Tim Tate 2018 Penland Auction Featured Artist

Tim Tate, 8 Bats, 4 Seasons, wood, mirrors, cast objects, LEDs, 36" x 36" x 6"

Tim Tate, 8 Bats, 4 Seasons, wood, mirrors, cast objects, LEDs, 36″ x 36″ x 6″. Photo: Pete Duvall.

Glass artist and mixed-media sculptor Tim Tate has been part of the Penland School of Crafts community for decades, and for 2018, the education center will showcase his work at this year’s auction gala. The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction is the premiere craft auction in the southeast, providing funds to support the operations of Penland School of Crafts while introducing new artists to collectors and expanding public understanding and awareness of craft.

Tim’s featured piece 8 Bats, 4 Seasons is a remarkable assemblage of materials, history, and imagination.

Detail of bats

Detail of bats

8 Bats, 4 Seasons may remind viewers of a classic wood-framed mirror, but Tim has added a rich composition of imagery to the mirror’s face and then transformed it further into a dimensional portal that stretches toward infinity. “The beauty of endless mirrors is in creating a space that exists nowhere else on Earth,” Tim explains in a recent interview for American Craft. The work feels familiar and inviting and utterly mysterious all at once.

But the story goes deeper than beauty. Tim has imagined his mirror as an artifact, “an undiscovered object from the 1860s commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt during the Golden Era. He had just returned from his grand tour of Asia…” While the four seasons are a nod to Currier and Ives, Keats and Thoreau, and Western decorative traditions, the piece’s eight bats are a nod to China, where bats have long served as a symbol of good luck.

The wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt, after returning from their grand tour in Asia. It is clear that by this time she had become obsessed

The wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt, after returning from their grand tour in Asia. It is clear that by this time she had become obsessed with bats.

 

American Craft’s interview with Tim describes him as “as much explorer as artist, seeking out the uncharted.” With 8 Bats, 4 Seasons, Tim beckons us into a parallel world of his creation full of questions and possibility. All are invited to look into Tim’s mirror—and the space beyond it—at this summer’s Penland Benefit Auction.

Penland’s 33rd Annual Benefit Auction is August 10-11, 2018, which means the spectacular weekend is only four months away! Register now to join this gala event and the great craft, great friends, and great memories it celebrates.

2018 Annual Benefit Auction

Friday, August 10 & Saturday, August 11

About Penland’s Annual Auction
Entering its 33rd year in 2018, the auction attracts over 800 collectors and volunteers to the Penland campus in the mountains of North Carolina each August. The weekend brings artists and patrons together and provides collectors with opportunities to meet established and emerging artists, learn about trends in contemporary craft, and see and purchase exceptional new work. If you are passionate about art and interested in investing in the health and the future of the arts, join us for this gala event.

Penland School of Craft Auction Features Michael Janis’ “Flying In Place”

Michael Janis, "Flying in Place", fused glass powder imagery, steel, silver

Michael Janis, “Flying in Place”, fused glass powder imagery, steel, silver, 24″ x 7″

With less than one month to go until the 2015 Penland Benefit Auction, Penland, the national center for craft education located in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains featured Washington Glass School co-director Michael Janis and his artwork “Flying in Place”. Below, Michael Rogers, Professor of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology, describes Michael’s work and his process. “Flying in Place” and many other works of glass will be up for bidding at the 30th anniversary of the Penland Benefit Auction this summer. You can now view all of these works online in the 2015 auction catalog.

“Michael Janis is an exceptional visual artist, an innovator, and a master of the technique of fusing with glass powder-essentially ‘painting with glass on glass.’ It takes years of trial and error for an artist to achieve fluency in an area of artistic endeavor where one must charter unknown territory to make discoveries unique to themselves. Through skill, vision, tenacity, and dedication, Michael has created a strong and clear voice with the material that is truly his own. Certainly painters would envy Michael’s ability to orchestrate translucency, opacity, and transparency in tandem with chromatic diversity to achieve depth in the two-dimensional plane. However, Michael is much more than technically adept.

