This summer I attended a 2 week clay workshop, “Thomas Lucas and Roberto Lugo Clay and Print: The Remix”. I learned how to screenprint with ceramic materials, how to make lithograph transfers and picked up different teaching styles. This class was hosted at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina @penlandschool.
I’ve only been working with clay since 2017, but have been a fiber artist for 11 years. I was always focused on business and securing my financial future and art never felt like something I should do. But after going to school twice for business management I realized how important it was to me and how much I really enjoyed art. In 2017, two years after dropping out of agriculture school. I decided to go back to school locally in NYC, I went to Kingsborough CC for business again. A semester in, I had to switch over to Fine arts in ceramics, I couldn’t take another accounting class. I met my first ceramic mentor and professor, Janice Farley and she noticed how egear I was to learn more ceramics and how great of a fiber artist I am and recommended I look into Penland. Not only recommended but offered to pay for my flight, arranged an airport pickup and told me about the scholarships they offered. I looked into it and applied in 2019 but then 2020 pushed it to 2021.
I’ve never attended an art school but I knew being in a community full of like minded artists would really help with my growth as an artist and entrepreneur. Visiting local Penland artists like the Bringle sisters, Courtney Martin and Bandana Pottery really helped me visualize my big picture future. It helped me see how important it was for each of them to surround themselves with folks that would encourage and push them to improve their art or help open doors for them.
Overall, this was an experience that I’ll cherish forever. I’m already looking at the different avenues to return to Penland, perhaps as a core fellow so I can explore some other mediums or maybe a fiber instructor. I’ll share it with any curious artist looking to grow further.
