Penland Classes Overview

Workshops are the core of Penland’s educational program.

Each summer, the school offers 98 one- or two-week classes in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and other media.

In the spring and fall, Penland has seven classes that run for eight weeks. These long sessions, called Concentrations, are unlike anything else offered in craft: almost as long as a college semester with the focused intensity of the single-subject workshop. We also offer a few one-week classes in the spring and fall.

Penland has no standing faculty—instructors and students come to the school for the duration of their session. Students at Penland take only one class at a time, making it possible to cover a tremendous amount of material and to form close relationships with other students in a few weeks.

The variety of classes offered is one of Penland’s great strengths. In addition to the array of media, Penland’s workshops range from broad introductory classes to those covering a single technique. There are offerings for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students, with the bulk of the classes welcoming all three.

Minimum age for Penland classes is 18.

Information about Teaching at Penland