Michael Janis, "Flying in Place",glass, glass powder imagery, silver, steel, 24"dia x 7"

Michael Janis, “Flying in Place”,glass, glass powder imagery, silver, steel, 24″dia x 7″ The frit powder imagery is presented as distorted in the front-on viewing, and the distorted image is viewed un-distorted in the reflection of the silvered glass cylinder.

“After all, Michael is a storyteller, an artist who draws simultaneously upon the past, present, and future to develop the content of his work. Through memory, awareness, and intuitiveness, one could say Michael evokes meaning in his work. With Flying in Place, we are presented with a stunningly beautiful and fascinating piece of poetic narrative. Metaphorically rich in associations, this work preserves its mystery while engaging the viewer’s curiosity. In the end, Michael’s intense ability with material and technique allows him to transcend these aspects of making to communicate his intention directly. Michael’s genius is in suspending reality and creating an illusion one can get lost in. In this way, he captivates the viewer.

“When I see this work by Michael Janis I think that here is a mature artist, an artist at the top of his game.” – Michael Rogers

Please join the Penland Benefit Auction on August 7 and 8, 2015.

Join Penland’s event page to stay up to date on the latest auction news and stories.

Absentee bidders can register by clicking this link. For reservations, please contact Jackie Head at 828-765-2359 x 112 or auction@penland.org.

For more information about the 2015 Annual Benefit Auction, click here to visit Penland’s auction website or call 828-765-2359 x 112.

Mark Your Calendars: Penland Auction Aug 8/9

woodman.pieper.penland

This year’s featured work, created exclusively for the 2014 Penland Benefit Auction, is Gong Cocktail Service by Julia Woodman, and Black Reticello Martini Glasses, (a set of eight), by Kenny Pieper.

August 8 – 9, 2014

The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction is a gala weekend in the North Carolina Mountains featuring the sale of more than 240 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast and a perfect opportunity to support Penland’s educational programs, which have helped thousands of people live creative lives.

Click HERE for detailed schedule.

Auction Weekend Tickets $385

Includes all Friday and Saturday activities

Friday, August 8

Friday-only Tickets $225

Cocktail party, exhibition preview and silent auction, dinner, live auction, dessert party, live music, and dancing

Saturday, August 9

Saturday-only Tickets $275

Coffee at the studios with Penland’s resident artists, silent auction, lunch, live auction, and a reception at the Penland Gallery

Click HERE to jump to Penland Auction page

Veni, vidi, vici – Recap of Penland Auction Tour 2013

Penland 2013 Auction

Tim Tate and Sean Hennessey have returned from leading a jam packed tour of collectors and aesthetes through North Carolina’s Penland School of Crafts. The guys took the James Renwick Alliance (JRA) group to many of the the artist studios that surround Penland, some of the galleries of Asheville, and then to the beautiful setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains that surrounds Penland for the auction.
Accompanying the group was Jennifer Scanlan, independent curator and craft scholar.

Dustin Farnsworth sculpture.

Sculptor Mel Chin talks to the tour group about his work.
Mel Chin talking about one of his works, made up of hundreds of books depicting all the worlds philosophies…..all flowing together to create one world.
Detail of Mel Chin’s sculpture – with the pages all flowing together.
Lunch at historic Grove Park Inn. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style.
Lunch overlooking Asheville and the mountains.
Lisa Clague’s studio had fantastic sculptures that were like dreams come to life.
Lisa Clague’s drawings are equally beautiful and surreal.
Visiting jewelers Amy Tavern & Joanna Gollberg.
Artist Zack Noble’s forge.
Sean Hennessey and Zack Noble.

Back to Penland for the big event!
Tour hosts – Sean Hennessey and Tim Tate relax after the festivities.

Plans are being made for next year’s tour – with over 100 collectors going to an “All-Glass” artwork and studio tour – start making your plans now!

28th Annual Penland Art Auction 2013

August 9 – 10, 2013

The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction is a gala weekend in the North Carolina Mountains featuring the sale of more than 240 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast and a perfect opportunity to support Penland’s educational programs, which have helped thousands of people live creative lives.

Tim Tate and the James Renwick Alliance is planning a whole trip down there for the auction weekend – Click HEREdetails for the tour extravaganza.

