Penland Glass Studio Information

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Equipment
The Penland hot shop has one 550lb furnace and one 720lb furnace, which run Spruce Pine Batch, and a color furnace is available if needed for the class. The studio will accommodate 14 students in a class. There are 3 work stations, which the students rotate through daily.

The hot shop is open from 6 a.m. until 12 a.m. so depending on the class you may work very early or very late. Come with a flexible agenda for your work schedule. Each student will have approximately 2 to 2-1/2 hour blow slot time Monday thru Saturday. Your blow slot plus class, demos, assisting, and cold work makes up a full day in the studio. There are 6 blowing kilns (3 front loading kilns and 3 top loading), 2 kugie ovens and a garage. Please feel free to bring your own tools and pipes, the studio has pipes, punties, hand tools such as jacks, shears, tweezers, sofies, blocks, paddles, choffies, and casting supplies for students to use while taking a class. Know that these are shop tools and there is wear and tear apparent on most of them.

The Penland flame studio has 10 work stations with Carlisle CC torches, hand torches and Minor torches for soft glass classes. This studio can accommodate 9 students per class with an individual station for each student. This studio is open 24 hours a day with the approval of the instructor of your class and a two person rule during late night hours. Work schedules vary from class to class so come with an open mind for scheduling. There are 6 front loading kilns and 5 desk top kilns for bead classes. We also have a great glass lathe with a Paragon front loader for larger work. The students have lockable storage space so feel free to bring your own tools. You may also rent out tool boxes, which have many of the tools, needed for your class.

The studio building also contains a cold shop, sand blaster room, mold area, fabrication room, a shared inside classroom, outside work area, and men and women's bathrooms. These areas are open 24 hours with safety in mind; some of the heavy or loud equipment may have to adhere to quiet hour regulations and the two person rule.

Supplies and Materials
The school will supply the clear hot glass for the hot shop classes, which is a shared material. The glass for the flame classes is for sale at the school store. Penland is located very near Spruce Pine Batch so you may purchase colored glass once you arrive for the hot shop classes. The flame studio usually has some donated color for students to try and a large selection at the school store buy. Most supplies for your classes will be for sale through the store on occasion there will be supplies sold at the studio by the assistant this will be announced at the beginning of your class.

Toolkits (if applicable)
The flame studio has great tool kits for rent. Flameworking students will need a $100 deposit and a $10 rental fee to check out the kit. The deposit will be returned when your kit is checked back in good working order. The studio assistant will go over all the tools with each student and fill out the paper work. The student is responsible for the kit any damaged or lost items must be replaced before refund of deposit.

Classroom
Their are 2 class areas at the glass studio. The inside classroom has 8 large tables, cubbies, storage bins, and some shelves. The outside area is covered by a roof but is open air with 3 very large tables and outlets for power. This space is great for working on smelly or messy projects. Both classes share both of these areas, so it is important to respect the space and keep it neat. Some classes split the space, which works really well. There is a stereo in each studio so bring an open mind for listening to different kinds of music and feel free to bring your CDs or iPods. There is a small refrigerator in the studio to keep drinks cold and a coffee maker for those early morning people.

Student Workspace
Hot shop students share a lot of the work areas. Each station has its own bench, glory hole, rolling yoke, and knock off buckets. The class will rotate through these 3 stations on a daily schedule.

Flameworking students have their own table and chair in the flame studio with the Carlisle or Minor torch and hand torch at each station.

Storage
There is both locked and unlocked storage for all students in both studios and additional storage in the shared classrooms.

Safety Information
There is a mandatory safety walk-through at the beginning of every class. The walk-through is to introduce you to the studio space and to show you the safety equipment. There are 2 first aid kits one in each studio, a safety shower in between, and an eye wash station. Personal safety equipment such as: glasses, dust masks, and gloves are the students responsibility, you must have these items in order to work in the studio so you may want to bring these items from home or you may purchase them form the store. You should refer to your instructor's material list for specifics about safety equipment needed for the class.

Alcohol is not permitted in the studio; working while intoxicated is also prohibited.

Shared Studio Equipment
Some classes like to share both studio spaces and some classes are so different they have to work separately. If you are interested in working outside your class please speak to the assistant or the coordinator to see if something may be arranged.

If you have questions:
Studio Coordinator Simone Travisano
Phone Number (828) 765 5507
E-mail Address glass@penland.org