DEL.ICIO.USFor the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/09/08
Penland, N.C. — You know you're getting close to the Penland School of Crafts in western North Carolina when you start passing studio after studio along the way: Barking Spider Pottery, Jane Peiser Studio, Cynthia Bringle's Gallery.
And those are just within a mile of the forested, 400-acre campus. Expand your reach through Mitchell and Yancey counties and you'll find close to 100 artists' and artisans' work spaces, many of which open their doors to the public.
 Wessel Kok / Special | ||
| This gate at Penland School was made by students. | ||
 Wessel Kok / Special | ||
| This mosaic-covered wall behind the main office of the Penland School of Crafts was designed and created by students over the course of several years. | ||
 Wessel Kok / Special | ||
| Detail of metal arch on mosaic-covered wall behind the main office was also created by students. | ||
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Along narrow, twisting Conley Ridge Road is the mother ship, Penland School, one of the country's pre-eminent crafts schools, as inspirational to visitors as it is to students.
Art is everywhere you turn: in studios, classrooms and outdoors, as well as at the Penland Gallery down the road.
Then there's the setting. About an hour northeast of Asheville, the views of Blue Ridge Mountain valleys and peaks are phenomenal, particularly from the school's coffeehouse, which is open to the public and has seating indoors and out.
The school, which opened in 1929, has 10 disciplines: clay, textiles, glass, metals, paper, photography, drawing, iron, printmaking and wood.
It offers beginning and advanced classes and workshops of one to several weeks or months, along with artist residencies and work-study programs for "core students." These are full-time students who live and work at the school for two years. About 1,200 students a year from around the country take courses at Penland, and about 14,000 visitors tour the gallery and campus.
Credit Southern hospitality and the school's desire to educate the public for Penland's open-door policy to visitors. The public is free to wander about the many buildings and peer politely through studio doorways. Along the way are outdoor sculptures and beautifully carved, chiseled and forged benches.
At the gallery, which also serves as a visitor information center, you can pick up studio maps and other information about Penland and artists in the Penland area. The gallery is open from March through December yearly and holds campus tours Tuesdays and Thursdays from mid-April through early December.
A timeline on a gallery wall shows that in 1920, Lucy Morgan began teaching at the Appalachian Industrial School, an Episcopal mission school established by her brother, and soon expanded its vocational program to include handicrafts, particularly weaving. Few women in the community still wove, and Morgan believed reviving the craft might not only restore tradition but provide some economic support.
The Penland School began nine years later at the same site, when nine guest students were invited to join local weavers for a class taught by expert weaver Edward Worst. Penland School's first structure, built in 1935, is the Edward F. Worst Craft House. It is one of the largest log buildings in the Southeast. It houses the cafe, a smaller student gallery and student housing.
The best place to start a visit is on the campus. The most famous work of art is the mosaic-covered wall behind the main office. About 20 yards long, it was designed and created by students over several years. Every inch is covered with colorful creatures. Faces, limbs, flowers and other figures bulge from the concrete. You can spend easily half an hour studying this masterpiece. From here, peek into the studios for textiles, metals and clay.
Up the hill are the wood, glass and iron studios. At the latter, make sure to see the large iron gate that is as imaginatively decorated as the mosaic wall. You will want to walk by the Pines, a large wooden building with many windows, where students eat and no doubt drink up inspiration from the surrounding trees and mountains. Back at the Craft House, shop at the supply store, if you like, or take a break at the cafe, a great place to get a feel for student life while soaking up the scenery.
About half a mile in one direction is the Barns, the resident-artist studios, which are open to the public. Half a mile in the other direction is Penland Gallery. A hand-forged stair railing leads to the porch landing at the main entrance, where rocking chairs invite visitors to rest before browsing and shopping.
The gallery displays and sells work by people associated with Penland either now or in the past: instructors, resident artists, students and neighboring artists.
A special exhibit room has rotating shows, and there's a small reading room with dozens of craft books for reading or buying, including "The Nature of Craft and the Penland Experience," a book that accompanied its 75th-anniversary exhibit at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte.
Of course, no book or exhibit can compare to being in Penland, among the works of artists and the art of nature.
IF YOU GO
Getting there
The Penland School of Crafts is 250 miles, or 41/2 hours, north of downtown Atlanta and 50 miles northeast of Asheville. Nearby towns are Spruce Pine (about 2,100 population) and Burnsville (about 1,600 population). Penland School is reached by turning onto Penland Road from U.S. 19E or N.C. 226. Signs lead to the school and gallery, both on Conley Ridge Road.
About the school
Penland School and Gallery, Conley Ridge Road. 828-765-6211, www.penland.org. Gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; noon-5 p.m. Sundays, March-December. Tours at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and 1:30 p.m. Thursdays from mid-April through early December. Reservations required.
Where to stay
• Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa. Rates $169-$735. 290 Macon Ave., Asheville. 1-800-438-5800, www.groveparkinn.com.
• Nu Wray Inn. Rates $80-$120. 102 Town Square, Burnsville. 1-800-368-9729, www.nuwrayinn.com.
• Celo Inn. Rates $35-$55. 1 Seven Mile Ridge Road, Burnsville. 828-675-5132, www.celoinn.com.
Where to eat
• The Market Place. Entrees $18-$28. 20 Wall St., Asheville. 828-252-4162, www.marketplace-restaurant.com.
• Early Girl Eatery. Breakfast and lunch $5-$8, dinner $10.50-$17. 8 Wall St., Asheville. 828-259-9292, www.earlygirleatery.com.
• Hilltop Restaurant. $5-$15. 109 W. Main St., Burnsville. 828-678-9123.
Information
For Asheville: 1-800-280-0005, www.exploreasheville.com.
Contact Diane Daniel at diane@bydianedaniel.com.
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