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Artist Spotlight: Lisa Naples

January 16, 2013

“The intense pace [of preparing for the show] has led to some revelations with the work both in terms of pots and sculpture,” said sculptor and potter Lisa Naples just prior to exhibiting at the 2012 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.

Lisa Naples, 2012 Craft Show

Lisa Naples, 2012 Craft Show

Lisa strives to express something personal in her functional vessels.  Lately, she has added characters to the surface of her pots, which cause the onlooker to be drawn in to imagine the story being told through the illustrations.

The collection of ceramic sculpture and handmade earthenware pottery she exhibited at the 2012 Show was extraordinary, leading to her winning the 2012 Jane and Leonard Korman Family Prize for Excellence in Contemporary Ceramics.

Lisa Naples booth

Lisa Naples booth

Lisa’s experience with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show has been excellent. Lisa commented, “The entire long weekend is punctuated with interesting audience members… who enrich the experience with their questions, comments and observations.”

Excitingly, we know Craft Show attendees will see Lisa’s work at the 2013 Craft Show, as well!  For the first time, the Craft Show Committee has extended an automatic invitation to each of the award recipients from the previous year.

Directing her warm words to the Women’s Committee, Lisa shared, ”Your choice to add the invitation to return for one year to award winners makes something that was already a great vote of support and confidence even more so…I’m sincerely grateful to all of you for your efforts on behalf of fine craft… Thank you ALL!!”

 

Filed Under: 2012 Craft Show, 2013 Craft Show, Craft Artists, Craftsmen Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Enhancing Outdoor Areas With Handcrafted Benches

November 20, 2012

Benches by furniture maker John Dodd have been installed in the Neighborhood of the Arts Artwalk Project in Rochester, New York.   The Artwalk Extension Project was a juried competition resulting in the installation of artist-designed seating, lighting, bus shelters and bicycle racks to enhance the areas surrounding the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

The Artwalk Extension Project was officially presented to the public on Friday, October 5 in conjunction with Rochester’s First Friday Gallery Opening event. Two of Dodd’s artistic benches, titled “Deflected Reflection” flank an entrance to the City Newspaper Building on Goodman Street.

A third bench, which is a group of small seats titled “Won’t You Join Us?”, is on the corner of Goodman Street and University Avenue, across from the Memorial Art Gallery.  (See photo. ) All benches are made of cast concrete, with concrete spheres and wenge wood seats.

Memorial Art Gallery Director Grant Holcomb calls this project a “unique arts corridor” that is a “trail of creativity.”

Filed Under: Craft Artists, Craftsmen Tagged With: , , , ,

CRAFT IN AMERICA: CROSSROADS, a new episode of the Peabody Award-Winning Series

November 12, 2012

CRAFT IN AMERICA, the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning series dedicated to exploring America’s rich craft history, presents Episode 9, Crossroads, to air on PBS primetime, Friday, November 16, 2012 at 9pm*.

This episode explores the crossroads of craft, where change and innovation evolve from global influences and utilize the exciting intersections between the handmade and modern technology. Through the work of Tanya Aguiñiga, Lia Cook, Clary Illian, Warren MacKenzie, and Jeff Oestreich, we explore their trailblazing attempts to cross-pollinate culture, aesthetics and technologies, moving forward the development of American craft.

*(check local listings)

Filed Under: Craft Artists, Craftsmen, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

On Preparing For Philly…

November 1, 2012

by Lori Bacigalupi, Kiss of the Wolf

There’s a special challenge for those of us in the wearable art business for thirty years or more. In order to look fresh we need to explore uncharted design territory. Batik, shibori, and screen printing are some of the fabric design approaches I have studied and worked with. There is unlimited opportunity in experimenting in any of these disciplines. Combining screen printing with batik, for example, offers unlimited possibilities and many surprises. The challenge is to go places where no craftsperson, me included, has gone before.

This past August I had an opportunity to jury the American Crafts Council 2013 applications in fashion wearable, fashion accessories, and leather wearable. This was not my first time to jury a craft show. If our past provides history it sometimes provides insights as well. In earlier jury processes photographic slides were projected on a wall. During that first opportunity I suddenly had a chance to see my work projected all at once, along with slides of other applicants. It was an invaluable experience because it gave me a new way to see my work as a body, a collection.

Recently, sitting quietly in the privacy of my office, seeing the digital selections of many talented artisans on the screen of my Mac, I once again got to see work through new eyes. What struck me was that I needed to explore some new fabric techniques or to develop new approaches with the familiar ones. This need to discover requires experimentation. This experimentation is the nourishment which enables work to grow.

Since jurying in for any show is the first step in the process of bringing new work to the market the concept for the collection is seeded at application. One of the important concepts I recognized from looking at other work is that too much subtlety may not be an advantage. This is tricky because I am a woman who loves black. I love subtle variations of black too… like cassis and caper, espresso and blue-black. These colors have been staples in the Kiss collections from the start. With that in mind I decided to create work with more extreme color contrast and stronger graphics.

