Penland School of Crafts 27th Annual Benefit Auction
August 10-11, 2012
Here's the next in our ongoing series of Penland Benefit Auction newsletters, featuring artists whose work will be a part of this year's auction. We have invited trustees, staff members, collectors, artists, and friends to write about pieces that will be included in the summer 2012 benefit event and to comment on living with the works they have purchased in past auctions.
A few words from Penland resident artist David Eichelberger about the hand-built earthenware vases he's created for the centerpieces at this year's auction tables...
"Making the centerpieces for Penland's Annual Benefit Auction has been a highly engaging project since the beginning, from designing prototypes to producing finished pieces. A challenge in making a vessel that acts both as a centerpiece and a vase is in finding a form that can stand alone, and also act in concert with an arrangement of flowers. I am inclined to make objects that appear simple at first, but contain subtle layers of information embedded in the form when investigated. These centerpieces are no exception, and a goal of mine is that they provide a renewed experience every time they are viewed and used, and the relationship one develops with the piece is deepened and enriched over time.
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This year's centerpieces, fresh from the kiln in David's studio.
They are available in the three colors shown here.
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"Functional qualities, visual rhythms, and exaggerated proportions are some of the elements I compose in my work to prolong the interactive process. The objects I make are equal parts anthropological study and artistic endeavor, and incorporate an attempt to understand the world we live in through making.
"The intentional placement of openings, lids, and handles in my work conveys the specificity of function, clarifying that the objects I make have an intended purpose. The exact function is sometimes less obvious, and a situation is created that pairs a sense of knowing with a sense of mystery. "The objects I make exhibit a compositional preference for repetition over variety, and I position repeated elements in regular, metered fashion. A rhythm develops, with a cadence that promotes a rambling exploration of the forms.
"The composed nature of my work reflects the quiet sentiment of my investigations. My endeavor is a disciplined approach, aimed to augment one's engagement with one's surroundings, by creating objects in a thoughtful manner." - David Eichelberger
These hand-built earthenware vases will be available for purchase on the dining tables under the auction tent during Saturday lunch for $300 each. Friday purchase requests are handled individually - if you would like to buy one on Friday, please speak to the friendly folks at the check-out counter.David Eichelberger has been a resident artist at Penland School of Crafts since June 2011 and lives on campus with his wife Elisa and two young daughters, Mena and Louisa. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010, and before that spent three years as a resident artist at the EnergyXchange Renewable Energy studio in Bandana, North Carolina. David and Elisa shared a residency for a year at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee before arriving at Penland. David was awarded an International Travel Grant through NCECA in 2010 to be a visiting artist at the Australian National University in Canberra. His work continues to be exhibited nationally, and he is exploring a variety of directions in his work during his residency at Penland.
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To reserve your auction tickets, click the link below:
Saturday tickets are sold out! Reservations for Friday will be accepted until available spaces are filled, and we have begun a waiting list for Saturday ticket requests. All ticket purchasers and absentee bidders receive an illustrated catalog.
A PDF of the auction catalog is also available for download on our website.
Absentee and phone bids are accepted for all auctions until noon on Friday, August 10, for a fee of $25 (includes catalog).
Exhibition preview and silent auction, dinner, live auction, dessert party, live music, and dancing.
The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction is a gala weekend in the North Carolina mountains featuring 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 Southeast and a perfect opportunity to support Penland's educational programs, which have helped thousands of people live creative lives.
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Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, Penland offers workshops, artist residencies, a gallery, and community collaboration programs. Penland School is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution that receives support for its programs from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
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