From a press release:
Penland School of Crafts annual benefit auction, Aug. 8 & 9
The Penland School of Crafts 29th Annual Benefit Auction will take place on August 8 and 9 on the historic Penland campus, north of Asheville. The weekend includes live and silent auctions, music, food, receptions at the Penland Gallery and the studios of Penland’s resident artists, and beautiful displays of the auction work donated by the school’s current and former instructors, resident artists, and core fellows. Absentee bidding is available.
Featured this year is a remarkable silver and glass cocktail service created for the auction by silversmith Julia Woodman and glass artist Kenny Pieper. The piece includes a round tray and a potbellied cocktail shaker made of silver with accents of shakudo and pupleheart wood. The design of the tray is based on a gong that Woodman saw during a trip to Japan, and the piece is titled “Gong Cocktail Service.” It is complemented by a set of eight black reticello martini goblets made by Pieper.
Inspired by the cocktail set, Penland asked Nate Allen, chef of the Knife and Fork restaurant in Spruce Pine, to create a special cocktail for the auction. The Penland Hummingbird, which features North-Carolina-made Cardinal gin, will be served several times during the weekend.The auction also includes works from glass artists Tommie Rush and Rick Beck, photographers Arno Rafael Minkkinen and Dan Estabrook, jeweler Barbara McFadyen, steel sculptor Hoss Haley, ceramic sculptor Cristina Córdova, and a collaborative work in glass and steel by Shane Fero and Elizabeth Brim. Along with these works are more than 200 functional and sculptural pieces in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, paper, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and mixed media. All proceeds benefit Penland’s programs.
During the weekend, Penland will honor book artist and sculptor Dolph Smith as the 2014 Penland School of Crafts Outstanding Artist Educator. Smith is professor emeritus from Memphis College of Art, and he has been teaching at Penland since 1986.
The auction begins on Friday, August 8 with a preview of the auction work, a silent auction, dinner, a live auction, music, and dancing. Saturday’s festivities will start at 9:00 AM with coffee and pastries and an open house at the studios of Penland’s resident artists. This will be followed by a silent auction, luncheon, and a live auction. The weekend ends with a reception at the Penland Gallery. The auctioneer is Mark Oliver of Bonham’s auction house in London.
All events take place on the Penland School campus in Mitchell County, North Carolina, 52 miles north of Asheville.
Weekend tickets are $385, Friday tickets are $225, and Saturday tickets are $275. Absentee bidding is available for a $25 fee, which includes a color catalog. Reservations are required, and the event often sells out. For more information or to make reservations, call 828-765-2359, ext. 30, send e-mail to auction@penland.org, or follow the auction link at www.penland.org, where you will find complete information, a downloadable reservation form, a list of participating artists, a PDF of the auction catalog, and special information about some of the featured works.
Please mail info on the auction in August to, 7975 Hwy 21 , Port Wentworth, Ga. We have a group of 6 that want to attend.
Hi Will, you’ll need to contact Penland directly for the auction information. There is an email address and phone number on the press release, above. I hope that helps!