Can’t make it? You can still get some incredible artwork from the auction by Absentee Bidding. 
Absentee bids may be submitted by mail, phone, email, or fax until noon on Friday, August 9, 2013. Bids will be executed for you by Penland auction staff up to the price stated. In the event of identical bids, the bid received first will take precedence. You will be contacted on Monday, August 12, 2013 if you are successful, and will be invoiced for the purchase price and the cost of shipping. Click HERE to jump to Penland’s Absentee Bidding Information.

Some selected works in the auction:

Mark Peiser

Passage Etude Tableau # 1

16 ¼  x  21 ¾  x  6 in.

Hot cast dichroic phase separated glass, ground and acid finished

$48,000

John Rais

Otter Bench

77 ½  x  27 in.

Hollow forged and formed steel, ash, and patina

$10,000

Tim Tate

Dreaming Of Heaven

18x8x8

Blown and Cast Glass, Found Objects, video

$8500

Douglas Harling

Cake Ring

2.25 x 2.3 cm

22k gold, yellow rose cut diamond

$3,200

Randy Shull

Juxtaposition in Black and White

92 x 73 x 18 in.

Acrylic on wood panel

$24,000

Lisa Clague

Cat & Mouse

32 x 15 x 11 in.

Clay and metal

$3,600

Micah Evans

Ulterior

18 x 12 x 12 in.

Blown and sculpted borosilicate glass

$4,800

Einar and Jamex de la Torre

Carolina

26 x 11 x 11 in.

Blown glass with mixed media

$8,000

JRA Organizes August Penland Tour – Plan Now!

The Asheville-Penland Tour again promises an exciting 5 Days this Summer! The James Renwick Alliance Board of The James Renwick Alliance (JRA), along with Tim Tate and Sean Hennessey the organizers – invite you to an upcoming summer excursion and art experience, August 7-11, 2013.

One of the most enjoyable arts trips in this country is to the area outside of Asheville, NC – an area dense with amazing studios. This trip will also include the Penland School of Crafts Annual Auction in a stunningly beautiful setting.

Accompanying us on this trip will be Jennifer Scanlan, independent curator and craft scholar. For over a decade Ms. Scanlan was an associate curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. She brings with her a depth of craft knowledge and a scholarly conversation about the works we will see on studio tours and the auction.

The day before we will be visiting the studios of some of the most talented artists surrounding Asheville.This will honestly be the best five-day excursion you have ever taken…at least we are going try to make it that way. We will be given phenomenal access to some of the finest studio artists this country has to offer!

Here is the schedule of events:

Wednesday, August 7

We arrive in Asheville….either by plane or driving down, your choice.If you come by plane we will arrange pick up.  Our base will be the Inn at Little Switzerland on the Blue Ridge Parkway with spectacular views of the valley, a favorite spot, close to both Asheville and Penland.  

Our first event will be an evening welcome cocktail and dinner at the Inn. The price of this event is included in the trip.

Thursday, August 8

We leave at 8:30 am to see the sites of Asheville and visits to some amazing artists’ studios for private tours.  Below is a list of those studios and events 

  • Randy Shull and the River District Artists.
Randy Shull

Randy Shull is an artist who works fluidly between varieties of media, including furniture design, spatial design, painting, and landscape design.  He is highly acclaimed for his rich and sensual use of color and space. A recipient o f many awards and grants, Randy has also had four solo shows in New York in the past decade. His work is included in a number of important museum collections including The Brooklyn Museum,  The High Museum in Atlanta, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Mint Museum of Craft & Design ,Racine Museum of Art, The Gregg Museum of Art & Design, and Museum of Art and Design. 

Zack Noble

Zack Noble is an artist that specializes in modern sculptural, functional and architectural work. He has taught at Penland School of Crafts and John C. Campbell Folk School. He has studied and worked with noted blacksmiths in Great Britain. His work has been featured in a number of books and craft magazines, and is in private collections across the U.S. 

Grove Park Inn

Lunch that day will be on the beautiful Sunset Terrace of the amazing Grove Park Inn. The Grove Park Inn is a nearly 100 year old historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina.  The Inn is an AAA Four-Diamond Hotel and has been since 2001.  It serves as one of the most romantic places to stay on the eastern U.S. seaboard and has been visited by many United States’ Presidents and other people of notoriety. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style.

