Fall 2023

Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023

Through March 31, 2024
Plan your visit this summer to SAAM’s Renwick Gallery | s.si.edu/renwickcraft2023
Fresh visions from six Native American artists at the premier museum for contemporary craft in the United States.
Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan), Lily Hope (Tlingit), Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Iñupiat),
Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy), Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe)
Renwick Gallery | Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW | Washington DC | FREE
Image: Lily Hope, Memorial Beats, 2021, thigh-spun merino and cedar bark with copper, headphones, and audio files, The Hope Family Trust. Photo by Sydney Akagi
 Metalwork
Shape flowers in metal, create copper fountains, reproduce
18th-century tinware, pursue small-scale forging for jewelry,
or make critters and roosters! No experience necessary.
A R R O W M O N T. O R G

folkschool.org/acc

TAKE ON LIFE
® WITH YOUR
OWN TWO HANDS ®
SWING ON BY YOUR NEAREST STORE OR FIND
US ONLINE AT DULUTHTRADING.COM

FOLLOW US @DULUTHTRADINGCOMPANY
 Fall 2023 / Vol. 83, No.3

Collect Piece by Piece

Features
20 For the Future
CLAIRE VOON
4KINSHIP in Santa Fe showcases Native
makers and works to support future generations.

26 The Consummate Collector

DEBORAH BISHOP
Dorothy Saxe and her late husband built
friendships while collecting artists’ work.

36 Pieces of Life
AMBER LONG
Chris Malone’s clay and mosaic sculptures tell
stories of spirituality and an unknown past.

42 Seeing Is Believing
PAOLA SINGER
Three craft artists turn scientific data into
visual works that help explain the world.

48 In Tune
ELIZABETH FOY LARSEN
Violinist Vijay Gupta and luthier Eric Benning
work together to create beautiful music.

ON THE COVER: A detail of Jiha Moon's

stoneware and porcelain Yellow Hare, 2023,
21.5 x 12 x 10 in. Read Moon's essay about
Photo by Wade Adakai.

working in her studio on page 56. Photo

courtesy of the artist and Derek Eller Gallery.

THIS PAGE: Amy Denet Deal founded 4KINSHIP, an

Indigenous-owned retail space on Santa Fe's Canyon Road
that features Native craft and hand-dyed clothing. Learn more
about 4KINSHIP and its community focus on page 20.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 3

 62

Departments
6 From the Editor
8 Contributors
9 Letters from Readers

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

10 Preview
Weaving at Black Mountain College.
A new look at a historic program.
ARUNA D’SOUZA 16 Spotlight 19 The Crafty Librarian
Come On In. Claire Oliver Gallery Niche Magazines. A sampling of the
in Harlem seeks a more equitable American Craft Council Library’s
12 Craft Happenings approach to collecting.
A roundup of craft exhibitions, periodicals collection.
CLAIRE VOON BETH GOODRICH
shows, and events. | JON SPAYDE

15 New Releases 18 Market

To Have and to Hold. Handmade
A film about a ceramist; books
keepsake boxes for storing precious
THE CRAFTED LIFE
about your brain on art, artist
and designer Rogan Gregory,
mementos. | SHIVAUN WATCHORN 56 In My Studio
and British studio pottery; The Night Owl Downstairs. A Korean
and glass podcast Cracked with ceramist, painter, and printmaker has
Chevonne Ariss. | JON SPAYDE collected and created in the basement
of her Atlanta home. | JIHA MOON

62 Storage
Craft That Holds. Three companies
make handcrafted storage solutions
for the vinyl enthusiast.
DANIEL WAITE PENNY

TOP: Photo courtesy of Symbol Audio. BOTTOM: Photo by Fritz Horstman.

73 From ACC's
Executive Director

80 End Note
Assemblage. Misha Kahn's maximalism
and Harvest Moon. | THE EDITORS

ABOVE: MAX turntable and record

stand by Symbol Audio, just one
of the makers featured in Daniel
Waite Penny's article about record
storage on page 62. LEFT: Fabric
woven by Black Mountain College
student Mimi French, ca. 1941–43.
Get a sneak peek of an upcoming
exhibition about the college's
groundbreaking weaving program
10 on page 10.

