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Post-Penland Depression

By Stef | September 2, 2009

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So.  I’ve been back from Penland for nearly a month.  It was an amazing journey.  Ever since I returned home, I’ve been trying to get used to the fact that I now have to cook, clean, and earn a living.   

It’s been difficult for me to realize that my normal life doesn’t include hours upon hours of uninterrupted creativity or daily restorative yoga.  I’ve been resistant to the brutal fact that it’s nearly impossible for me to return home from work and make myself sit at the jewelry bench (or pick up the embroidery, for that matter). 

So here I am.  Back to the normal routine.  I’ve sorted through the pictures for a couple that are representative of my experience.  I haven’t yet taken pictures of the pieces I made, but I’ll get to that soon.

The journey started with a stay at the Wildwood Inn Tropical Dome and Theme Suites.  We stayed in the Arizona Cave room.  It was quite authentic.  (I know this because I’ve been to Sedona.)

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Note the flamingo’s neck. I don’t think they survive this injury in the wild.

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After our stay at the Wildwood Inn, we traveled to the Buffalo Trace Distillery, where I purchased a lovely 20 year bourbon, Pappy Van Winkle.

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We arrived in Asheville that evening and drove to the city center for dinner and the nightlife.  This here’s the nightlife.

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The following morning, we took a little hike at Tom’s Creek Falls.  It’s a beautiful, beautiful place and well worth the short time it takes to reach the falls.

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We arrived at Penland in the afternoon.  It was a happy day.

The view from the dining hall.

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 This is the class necklace.  Every student contributed an enameled charm and the necklace was donated to the Penland student auction.   Mine is the “rock” third from the top on the left.

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Topics: Jewelry, Life at Home |

2 Responses to “Post-Penland Depression”

  1. Valerie Says:
    September 2nd, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    I was just thinking about you while doing some spinning. Just the couple of photo’s of Penland and I’m homesick!

    Please, Stef, can we have some more?

  2. Andrew Thornton Says:
    September 14th, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    I know what you mean about the doldrums that follow a creative and invigorating experience like a retreat/residency. It’s hard to get back to normal when you were in creative nirvana.

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