Penland Fall

I wake up early to the sunlight gleaming between trees creating strange shadows through the heavy morning mist. I grab breakfast and earl grey and settle in to my morning sketching and writing routine. There are a few of us who line the porch tables at the Pines, sleepily looking at the landscape, seeking a few moments of morning solitude before the day’s plans reach us. Introverts breakfast.

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I spend more time than seems normal staring at the knoll and thinking about all of the mornings before this, sitting in the same place, at the same table, staring at the knoll. That landscape is speckled in my mind through a decade of coming to Penland with hay bales, with puppet shows, with bonfires. With dogs, with deer, with llamas.
I first came to Penland in 2008 to be a part of the Core Fellowship Program. I will be forever grateful that Penland saw something in me that needed to be nurtured. I was young and looking for a path to making a life of making… specifically handmade prints, books, and paper. I tried my best to soak in those two years like a sponge, every lesson, instructor, student, sunset. Looking back to those two years, now ten years ago, I remember becoming deeply familiar with the print shop, forcing myself to slow down and pay attention to all of the details that were required to become any good at all at printing and binding. I was equally informed by soaking in the warmth of rocks by the Toe River, walking up the balds of the Blue Ridge, and laughing and talking at picnic tables, or over bonfires, or in studios with friends and strangers. There was some kind of electric yet quiet energy that consumed me. Penland is a complicated place but it can be a safe haven for makers and artists and it was a safe haven for me. I’ve been back a handful of times since finishing my fellowship in different capacities, as a studio assistant, visitor, 1 week instructor, and 2 week instructor. Living in Asheville for 8 years made it easy to drop in on Penland on a whim.
A little over a year ago when I moved to California, I knew being near the Penland Community would be something I missed. I got a call asking me to teach fall 2018 concentration in the letterpress studio and couldn’t turn it down. 8 weeks in the mountains teaching a thing I love. The experience was a whirlwind, one of those windows of time that feels both too quick and eternal. I’ve been resettling back into California life for just shy of two weeks and while I still feel tired, I am so grateful for this gift of time at Penland.
Most students experience Penland in what is the cacophony of Penland Summer… typically two weeks of fast paced instruction, demos, and lectures paired with quickly getting to know your class and community. Spring and fall concentration students have 8 weeks. Most of my students were beginners and because letterpress printing has a lot of technical ins and outs we spent the first several weeks mostly learning about process. The last 1/3 of class was devoted to practicing what they had learned, merging process with content. It was interesting watching them learn a new way of mark making and evolve from week 1 to week 8, having enough time to become fluid with new movements and materials. I admire each of them not only for the progress and work they made, but also for deciding to spend time doing something different in their lives. When I was a Core Fellow we had a season of seminar twice a year where community members would talk to us in different capacities about making a living and life as makers. I remember Cristina Cordova talking about “finding your North” and holding true to whatever North is for you as you moved throughout your life. My hope now in teaching is that I can help my students acclimate toward their North and take steps towards that place.
Thank you Penland. Until next time.

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If you are interested in learning more about Penland visit their website.
If you are in the WNC area they offer tours and community events throughout the year. Scholarships are available to students of all ages.

In the Studio

A sneak peek into what's been going on this month in my Petaluma, CA studio. I'm getting a bit more settled each week and keeping my hands busy printing, binding, and planning. Scroll on to see what has been keeping me busy. 

Quill and Arrow Studio!

This was the first week of my new studio in Petaluma, CA. It's looking better now and more cozy. Lenny, my No.4 Vandercook, made the cross country trip with no problems. Huge sigh of relief.

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Binding books has been a natural start to my time in California. Right now I'm primarily binding leather longstitch journals. You can find a few for sale in my webshop.

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I've lined up a binding workshop at North Bay Letterpress Arts in Sebastopol, CA April 7 & 8. Registration is open so check out all of the details HERE if you're interested.

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Small, smooth, tan leather journal with mixed pages.

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This large mountain print is one of the first letterpress prints I've worked on since being out west. It's printed in 5 passes of blues and at 11x14 it fits perfectly into a standard frame.

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Lots of mountain stationery sets being letterpress printed this year helping to make staying in touch or saying thank you a little easier. 

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Book pages and blossoms. Spring has arrived much sooner than I'm used to.

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The first 3 months I was here everything was golden, yellow, and brown. Now its the rainy season and things have greened but that warm pallet is sticking with me. 

Exploring Sonoma

I'm in awe of being able to skip between mountains, redwoods, and coast so quickly. The landscape changes drastically here on a dime and I think that's been my favorite thing about the bay area so far. The hills are morphing from gold to green and I'm slowly starting to settle into Petaluma, CA. I'm always looking for trail recommendations... so shoot me a message if you have a favorite I'm missing out on. Keep reading to see where I've been rambling. 

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Left: The Golden Gate in smoke. Right: View from my porch waking up to orange Sonoma skies the first morning of the north bay fires. 

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Left: Golden Gate in the fog. I've loved seeing the bridge in different types of weather. Right: View of the bridge from Fort Point.

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Left: Berkeley looking golden. Right: Meandering at Salt Point State Park looking for new trails. 

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Betsy came to visit and we walked in the tall trees at Armstrong Redwood State Park. We camped higher up the ridge and in the morning watched all of the deer strolling in the tall trees.

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Left: Helen Putnam in the golden hour. Loving that this place is in my back yard. Right: Driving home on Highway 1. Somewhere near Jenner. 

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Left: One of my new favorite beaches, Goat Rock Beach. I love all of the colors and textures of the stones. Right: A boardwalk trail in Sonoma Coast State Park.

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Morning clouds lying low over Armstrong Redwoods State Park. This golden landscape with layered mountains is bound to show up in future prints. 

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Exploring San Francisco markets. There is so much new to take in. Trying to move slow. Breathe deep. Take note of the good things.

Leaving Asheville

At some point in the first half of 2017 I decided to leave Asheville and move to Petaluma, California to be with my boyfriend Forrest. Exchanging the east coast for the west pulled my heart in a million different directions as I left behind so much in the mountains of North Carolina. Good friends, good food, epic skies and mountains. I couldn't have done it without my amazing community, my friends, the love and patience of Forrest, and the realization that even when things are good, they can still move forward into something new and bigger. Thanks to everyone who helped me land safely in Petaluma. 

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Left: My parents who helped me with a million logistics, but also helped me climb some mountains one final time. Right: Balsam in late August. Golden rod in the golden hour. 

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Left: One last "we're really good at taking pictures" picture with Ele and Buck. Right: My crew doing sunset right. 

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Left: On the road sneaking west. Right: Koa in the 22' Penske with an entire letterpress studio in tow.

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Left: Somewhere in West Texas. Right: Southern Central California at day's end.

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We decided to take a pit stop at the Grand Canyon. Because. The Grand Canyon.

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Left: Grand Canyon (with my new dreamy I never want to go anywhere without it backpack from Amber Jensen) Right: On the road.

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Left: Trying to drive to a crater that costs $2398 to view. In which we turned around and said "thank you no" Right: Forrest took me to stare at the bay once in California. A little windy.

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The Penske unloaded into the new studio. Everything on solid ground in one piece!