4 american craft fall 2023 / collect

FROM THE EDITOR

Collect. Just before we started working on this issue on

the theme collect, I visited a friend in Santa Fe. My first stop
while wandering down gallery-filled Canyon Road was Hecho
a Mano, which features prints from young Oaxacan artists.
Inside, I was delighted to unexpectedly meet textile artist Nika
Feldman, who appeared on the August/September 2016 cover
of American Craft. My next stop was 4KINSHIP, a Native-
owned retail business I’d been following online. I was moved by
its collection of upcycled and dyed clothing—as well as jewelry,
ceramics, blankets, and other craft by several Native artists—and
by my conversation with founder Amy Denet Deal, who is com-
mitted to supporting not only artists whose work is in the store,
but also Indigenous communities and future generations. We’re
pleased to share a story about 4KINSHIP in this issue.
In these pages, you’ll also learn about 97-year-old craft
collector Dorothy Saxe, who lives in San Francisco, and self-
taught mosaic sculptor Chris Malone, who lives in Maryland.
You’ll go behind the scenes at Benning Violins, a shop run by
a family of luthiers in Los Angeles and favored by virtuoso
A ceramic sculpture by Chris Malone. Learn more on page 36.
violinist and social justice advocate Vijay Gupta. And you’ll
take a look inside Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem, which is
forging new relationships around collecting, and the studio After a long pause on travel due to the pandemic, we’re
of sculptural ceramist, painter, and printmaker Jiha Moon. pleased to be out and about, discovering craft and meeting
makers. Assistant Editor Shivaun Watchorn recently attended
West Coast Craft in San Francisco. Senior Editor Jen Vogel
visited New Orleans to present at the Furniture Society con-

A good life, ference and report on the New Orleans craft scene for a story
that will appear in our Winter 2024 issue.
I want to share another story about collection and connec-
tion with you. Longtime ACC member Galen Erickson recently

built by wrote to let us know how he passes down craft knowledge to

the next generation. He and his wife, Linda, have a wonderful
collection, which lives on the hand-built “Craft Wall” in their

hand.
Plymouth, Minnesota, family room. Every few weeks, as part of
a News from Grandpa email newsletter, Galen includes an image
or two of pieces from their collection and explains why they
bought them and what makes them unique. “It’s very gratifying
to hear the older grandkids (some in their twenties) explaining
NBSS.EDU
our various treasures to the younger ones,” he wrote. What a
beautiful way to share the love of craft.
We hope this issue inspires you to think differently about craft
and collection—about how and why you purchase the hand-
made, seek out meaningful works in galleries and museums, or
collect yourself before you begin making something new.
Photo by Steven M. Cummings.

KAREN OLSON / Editor in Chief

Visit craftcouncil.org/Blog for more stories about American craft.

 K ARIN JACOBSON

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 CONTRIBUTORS

PENLAND.ORG

Meet some of the many writers,

artists, and photographers who
contributed to this issue.

San Francisco–based Deborah Bishop

has written at least 40 articles for
American Craft over the years. Here she
writes about Dorothy Saxe, who does
not shy away from controversial imagery
in the craft she collects. Bishop visited
Saxe several times in her San Francisco

FROM TOP DOWN: Photo by Michael Lieberman. Photo by Dana Hoey. Photo by Gloria Garcia, courtesy of Amber Long. Photo by Ari Skin. Photo by Lawrence Sumulong.
and Menlo Park, California, homes while
writing this article. page 26.

Washington, DC–based writer and art critic

Aruna D’Souza previews an upcoming
exhibition about the weaving program
at Black Mountain College in Asheville,
North Carolina, in this issue. “It was great
talking to the curators and hearing their
WORKSHOPS | RESIDENCIES | GALLERY excitement about the show. The project
is the result of some serious and crucial
archival research, and the result will be
quite beautiful, I think.” page 10.

A city planner in Rogers, Arkansas,

Amber Long is also a writing intern at
the Smithsonian’s Folklife Magazine.
Here she writes about mosaic sculptor
Chris Malone, who lives in Maryland,
in an article American Craft co-
produced with Folklife Magazine and the
Smithsonian’s African American Craft
Initiative. page 36.

