2015 Penland Winter Residency:

2015 started off with a big fat dreamy bang!!! 

it got to spend 4 weeks as a studio assistant at one of my most favorite places on earth: 

Penland School of Crafts in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
here are just a few snapshots of a fantastic time in that beautiful place:

      

... time at Penland is never complete without a good dance party!...

...nor without a challenge that won't push you to think more creatively…

...theres nothing like trying to make a table in a day...

...meeting old and new friends is probably one of the best parts about going to Penland...

..and pushing oneself into all kinds of new directions...

…and persevering even if one fails along the way….

...celebrating your birthday with the loveliest of people...

…and just making stuff...

...presenting….the best group of wood residents a girl could dream of…

thank you all for such an incredible time!

stoney creek hospitality:

wow! i cannot believe its been almost 6 months that i last published a blog! not that i have had nothing to share, its just been a busy time - i will try and recap a little for you: here a fun project i just got to install -

sometime last year my dear friend Jessica - whom i went to college with, and is now a kick ass designer out in Iowa - approached me and asked whether i wanted to collaborate with her on her project: The breakfast room of the new hotel she was designing for stoney creek hospitality. naturally, i said yes!

she had some visions, i had visions, lots of samples went around, and a new logo had been designed.

stoney creek hospitality vision and style is a distinct blend of modern lodge comfort, urban convenience and resort style relaxation. Their logo seems like its 3 urban skyscraper like buildings, with a creek running thru it. The elements are rustic wood, the glitz and glam of glass and the industrial-ness of metal. i took all those elements in, and after a lot of contemplating and pulling my friend Johannah Willsey of Phoenix Handcraft in on the project these were the results.

process shots:

    

i had the great fortune to go out to Independence, Missouri, where the new hotel was being built, to help with the installation. they were in the final stages of fixing everything up for a March 1st opening, and the place was bustling with excitement

 installation shots:

 part of what we came up with was a wall installation of separate elements - the reclaimed church pews and floating round shelves that were part of this wall had not arrived yet - so cardboard was used as placeholders

 the round cardboard placeholders are eventually going to be shelves. below are a few mini sculptures i built of them on site out of building materials and scraps from the original wall pieces i built.

 finally, the main sculpture - my interpretation of the logo featured at the end of the hallway in the breakfast room:

 it looked stunning on that red wall and was a big hit.

such a big hit, that the owner of the hotel had it moved to the front desk as the statement piece:

now it proudly sits behind the reception desk - and there was even talk about having another one made for a new hotel they are planning on building in Oklahoma in 2016.

i'm all about that.

thanks for reading. hope you enjoyed. its good to be back.