Where is Penland Main Campus?

The Penland Main Campus, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, is the heart of the Penland School of Craft, a renowned national center dedicated to immersive craft education. This single-campus facility offers intensive workshops, residencies, and community programs in twelve specialized studios, fostering creativity through hands-on making with professional artists. The campus emphasizes traditional and contemporary crafts, providing fully equipped studios that encourage experimentation across media.

• Books: Workshops in origami sculpture, bower books, and book arts exploring structure and form.
• Clay: Classes in functional pottery like pitchers, focusing on throwing, glazing, and firing techniques.
• Drawing and Painting: Sessions drawing from science and nature, emphasizing observation and expression.
• Glass: Introductory hot glass blowing and lampworking for beginners and advanced makers.
• Iron: Forging and blacksmithing, including tool-making and sculptural ironwork.
• Letterpress: Reduction block printing on Vandercook presses, blending printmaking with design.
• Metals: Jewelry fabrication, enameling, and linked structures using wood, paper, and pins.
• Papermaking: Handmade paper processes integrated with other crafts.
• Photography: Alternative processes like palladium, gum, and cyanotype printing.
• Printmaking: Diverse techniques from relief to intaglio.
• Textiles: Weft-faced structures, fiber forms, weaving, and surface design.
• Wood: Furniture, boxes, turning, and sculptural woodwork with innovative joins and finishes.

Workshops range from weekends to eight-week concentrations, serving all skill levels in a supportive residential environment that promotes personal growth and artistic innovation specific to this mountain campus.