We asked ceramist and painter Jiha Moon

to write about her Atlanta studio after
hearing her speak at a Renwick Gallery
symposium in March. Moon had the
audience in stitches when she explained
that sometimes she pulls a piece from
the kiln and thinks it’s ugly. Then she
reconsiders: “Maybe the way I understand
the beauty is wrong.” page 56.
Winter 2024
N'Kosi Barber
Just as we were brainstorming a story
Márta Edöcs about record storage furniture for this
Dan Friday issue, journalist Daniel Waite Penny
pitched an idea on the same topic. We
Martin Kremer
love synchronicity! Penny, who writes
& Gabriele Küstner about culture and climate for the New
Ethan Stern Yorker, GQ, and other publications, is
Richard Whiteley also the host of the new podcast
Non-toxic. page 62.
cmog.org/studio
 LETTERS

I’m really enjoying the Summer 2023 issue I received today.

It is so beautifully arranged and photographed. However,
Summer 2023 some feedback to pass along regarding quality control at
your printer: the black ink was smeared across eight of the
pages in my copy. I don’t recall ever seeing this before.
–Arlene Wellemeyer, Hastings, Minnesota

Editors respond: Some of you may have noticed black smudges

across a few of the pages of your copies of the Summer issue.
We apologize. Our printer experienced ink flow issues during
the printing process. We are working to ensure this doesn’t
happen again.

Talk to Us
Letters from Readers We welcome your letters and comments
at [email protected].
The Summer issue was great. I grew up in Detroit and was
delighted to read about the craft movement and galleries Sign Up for
that have arisen there (“Craft in Detroit”). I’m planning a Monthly Inspiration
trip to visit the galleries and artists this summer. Get American Craft Council’s inspiring emails—including
–Ilene Zweig, Miami, Florida
the monthly Craft Dispatch and artist interviews in
The Queue—at craftcouncil.org/Signup.
So beautifully done. I’m as endlessly impressed with both
the elegant production details (fabulous photos, interesting
layouts, etc.) as I am with the sophistication and exquisite
objects you present. The magazine is like a rich, delicious,
and even nourishing dessert. Bravo to you and to the incred-
ibly skilled artists you bring to us. I’m excited, too, by the
diversity of the artists represented. Happy to see people of
color, women in craftwork typically associated with men,
and throughout—the astonishing creations!
–Marjory Levitt, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I didn’t find this issue to be as interesting or compelling as many

have been. I initially paged through it and set it down. Then I
picked it up again. These articles are interesting to me on second
look: “Adventure Craft,” some of “The Glass Alchemist,” and
I will read more thoroughly about craft and artists in Detroit.
After reading many issues, I feel more motivated as an artist, but
not with this issue.
One of the sections I regularly read first is Craft Hap-
penings. It seemed very thin for July and August, with not
as many openings or exhibits listed as I’d expect, and quite
focused on the east side of the US.
–Heather Myers, Loveland, Colorado

Editors respond: We aim to inform readers about events and

exhibitions taking place across the US. While we only have a few
pages for Craft Happenings in print, we post a more expansive
list online each season at craftcouncil.org/CraftHappenings.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY

LEFT: Students weaving on

backstrap looms at Black Mountain
College, 1945. ABOVE: Student
Joan Potter Loveless’s Bay Area,
ca. 1960–70, wool, 56 x 37 in.

Weaving by Design

LEFT: Photo by John Harvey Campbell. RIGHT: Photo by Alice Sebrell.

An upcoming show at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts
Center explores the legacies of Anni Albers and Trude Guermonprez,
and the importance of weaving at the legendary college. BY ARUNA D’SOUZA

Curators Julie J. Thomson and Michael Beggs hope their Mountain’s educational mission and its culture, becoming
upcoming exhibition, Weaving at Black Mountain College, one of its most successful design programs and shaping think-
will shine a new light on the legendary Asheville, North Car- ing about textile and design nationwide.
olina, experiment in higher education. “There are famous Just before influential designers Josef and Anni Albers left
people who went to Black Mountain College—Robert Germany in 1933—when the Bauhaus, where they taught,
Rauschenberg, Ray Johnson, and Ruth Asawa are probably closed under pressure from the Nazis—Josef wrote to inform
the most famous among the artists—but when you focus on one of his future colleagues at the new Black Mountain Col-
weaving, a whole different college emerges,” Beggs told me. lege, “My wife will bring her loom.” Despite the fact that this
Consisting of more than 100 objects—including tex- new college was not an art school per se, he continued, “She
tiles, material studies, and photographs—the show promises thinks she can give students an understanding of weaving
to demonstrate that weaving was an integral part of Black materials and practices and perhaps some lessons.”