  • After, we visit with Amy Tavern and Joanna Golderg.
Amy Tavern

Originally from Upstate, NY, Amy Tavern received a BFA in Metal Design from the University of Washington in 2002.   In the last two years she has had solo exhibitions at Beyond Fashion in Antwerp, Belgium and at Velvet da Vinci in San Francisco, CA. She has also exhibited in group shows at Sienna Gallery and Heidi Lowe Gallery, among others.  In 2009 Amy received several emerging artist honors including an American Craft Council Searchlight artist.  Amy’s jewelry has been published in numerous books such as New Rings and 500 Silver Jewelry Designs and she was featured on the cover of Metalsmith Magazine’s 2012 “Exhibition in Print.”  Amy recently completed a three-year artist residency at the Penland School of Crafts and just celebrated her 10th year in business.  Her work can be found in galleries around the United States and abroad.

Joanna Goldberg

Joanna Golberg began making jewelry at the age of 13, using fishing lures, beads, and (very heavy!) old coins. Joanna is also a well-known and respected author. She has written four books on making handcrafted designer jewelry–Making Metal Jewelry, Creative Metal Crafts, The Art & Craft of Making Jewelry, and The Ultimate Jeweler’s Guide –all titles published by Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing, Inc.  Joanna teaches jewelry making at noted craft institutions, such as the Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts.  Her jewelry has been published in Art Jewelry Magazine, Lapidary Journal, Ornament Magazine, 1000 Rings, 500 Wedding Rings, 500 Enameled Objects, and 21st Century Jewelry.  Joanna operates out of an amazing studio in downtown Asheville.

  • Asheville Art Museum / Curator Tour by Nancy Sokolove
Asheville Art Museum
Stoney Lamar

Founded by artists in 1948, the Asheville Art Museum annually presents an exciting, inviting and active schedule of exhibitions and public programs.  Any visit will also include experiences with works of significance to Western North Carolina’s cultural heritage including Studio Craft, Black Mountain College and Cherokee artists. Special exhibitions feature renowned regional and national artists and explore issues of enduring interest. At the time of our visit, there will be a Stoney Lamar 40-year retrospective.  Stoney will be joining us to talk to us about the work. At the same time, there will also be a Black Mountain College – New Acquisition show. This should be one spectacular event.

  • Blue Spiral Gallery
Blue Spiral 1

No trip to Asheville would be complete without a visit to the famous Blue Spiral Gallery. This amazing gallery presents work by exceptional Southern artists and object makers in a beautifully renovated building in the heart of downtown Asheville.  The light-filled, 15,000 square-foot gallery spans three floors connected by an open stairway. This spacious setting allows Blue Spiral 1 to offer considerable diversity, affording accessibility to various tastes and aesthetics.  

Now, on to dinner!  We are planning our meal at the spectacular Limones Restaurant in the center of Asheville.  Then back to the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Friday, August 9

Today we will stay closer to Penland, exploring several studios and then joining in the festivities surrounding the Penland auction, which begin at 3 p.m. with auction previews.  Dinner is included.

  • Visit with sculptor Lisa Clague  9:30 to 10:30am
Lisa Clague
Lisa Clague

The distinctive figurative sculpture by Lisa Clague hovers between fantasy and reality –- playful, mysterious, contemplative. “Although the imagery in my work comes directly from my own dreams which, in turn, respond to very personal experiences. I must also acknowledge a debt to the surrealist movement. Artists such as Hieronymous Bosch, Frida Karlo, Louise Bourgeois and Hans Bellmer have been profoundly inspirational“…“My hybrid figures have been influenced by prehistoric art, the “Great Mother” figurines from the Neolithic period, the animal-headed figures from the rock shelter of La Madeleine, and also the bird-headed Egyptian Goddesses and archaic Greek Kouros figures.”

  • Visit to sculptor Mel Chin  11:00am to12:30pm
Mel Chin

Mel Chin was born in Houston to Chinese parents in 1951, the first of his family born in the United States, and was reared in a predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhood. He worked in his family’s grocery store, and began making art at an early age. Though Mel is classically trained, his art is both analytical and poetic and evades easy classification. Alchemy, botany, and ecology are but a few of the disciplines that intersect in his work. In 1989, Mel had a one-person exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. 

