At the beginning of April, I spent a week at the Penland School of Crafts, where I was invited to be a visiting artist. I have hung out in many foundries and ‘smithees’ in my time, but I have never been a teacher in an iron-working class before. The class was an 8-week concentration, and when I arrived the students were at the mid-way point in an assignment involving gears and a lever—this is why I was brought in.
Even though I am not an iron worker, many of the geometries and design processes of iron work overlap with the discipline of luthiery and kinetic sculpture. Much of the time I spent with the students involved a good deal of mechanical problem-solving and the bringing of wild concepts into the physical world. For example, we logged a few hours pouring over McMaster Carr’s web site shopping for collars and shafts, springs, gears, and other raw materials. And throughout each day, we dove rather deeply into topics such as axles, rotation, spring action, turns ratios, transfer of power, and the animation of sculpted objects. We conjured up shapes and mechanisms together and it was quite gratifying to see the student’s projects begin to take flight. We also found time to make Hornlets which allowed for demonstrations of my processes and work methods.
Immediately upon my arrival, I presented a slide show of my work to an attentive audience, trying to connect the dots between my past and present. In preparation for this, I scanned 38 sketch journals and 800 slides from the last 30 years of my work. This was cathartic, to say the least. As I looked into the past, it seemed so easy to identify the recurrence of themes and shapes that I am still using today. My fascination with the octagon, for instance, began 30 years ago when I was an undergrad at the Memphis Art Academy.
The campus at Penland is like an oasis of so many different mediums: books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and other media. The collective efforts of the entire community at Penland creates an amazing energy. This was especially evident during mealtimes when everyone stops working and gathers to eat splendid dishes prepared by the students. In the evenings after diner, we would all convene again for a slide presentation of work from various departments and teachers.
Penland is truly a magical place, and on a mountain top to boot! I think I will need to visit again.