Penland School of Crafts
peggyk April 6th, 2007
Recently, I visited North Carolina to visit old friends and embark upon a week of art education. I had a wonderful time and thought I’d write a series of mini articles describing my experiences. I’ll begin with my creative adventure at Penland School of Crafts…
As I headed into the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina (part of the Appalachians), I felt an overwhelming sense of calm – quite similar to the sensation I experience every time I return to our wonderful Ozarks. I chuckled as I recalled my friend, Becky, informing me that I had to learn to say Appalachian correctly – as it rhymes with (throw) “an apple at” (me); vs. my version that gives the third syllable a long vowel sound. So, as I practiced my pronunciation, I drove by unique little towns surrounded by delicate green meadowlands – all protected by mature hardwoods, pines and cedars. Of course, I couldn’t help but visualize scenes from Cold Mountain (Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger) and wonder with curiosity what all happened on the very road I was traveling during the Civil War.
When I took the left turn by the sign “Penland School of Crafts”, I entered a winding and climbing road that was, by far, the most beautiful drive of the entire trip. The road led me to Penland’s Visitor’s Center and Art Gallery.
The Visitor’s Center, a two story structure, was originally an Episcopal mission school (founded in 1911). The story, as I recall, goes something like this… Reverend Rufus Morgan directed the educational program of the mission school from 1914 – 1918. Rufus Morgan’s sister, Lucy, accepted a teaching assignment at the mission school in 1920 …and never left.
Lucy Calista Morgan (1889 – 1981) – known as Miss Lucy – founded the Penland School of Handicrafts via establishing a weaving program back in 1929. I purchased her memoir, Gift from the Hills in which she describes her mission: “…to bring about a revival of hand-weaving and to provide our neighbor mothers with a means of adding to their generally meager incomes.”
Hence, Penland School of Crafts started via a weaving program! Hat’s off to our fiber artists! One of my favorite Penland postcards – the one I sent to many friends – is a black and white photo of a small log cabin affixed to a bed of a pickup truck with Miss Lucy sitting on the foot runner. She transported this rig called a “Travelog” to the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair fairgrounds and reassembled it on site as a sales booth for Penland Crafts - creativity and drive at its best.
My introduction to Penland was fascinating and I’ll share with you in upcoming articles my experience as I toured the campus and visited with their director, Jean Mclaughlin.
- ArtStuff
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