The fourth stop on my #USCeramicsTour is Penland School of Crafts—another institution I've long known about and would consider an "anchor institution" for Crafts in the US—outside the university system.

By the time I arrived at Penland, I felt like the tour was truly underway. I had been on the road for almost two weeks, travelling 1100 km from Georgia, back and forth across Tennessee and now crossed the border into North Carolina. I'd spent time with family and friends, survived a stomach bug, and even weathered tornado conditions. My physical exhaustion was eclipsed by the sheer excitement of the tour and the incredible beauty of Appalachia.

The area is lush and quaint—far enough out of town that it felt like I was in "the country" but populated enough with small farms and picturesque homes to avoid total isolation. Driving in, I imagined it was the kind of place where everyone knew each other and helped care for each other's pets and families. Perhaps not surprisingly, I passed by more than a handful of craft studios—with each one seeming to call out, 'You're getting closer!'.
It turns out that my impressions were not far off. In a discussion with the  Susan Feagin, the caly studio coordinator (whom we met as she returned from a walk with two local potters and their dogs), I learned that the concentration of craft studios near the school is a feature of the school's history. People who attend the school tend to stick around and set up shop - so to speak. As a result, the area has developed into a hub of craftspeople.

I hold a strong belief that craft centres can maintain an essential role in society today - places outside of the pub or the workplace and cultivate what Winifred West, founder of the Sturt Gallery and Craft Center here in Australia, referred to as the 'creative spirit'.

My arrival on the campus coincided with a break between the school's sessions, so—unfortunately—I didn't have the opportunity to witness the place's energy while it was in full action. However, the fact that a whole community has grown up around the school exemplifies the power of this creative spirit to produce not just works of art or function but whole communities!