10 american craft fall 2023 / collect / new & noteworthy

 PREVIEW
TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT: Photo by Alice Sebrell. Photo by Helen M. Post Modley. Photo courtesy of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

LEFT: Don Page, Black Mountain’s first

student to graduate in weaving, is depicted
in Faith Murray Britton’s painting on a
campus door, ca. 1941–1942. ABOVE: Anni
Albers weaving at Black Mountain College,
1937. RIGHT: College student-turned-
instructor Elizabeth Schmitt Jennerjahn’s
Cross, 1949, wool, 12.5 x 10 in.

Those modest aims developed into a program where stu- at the San Diego Zoo: “It’s amazing how she pulls the warp
dents learned both theory and practice under the guidance threads out from the supportive role and over the wild birds
of faculty members including Trude Guermonprez, Marli to create the cages.”
Ehrman, and Tony Landreau. Weaving was a serious course In addition to objects directly connected to Black Moun-
of study: almost 10 percent of all the students to ever come tain, the exhibition—a result of serious archival research—
through Black Mountain until it ceased teaching classes in will include work by contemporary weavers who are building
1956 took at least one course in the discipline—including on the legacy of this tiny college in the hills: Kay Sekimachi,
Rauschenberg and Johnson. (Surprisingly, Asawa did not study Jen Bervin, Porfirio Gutiérrez, Susie Taylor, and Bana Haffar.
weaving at the college, though a few of her works are included A handsome catalog accompanies the show, and an interna-
in the show; among them is a swatch of mattress ticking based tional conference October 13–15, open to the public, will
on a drawing made using a laundry stamp.) focus on material and structure—two of the core principles
Photographs of students at their looms give a sense of the of Black Mountain College’s weaving program.
vibe of Black Mountain’s weaving program: serious, imagi- ◆
native, experimental—and co-ed. While the discipline was Aruna D’Souza is a critic and curator based in New York whose writ-
ings appear regularly in the New York Times and 4Columns, among
treated as an exclusively feminine one at the Bauhaus, at Black other publications.
Mountain it was for everyone. (Perhaps to underline that point,
one of the objects in the show—a painting Faith Murray Brit-
ton made on the wooden door to the weaving studio—depicts Weaving at
a young man seen from the back, hard at work at a loom.) Black Mountain College:
Anni Albers, Trude Guermonprez,
The work that came out of Black Mountain ranged from
and Their Students
utilitarian to deeply experimental, always with an eye to both
Black Mountain College
artistic and industrial goals. One photograph depicts Anni
Museum + Arts Center
Albers weaving with a set of cards, or tablets; a photograph Asheville, North Carolina
of a material study using wood shavings and twigs will also be September 29, 2023–January 6, 2024
on view. Thomson pointed out a wall hanging made by Guer-
monprez, inspired by hummingbirds she saw in her yard and blackmountaincollege.org/weaving

new & noteworthy / american craft fall 2023 / collect 11

 LEFT: Weaver Sarah Zapata
was commissioned to install
the 2023 Atrium Project
at the Kemper Museum of
Contemporary Art. BELOW:
Included in Contemporary
Craft’s Climate Awakening
exhibition is Courtney
Mattison’s Gas Can, 2015,
glazed stoneware, porcelain,
14 x 16 x 12 in. OPPOSITE
TOP RIGHT: Sharif Bey’s
earthenware, vitreous china,
and mixed media Louie Bones,
2020, 35.5 x 35.5 x 4 in, is part
of Sightlines on Peace, Power,
and Prestige: Metal Arts in
Africa. OPPOSITE LEFT: Ruth
Duckworth, named an ACC
Fellow in 1983, is the subject
of an upcoming exhibition at
the Smart Museum of Art. It
includes Untitled (Mama Pot),
1975, 18 x 21 x 23 in.

Craft Happenings

TOP: Photo by Ignacio Torres. BOTTOM: Photo by Courtney Mattison.