Mel Chin

Mel Chin has also exhibited in numerous group shows including the Fifth Biennial of Havana, Cuba; Seventh Architectural Biennial in Venice, Italy; Kwangju Biennale, Korea; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Whitney Museum of American Art; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Museum of Modern Art; and the Asian American Arts Centre, New York City among others. Mel has received numerous awards and grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Art Matters, Creative Capital, and the Penny McCall, Pollock/Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Rockefeller and Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundations, among others.

  • Penland Gallery

Elizabeth Brim

No trip to Penland would ever be complete without a visit to the Penland Gallery. The Penland Gallery – featuring work by artists affiliated with Penland School of Crafts – is a stop worth adding to your trip through Western North Carolina. It is the perfect place to choose a gift, add to your craft collection, or learn about contemporary craft.

Bob Trotman

Lunch this day will be on the porch of the Penland Gallery. Lunch will be a box lunch furnished by the spectacular restaurant Knife and Fork. During our lunch we will have special presentations from Bob Trotman (wood sculptor) and Elizabeth Brim (metal sculptor).

Now it’s on to the auction. It begins at 3 p.m. with the silent auction in the new state-of-the-art facilities in the Print/Letterpress Studio.  Dozens of Penland’s artists will be showing there. Then on to a lovely dinner and wine under the beautiful tent overlooking the valley on Penland’s grounds while the main Friday night auction goes on. After this, it’s back for a quick cocktail at the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Saturday, August 10

The morning begins with coffee and breakfast at The Barns at Penland, where we will be treated to a show by the resident artists here at Penland, always a highlight and much fun. From there we attend a show given by the Core Students where we will see the work of tomorrow’s most promising artists.  On to the Saturday silent auction and artist chats….then on to the main festivities of the luncheon and live auction.  This will definitely be the highlight of the weekend!

  • After the auction we will head to the studio of Anne Lemanski in Spruce Pine.

Anne Lemanski

Through the use of materials such as vintage paper, vinyl, textiles, wood veneer, metal and artificial sinew, Anne Lemanski creates a menagerie of sculptural portraits.

The politically charged content and form of the sculpture happens through the combination of a copper rod armature and hand-stitched “skin.” Anne’s current focus is on the complex, symbiotic relationship between humans and animals, highlighting our admiration for anima ls as symbols, and our exploitation of them to suit our needs.

Afterwards, we head back to the Inn at Little Switzerland, where we will have time to freshen up before a lovely farewell cocktail and dinner party where you will be able to swap stories with the new friends you made on this spectacular trip!

Sunday, August 11
Travel day…..those that need a ride to the airport, we will arrange it.  If you are driving down, and wouldn’t mind taking folks to Asheville and Penland from the hotel, please let us know. 

The cost of this trip is only $625; $75 is a non-refundable donation to the James Renwick Alliance.  You pay the cost of your hotels, meals and transportation (hotel /anywhere from $120 to $200 per night). Meals at the Friday night auction, breakfast and lunch at the Saturday afternoon auction are included. This trip is limited to 20 people. Cut off date is July 1, but please sign up early.

To RSVP, contact Cicie Sattarnilasskorn by email at admin@jra.org or Tel: (301) 907.3888

Penland School of Craft’s Annual Benefit Auction

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27th Penland Schoolof Crafts Annual Benefit Auction

August 10 – 11, 2012

Penland School of Craft is a national center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Penland offers one-, two-, and eight-week workshops in books & paper, clay, drawing, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking and letterpress, textiles, and wood. The school also offers artists’ residencies, community collaboration programs, and a gallery and information center.

The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction has their gala weekend in the Carolina Mountainsfeaturing the sale of 237 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. 

The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the American Southeast and is the perfect opportunity to support Penland’s educational programs, which have helped thousands of people live creative lives.

If you cannot make it out to the mountains of North Carolina – you can participate in the auction online:

Catalog

Click the link below to download an illustrated catalog of artists and work in this year’s auction:

A Visit From Penland

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L-R Glen and Florence Hardymon chat with ceramic artist Novie Trump at Flux Studios

Glen Hardymon –  Penland School of Crafts Chairman of the Board of Trustees and his wife Florence were visiting Washington, DC, this week and they made a trip out to see the Washington Glass School. 

