Penland School of Craft

In the Blue Ridge Mountains, 50 miles northeast of Asheville, is an international center for teaching contemporary arts and crafts, including glass making, metal smithing, weaving, and many other forms of creative expression. Students of Penland School develop a part of themselves that perhaps they only dreamed and hoped was possible.

The trip to Penland is a bit over an hour northeast of Asheville, NC, turning left off 19. E the last 4 miles of 2-lane blacktop road, you are treated to the Blue Ridge in closeup, the aroma of ancient old-growth forests and pastoral farmland preparing your creative soul for the experience of awakening a new way of doing something that warms your heart and flexes your creative abilities. As you round the last curve to the campus, on the left is a pastoral field where Penland’s Llamas romp freely with their goofy play, and on the right is the campus with original early American log cabins and contemporary buildings.

View of the Llama play field across the lane from the main campus.

View of Penland’s Campus

This school began in 1929 and was founded by Lucy Morgan, who had come to the Penland area to teach at the Appalachian Industrial School in Pisgah Valley, a school for children. Many of the buildings of the original school remain today.

Lucy Morgan established the Penland Weavers as a cottage industry for the women of the Penland community. The weaving could be done in their homes, where they could keep up with daily chores and child care while providing the weavers an income. That first class led to what is now considered a world-class teaching environment in a relaxing rustic setting, with fully modern workshops and the best of equipment. Instructors well-known in their artistic field from around the world are chosen to teach each class.

Penland’s current catalog for the 2023 summer include classes in Books & Paper, Books & Paper, Clay, Drawing & Painting,

Glass, Iron, Metals, Photography, Printmaking & Letterpress ,Textiles, Wood, Specials, Online Programs

Penland’s supply store, executive offices and classrooms are located in this exceptional log structure, one of the largest log buildings in the state.