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.