Sean Hennessey, Tim Tate together with Glen and Florence Hardymon expound on the lighter side of the arts.

Glen and Florence were able to chat with a number of the artists working in the studio, and were able to stop at the ceramics studio next door Flux Studios for a visit with Novie Trump.

Michael Janis (center) shows how he gets layered fused glass imagery. 
Novie Trump describes artist Tamara Laird’s motifs.

In August, Tim Tate is leading a tour thru Penland and nearby Asheville, NC as part of the annual Penland Auction – held to raise funds supporting Penland’s educational programs.

Amazing Penland/Asheville Art Tour

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Hey There…

I wanted to take this time to tell you a bit about an upcoming art experience I have organized on behalf of the James Renwick Alliance. Over the years, my favorite and the most enjoyable trips I ever take is to Penland School of Crafts outside of Asheville North Carolina. This area of the country is dense with amazing artists. You may know my work, but you may not know what Penland and the artists in the Asheville area have meant to my career.

I first attended a class at Penland in 1989. It was a survey casting class…the only non-blowing class I could find anywhere in the country. Without hot glass facilities in the Washington region, I wanted to focus my skills towards a different aesthetic…one that I could work with while back at home. Thus began my lifelong relationship with this spectacular school and the generous artists who surrounded it. Here is a link to an article that goes into depth on why I have such a strong commitment to this area.

http://washingtonglass.blogspot.com/2012/01/compelled-by-tim-tate.html ;

A central focus of this trip will be attending Penland’s Annual Benefit Auction, the centerpiece of a gala weekend in the North Carolina Mountains featuring the sale of over 200 craft items. The Penland auction is one of the premier collecting events in the Southeast, and it is a wonderful opportunity to interact with fellow craft enthusiasts. Additionally, we will be visiting the studios of some of the most talented artists surrounding Asheville and the region. This will honestly be the best 5 day excursion you have ever taken…at least I’m gonna try to make it that way!. Here is the schedule of events:

Wednesday, August 8

We arrive in at the Inn at Little Switzerland on the Blue Ridge Parkway with spectacular views of the valley…a favorite spot for travelers in this area….either by plane or driving down, your choice. If you come by plane, you would come to Asheville, where we will arrange pick up. Our plan is to share the cars that come down, and caravan to each location. Close to both Asheville and Penland, this will be our base. Our first event will be a Wednesday evening welcome dinner and cocktails at the Inn.

Inn at Little Switzerland

Thursday, August 9th

After a quick bite at the Inn, we leave at 8:30 and head out to see the sites of Asheville and to some amazing artists studios for private tours. Most of these studios are in the surrounding area, but we will end up in the heart of the city. Here is a list of those studios:

Michael Sherrill

Ceramist Michael Sherrill received a visual arts fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council in 1992. His work is in several major collections, including the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina and the Renwick Museum. He has been making pots for more than twenty years. Originally, his work was completely functional, but it has evolved into work that is now wholly sculptural. He is one of the most thoughtful and articulate sculptors of our time.

Michael Sherrill


Stoney Lamar
Lamar received his BS degree in industrial arts (wood technology) from Appalachian State University. A friend’s borrowed lathe led him away from his original goal to design and build furniture, however, to sculptural woodturning. He apprenticed with Mark and Melvin Lindquist and the year’s experience there freed him from many self-imposed restrictions and limitations of traditional lathe approaches. It opened new avenues and processes for the expression of his aesthetic.

His work is in such collections as High Museum of Art (Atlanta), American Craft Museum (NY), Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Yale University Gallery of Art, Mint Museum of Craft & Design (NC), Minneapolis Institute of Art, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts and the Detroit Institute of Art.

Lunch that day will be at Stoneys restaurant just outside Asheville.

