Paul Hayden Duensing Letterpress and Print Studio

Penland School of Crafts has inaugurated the Paul Hayden Duensing Letterpress and Print Studios with the first classes -- printmaking with Georgia Deal and letterpress with Steve Miller and poet Mary Wehner -- which took place from June 10 to 22. The new 6,000 square- foot-building greatly expands programmatic capabilities in these areas and enables the school to offer outstanding workshop opportunities for artists working in these media.

The spectacular new facility, designed by Cannon Architects of Raleigh, North Carolina, houses two separate studios with a shared darkroom. The building was conceptualized through a charrette process that included representatives of the school, board members, and artists whose input guided the process. The resulting facility is one that is compatible with the historic character and scale of the scenic campus while providing students and instructors with spacious, well-equipped studios that encourage collaboration across media and facilitate creativity. At the request of John and Robyn Horn, who are important supporters of the new building and of Penland's letterpress programs, the building is named in honor of Paul Hayden Duensing who was a venerated letterpress printer, typographer, collector, and teacher.

Letterpress students work on four Vandercook presses and have access to a complete type shop for hand setting. The studio gives Penland one of the largest, best-equipped letterpress teaching facilities in the country. The print studios enable screen printing, stone and plate lithography, and intaglio and relief printing. The darkroom houses a large exposing unit for screens and plates. The building is spacious and flooded with natural light, with large strategically placed windows that frame green mountain views.

Penland’s summer workshops run from late May to early September. The Perfect Storm: Letterpress, taught by book artist and printer Steve Miller and poet Mary Wehner overlapped and interacted with The Perfect Storm: Printmaking, taught by printmaker Georgia Deal. Another letterpress offering, Lithography: Stones, Plates, & Color taught by Tamarind-trained master printer Phillip Sanders, will give students the rare opportunity to experience one of the nearly lost arts of the craft world. John Horn’s Beginning Letterpress will teach letterpress vocabulary, typesetting, and press operation to students who are new to the craft.

In the fall, Steve Miller will return to Penland to teach The Art of Letterpress, an introductory course covering the basics of letterpress printing that will run from October 14 to 20. During spring concentration, Bonnie O’Connell will teach Image/Letter/Press, an eight week class exploring creative letterpress through group and individual projects.

To take full advantage of opportunities offered by the new facility, Penland is also launching a new residency program to engage a master printer and printmaker to work with artists from other disciplines and media. Residencies will take place during the months of January and February, with the first month devoted to collaborative projects and the second to independent studio work. Additional information and applications can be requested by calling 828-765-2359.