With the  Craft Show 2012 so close, I have my work cut out for me. The studio lights burn all day and often into the night, especially when a new direction emerges. This falls collection features process oriented, bold designs created through non-traditional printing techniques and direct dye applications. I am still excited after these 30 years, to see what secrets become revealed. Being true to the process of exploration and bringing fresh work to the market transmits itself onto our clients. This recognition encourages a more successful show.

Kiss of the Wolf has a long history with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. I have been supported in so many ways by so many people in this great city. I always want to bring completely new clothes and textile designs. So, this season I am fully involved with the need for revision. Re-vision is great because it always implies looking again at new techniques and processes. I love strong graphic patterns; my instinct for aboriginal art is finding its way into the cloth. Sometimes the fabrics shout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: 2012 Craft Show, Craft Artists, Craftsmen, Fashion Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Insight into Craft: Thomas Mann

July 24, 2012

Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann is a jeweler and metalsmith who has exhibited with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show more than thirty times. Tom is the owner of Gallery I/O – the I/O stands for Insight-Full Objects – in New Orleans, and launched studioFLUX , through which he offers hands-on skill-building workshops for metalsmiths and entrepreneurial training to artists of all media to empower them to achieve greater success. He recently released a new book, The Metal Artist’s Workbench: De-Mystifying the Jewelers Saw (North Light Books, Oct 2011), with a DVD to follow this July.  Tom began his teaching career with Design for Survival: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Tactics for Artists, a workshop that he has taught for 22 years.  In a recent interview, Tom divulged how he got started as a craft artist, and told us how he shares his knowledge and insight to inspire other artists:

Tell us about your early experience as a metalsmith.

Thomas Mann

“In the summer of 1968, when I was 21, I opened my first shop in the Poconos (in Pennsylvania), The Golden Owl.  The next summer I was at the New Jersey coast in the back of a surf board shop with my little silversmithing bench where I made more money than the surf shop did.  The next summer the surf shop was in the back and I was in the front.”

That’s a great way to start out! How did you get interested in jewelry making?

“I was fortunate to attend a high school in Allentown PA that allowed students to “major” in art in their junior and senior years.  I had four periods of art every day: two during school hours, one before and one after.  One semester we had a student teacher from Kutztown University who taught jewelry making. That was it — I had found my artistic calling.

Additionally, anyone who demonstrated any talent in this area eventually got hired by one of the two contemporary jewelry studios operating in Allentown at the time and I worked in both of them, learning not only the metalsmithing but the business of the trade, as well.”

Limited Edition Techno.Flower Brooch 2011 by Thomas Mann

And, he added, “I quickly realized the connection between jewelry, money and girls!”

(laughing) That’s a wise connection. What inspires you when you create a collection?

I have always thought of myself as a sculptor.  My degree is in Performing Arts but specifically focused on technical theater, set design and lighting, so the sculptural aspect has always been the mode in which I imagineer everything I make.  Lately I have been fortunate to be able to actually execute a large body of purely sculptural works.  The themes I am concentrating on sculpturally involve balance, natural materials, and spiritual stories.

It’s clear that you really give back and support other artists, through workshops, books, DVDs and by hosting group shows with other artists in Gallery I/O. What motivates you in this regard?

I had a fabulous high school art teacher, Jim Musselman, and a fabulous college theater professor, Rob Howell.  And while I am not a professional academic teacher like they were and are, I feel I have a lot of know how and experience to share. It’s my turn to give it back.  So, I am aggressively pursuing opportunities to do that by teaching workshops all over the country and in my own school, studioFLUX in New Orleans, recently begun but thriving.

How did you learn about the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, and what has been your experience with the show?

Constructivist Wall-Werk from Mann’s Mind, Solo Sculpture Exhibition, LeMieux Galleries 2012 by Thomas Mann

While working at the New Jersey shore surf shop during the summer of Woodstock, Tom recounted, “I met a guy, a leathersmith, who told me about craft fairs, and who I should note is still a friend.  Five years later I did the Craft Show for the first time and have been in it every year since save two.  The show has been an extremely important component in my professional development.  It’s where I grew my first serious following for my work.  It has always been the place where I presented the new work for the following year.  And, because for many years I lived and worked in the Poconos, it’s where I have always seen old friends and supporters from the region. I’m thrilled to be back in the show this year and looking forward to the day when we ‘load in’ and setup for the event”.

Thomas is known mixing industrial aesthetics and materials with evocative romantic themes and imagery.  We are looking forward to seeing his innovative sculptural jewelry again this year at the Craft Show!

 

 

Filed Under: 2012 Craft Show, Craft Artists, Craftsmen Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Art Glass in the United States

May 1, 2012

In the summer of 1962, Harvey K. Littleton led a glassblowing workshop at the Toledo Museum of Art, introducing the idea that glass can be mixed, melted and blown in a studio-based furnace, all by the artist.  This revolutionary concept launched the studio art glass movement in America.

Shortly after his first workshop, Littleton started a graduate course and glass studio at the University of Wisconsin.  This attracted artist Dale Chihuly, who adopted this avant-garde art form and quickly became a leader in the widespread adoption of studio art glass.

