June 2023
During this program, Edwina Bringle, April Carter Price, and Danielle Lasker presented the past, present, and future of Textiles at Penland School of Craft. Edwina spoke from lived and oral histories of her 50 year relationship with Penland as student, instructor, studio coordinator, and more. April shared her experiences as a lifelong student of Penland, and Danielle shared the current happenings within the studio, and what the future looks like at Penland. The presenters also shared the histories of Penland and what has made the Textile Studio such a special place for nearly 100 years.
Edwina Bringle is a teacher and student continuing to learn and experiment after retiring as an Emerita Professor from UNC Charlotte. She works primarily in textiles, photography, and soft glass. Edwina has works held in public and private collections as well as museums, and has recently been featured in a documentary capturing her and her sister’s impact at Penland. More about Edwina’s work at: edwinabringle.com
April Carter Price has spent her adult life as a Visual Arts teacher in both schools and museums. April made her first visit to Penland at age four, and on that visit met Lucy Morgan, Penland’s founder. Since learning to weave from Edwina at UNC she has taken, and is still taking, many fiber arts workshops at Penland. As she loves learning new things, she has also taken classes in printmaking, bookmaking, and collage. She is a member of Tapestry Weavers South and serves on the Board as their Retreat Chairperson.
Danielle Lasker is a fiber artist and current Textile Studio Coordinator at Penland. They received their MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and their BFA in Fabric Design from the University of Georgia. They utilize weaving and the softness of fiber to explore queerness and folklore, and they are always on the hunt for new fiber techniques to learn. More about Danielle’s work at: daniellelasker.com