Penland Panoramic

Penland School of Crafts

Printmaking & Drawing Studios

Penland School of Crafts

The Pines

Dining- Penland School of Crafts

The Craft House

Penland School of Crafts

Inside the Loom House

Penland School of Crafts

Horner Gallery

Penland School of Crafts

Loom House

Penland School of Crafts

This is not the first time I have written about Penland School of Crafts nor will it be the last. I have returned to this magical place, repeatedly for twenty-nine years. I was just twenty-one when I first went to Penland.

Growing up Cuban, in Miami, at Penland is where I saw my first mountains, first snow, learned to weave, make books and created life-long friendships. Penland fed my mind and soul and continues to do so nearly three decades later. I've seen Penland grow and evolve into a world-class center for craft education. Its Executive Director, Jean McLaughlin has everything to do with this through her leadership and dedication to Penland School.

Penland School, which I affectionately refer to as Heaven on Earth, offers classes in all disciplines of craft - glass, clay and iron just to name a few. It is difficult to explain and describe what is the "Penland experience" because it goes much further and way deeper than instruction. The Penland experience refers to something that is internalized and differs from person to person. It grabs hold of you and all you want is to return to Penland. It's something positive, enriching and incomparable to anything you've ever felt. It's more than just taking a weaving class or blowing glass or rolling ink. The Penland experience is like a beautiful addiction; an escape from business, social media, reality and all the other crazy things that make our fast-paced lives fast.

Slow down. Learn. Live... Penland School.

Penland School offers courses year round except over Winter. Their annual auction, in August, is one of their biggest fundraisers and promises a weekend full of delicious food, drink and art to gratify every collector. Check it out.

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ART ALERT: The Photography & Paintings of Olga Filatova

I meet many people when working on movie and tv sets but few have been as interesting as Olga Filatova who I met while working on Insurgent. Since then, we worked on a few other productions together which is how I learned of the amazing talent that is Olga. She was scrolling through her tablet (one her websites) when she introduced me to her art work. I was blown away.

Olga was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and was trained as a dancer, which explains why she is so graceful. It wasn't until 2007 and 2011 that she discovered her passion for painting and photography. Her paintings of dogs, horses and lions are dynamic and expressive. Her painterly approach speaks to you with every brush stroke. Olga takes that unique vision and sensibility with her photographic images. She captures human interaction and emotion successfully and genuinely and her landscapes look like paintings. Olga believes we spend are lives learning. About her work, she says, "I am learning every day, every minute, every second. I want to do the best as I can to make people happy and to make them feel something about my work."

Visit Olga Filatova's photography website: olgafilatova.smugmug.com and art website: olgafilatova.com.

"On my way to perfection with love to you... " Olga Filatova.

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