Fifty years later, art glass is an extremely popular medium.  As part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show each year, several artists exhibit their glass works.  To acknowledge the accomplishments of studio art glass artists, a few of the pieces from last year are shown below:

Vase by Brian Becher

 

Lantern by Dan Mirer

 

Bowl by Michael Schunke

 

Sources: www.littletoncollection.com/Littleton,%20Harvey/harvey_littleton.htm, http://www.chihuly.com/biography.aspx, both accessed April 12, 2012.

Filed Under: Craftsmen, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Amy Forsyth has a serious interest in Art, Architecture and Design

April 3, 2012

Amy Forsyth, Associate Professor, Department of Art, Architecture and Design at Lehigh University,  writes the following inspirational words.

Drawing by Amy Forsyth

I teach Furniture and Three-dimensional design at Lehigh University. I’ve taught at the University level now for 20 years, having started in architecture, and moved to furniture design and construction as my own interests shifted in that direction.  I still value the conceptual skills that architecture taught me, but the craving to make something with my own hands became imperative. And so I practice and teach creative thinking through the making of objects.

Students educated through craft learn persistence.  They experience the satisfaction of creating something from nothing. They learn the importance of reiteration, of the ways in which something can develop and grow with continued attention and imagination. They learn that sometimes the hands have their own intelligence that is only later grasped by the mind. These are valuable lessons for all people, and ones that will help them to learn and grow and think about their surroundings in a proactive way.

 

Cabinet of Curiosities by Amy Forsyth and Mark Sfirri

An argument for handmade objects is no less than an argument made in favor of the physical world, its textures and colors and aromas and surfaces, its variations and subtleties, the world of the mind that uses the eyes and the hands to express itself. No matter how digital our world becomes, we still have our sensual bodies, we still have minds and eyes and hands that respond to intelligent objects that have been made by those with a responsiveness to the senses, and the ability to discover the infinite varieties of what each material can do.  It’s an essential human predisposition, this desire to fiddle with materials, to see what they can become, to find some clever way to transform raw substances into something orderly that reveals the mind’s workings.

Craft, as in “craftsmanship,” promotes exploration and discovery of the physical world. It does not rest within the known, but seeks to find the small accident that transforms something recognized and expected into something completely new.  It searches for that “aha!” moment, when suddenly, the world tips a little on its axis and is seen once again as something brand new with every possibility spread before us.

 

 

 

Filed Under: A Craft Affair, Craftsmen, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Then there’s the possibility of a hat. You could surprise yourself.

November 7, 2011

Hat by Tricia Adler

Have you ever bought an outrageous hat on the spur of the moment?  Maybe while you were trying one on people gathered around and admired it, and even started tentatively fingering other hats for themselves?

Pretty soon there’s a crowd around you -  encouraging each other and next thing you know, you bought the best one before someone else could.  They’re one-of-a-kind, you know and a great conversation starter.

 It gets cold in the winter and in foul weather sometimes we NEED to amuse ourselves and feel spunky.

Hat by Ignatius

Other seasons we’ll want hats as well –not only the fascinator   (to have on hand for a royal wedding or evening party), but something to shield you from sun (possibly mid-winter vacation?).

Think of Ignatius Hats.  There is a hat for all seasons at that booth.

 Simply walk past Ping Wu, and next your head could be spinning with the  dozens of ways to wear her knitted headwear that she’ll demonstrate happily.

I can hardly wait for winter, now that I think about it.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Craftsmen, Fashion

Spontaneously found objects yield to lively jewelry.

November 3, 2011

Grainne Morton, who hails from Edinburgh, Scotland, says, “The found objects I use in my work are the main inspiration for my jewelry. Collecting objects from the obscure to the miniature, found and fabricated, is the starting point for most designs. These objects become the narrative form for  jewelry and are collaged together by arrangement and rearrangement until all the objects connect with each other in order to create lively, colorful spontaneous stories.”   Thanks to a grant from the Scottish Arts Council, Grainne’s work has been able to blossom.  Come visit Grainne at the 35th Annual Philadelphia Museum of  Art Craft Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on November 10-13, 2011.

 

http://www.grainnemorton.co.uk/

Filed Under: Craftsmen

Dress up your dinner party table and then some

October 11, 2011

Blown glassware by Dan Mirer

You know that friend, the one who always knows how to put together a stunning dinner party with dishes, glassware and serving pieces that are surely NOT from a local department store?

Your friend probably has learned the secret of searching out unusual, beautiful, complementary pieces at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show to adorn the dinner table.

Silver serving pieces by Kaminer Haislip

It’s the same with the individual who seems always to be sporting something that is worth an extra look!  A felted pin? A hat with just the right tilt and timeless attraction? A scarf of colors that came right off of a Galapagos Island vista?

Mixed Media by Bill Durovchic

How about the home or office in which you find an eclectic object…something that demands interaction, involving turning knobs and rotating gears made with things you find in your everyday life? Yes, we’ve brought them to Philadelphia from across the USA and 25 from Scotland for you to see.

 

Filed Under: 2011 Craft Show, Craftsmen, Home & Design
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