Stoney Lamar


Hoss Haley
Hoss Haley has worked in metal for over twenty years, creating sculpture, paintings, and public art. Hoss’s work is in several collections including Lowes Corporation, McColl Center for Visual Art, and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, and he is represented by the New Gallery of Modern Art in Charlotte, NC. Hoss has been a resident artist at Penland School of Crafts and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Hoss Hailey


Dan Essig
Frequently thought of as the pre-eminent book art maker in this country, you will not find any of Daniel Essig’s books on the shelves of a library. These wordless works of art are sewn, woven and carved into magnificent artists’ books and sculptures. Formerly a photographer, Essig is inspired by found objects that he comes across every day. A self-described hoarder, he will incorporate these items—fossils, shells, coins and old nails—into his artwork. His studio is located next to the Grove Point Inn, where we will peak in for a quick look at their amazing Stickley Collection.


Dan Essig



Blue Spiral Gallery
No trip to Asheville would be complete without a visit to the famous Blue Spiral Gallery. This amazing gallery presents work by exceptional Southern artists and object makers in a beautifully renovated building in the heart of downtown Asheville. The light-filled, 15,000 square-foot gallery spans three floors connected by an open stairway. This spacious setting allows Blue Spiral 1 to offer considerable diversity, affording accessibility to various tastes and aesthetics.


Blue Spiral Gallery


Now, on to dinner! We are planning our meal at the spectacular Posana Restaurant in the center of Asheville. Then back to the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Posana Restaurant


Friday, August 10th
Today we will stay closer to Penland, exploring several studios and then joining in the festivities surrounding the Penland auction, which begin at 3pm with auction previews.

Christina Cordova/Pablo DeSato
This husband and wife team have their amazing studios on the grounds of Penland itself, and are 2 of the most widely known artists on this tour.

De Soto Glass Design was formed around the idea of creating and designing objects that enhance living spaces and environments. As a company we make a wide variety of work. A large portion of what we do revolves around glass blown vessels and functionally oriented works. Lighting design is quickly becoming an influential part of the sum. We also use our facilities and skills for creating glass blown objects for other designers and artists.

Cristina Cordova is a studio artist living in Penland,NC. Originally from Puerto Rico, she received her BA from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez and went to earn her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. In 2005 she concluded a three year residency at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. She was the recipient of an American Craft Council Emerging Artist Grant as well as a North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Award.


Christina Cordova


Pablo Sato


Lunch this day will be on grounds at the Penland Dining Hall.

Penland Gallery
No trip to Penland would ever be complete without a visit to the Penland Gallery. The Penland Gallery–featuring work by artists affiliated with Penland School of Crafts–is a stop worth adding to your trip through Western North Carolina. It is the perfect place to choose a gift, add to your craft collection, or learn about contemporary craft. You will see such artists as Marc Petrovic, Marc Peisser and yours truly, Tim Tate.

Marc Petrovic

Now its on to the auction. It begins at 3pm with the silent auction in the new state of the art facilities in the Print/Letterpress Studio. Dozens of Penland’s artists will be showing there. Then on to a lovely dinner and wine under the beautiful tent overlooking the valley on Penland’s grounds while the main Friday night auction goes on. After this, its back for a quick cocktail at the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Auction Tent under the Penland Sky


Saturday, August 11th
The morning begins with coffee and breakfast at The Barns at Penland, where we will be treated to a show by the resident artists here at Penland. Always a highlight and much fun. from the we attend a show given by the Core Students where we will see the work of tomorrows most promising artists. On to the Saturday silent auction and artist chats….then on to the main festivities of the luncheon and live auction. This will definitely be the highlight of the weekend!

Resident Artist Barns at Penland

2 major works will be the big spotlight! One by Beth Lipman, one by Dan Clayman….both stunning!

Beth Lipman

Dan Clayman


After the auction we will head back to the Inn at Little Switzerland, where we will have time to freshen up before a lovely farewell cocktail and dinner party where you will be able to swap stories with the new friends you made on this spectacular trip!

Sunday, August 11th
travel day…..those that need a ride to the airport, we will arrange it.

Please give me this opportunity to show you why I hold this area of the country in such high esteem. I guarantee it will be a stupendous trip.

To reserve a space for this trip, its first come and space is limited. Contact Cecie at the James Renwick Alliance at admin@jra.org or call to 301- 907-3888

Tim Tate
Co-Director
Washington Glass School
3700 Otis St.
Mt. Rainier, Md. 20712
WashGlass.com