the evolution of Cherokee woodcarving from meeting the utilitarian needs of the past to becoming a contemporary art form. All levels.
Studio artist and educator; teaching: Oakland City University (IN), Museum of the Cherokee Indian (NC), and at the high school level; exhibitions: Santa Fe Indian Market (NM), Heard Museum (AZ), Eiteljorg Museum (IN), Red Earth Show (OK), Cherokee Art Market (OK); member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