AUGUST OPENINGS SEPTEMBER OPENINGS

Sarah Zapata: So the roots be known Climate Awakening:

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Crafting A Sustainable Future
Kansas City, Missouri Contemporary Craft
August 18, 2023–July 28, 2024 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
For this year’s Atrium Project—presenting September 8, 2023–January 13, 2024
work of emerging and mid-career Hispanic Accompanying this assemblage of
and Latinx artists—Peruvian American art- craft-based artworks addressing climate
ist Sarah Zapata literally weaves together change and its multiple effects on eco-
the multiple strands of her background in systems and human beings will be a
fiber works that ask questions about gen- series of what the organizers call “action
der, labor, and identity. The pieces allow events.” These community-outreach gath-
the viewer to go deeper into the inquiry erings are intended to translate the works’
too, by incorporating performance and messages into concrete efforts to help
elements that can be touched. mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

12 american craft fall 2023 / collect / new & noteworthy

 CRAFT HAPPENINGS

Chiffon Thomas: The Cavernous

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Ridgefield, Connecticut
September 15, 2023–March 3, 2024
Thomas’s wide-ranging work in collage,
sculpture, and installation interrogates
gender, identity, and colonialism in the
context of America’s Black diaspora.
The artist typically combines fragmen-
tary castings of their own body with
reclaimed architectural elements and
Biblical quotations; this show presents
new work featuring the human body
fused with that icon of 1960s futurism,
the geodesic dome.

Woven Histories:
Textiles and Modern Abstraction
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles, California
September 17, 2023–January 21, 2024
The birth and growth of abstract painting
is one of the key themes of artistic mod-
ernism. Less well known is the parallel
development of abstraction in woven Sightlines on Peace, Power, and Rick Dillingham:
textiles and pre-loom processes such Prestige: Metal Arts in Africa To Make, Unmake, and Make Again
as basketry, knotting, and netting. Here, Bard Graduate Center New Mexico Museum of Art
more than 150 works demonstrate the New York, New York Santa Fe, New Mexico
complex dialogue between these kindred September 29–December 31, 2023 October 6, 2023–June 16, 2024
abstractions during the past 100 years. The Bard Center hosts a traveling exhi- After renowned Santa Fe scholar, author,
bition of traditional African iron, brass, collector, curator, dealer, and ceramic
TOP: Photo by Bryan Conley. BOTTOM: Photo courtesy of Salon 94, © Estate of Ruth Duckworth.

bronze, gold, copper, silver, and alloy artist Dillingham died in 1994, his works
objects organized by the University of Flor- were distributed far and wide—from New
ida’s Harn Museum of Art, including body Mexico to London. The New Mexico
adornments, scepters, weapons, currency, Museum of Art has gathered the largest
and amulets, and adds a powerful update: collection of his pieces ever assembled
a set of metal pieces by contemporary and shows them with select artworks and
artists from Africa and the African diaspora. Indigenous ceramics from Dillingham’s
personal collection.
OCTOBER OPENINGS Between Horizons:
Korean Ceramic Artists in the US
Traditional Cowboy Arts The Clay Studio
Ruth Duckworth: Life as a Unity Exhibition & Sale Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Smart Museum of Art National Cowboy and
October 12–December 31, 2023
Chicago, Illinois Western Heritage Museum
September 21, 2023–February 4, 2024 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma The 12 makers featured here all came
October 6, 2023–January 2, 2024 to the United States and Canada
Duckworth, known primarily as a “British from South Korea to pursue graduate
studio potter,” actually spent the latter Fine examples of saddlemaking, bit
degrees in the ceramic arts. At a time
half of her life—nearly 50 years—living and spur crafting, silversmithing, and
when immigration is a hot-button issue
and working in Chicago, identifying her- rawhide braiding will be on display in
in the US, the show highlights the
self as a “sculptor with clay,” and being this show of the arts associated with the
effects of this major geographical and
deeply influenced by currents in Amer- ultimate Western icon. The exhibition
cultural dislocation on their work and
ican art. The Smart presents a com- is mounted—no pun intended—by the
their thinking about art and identity.
prehensive view of her environmentally Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, all
focused work, including tile installations of whose members, besides being artists,
and murals, wall works, and sculptures. are real working cowhands.

new & noteworthy / american craft fall 2023 / collect 13

CRAFT HAPPENINGS

Toshiko Takaezu and Lenore Tawney A Two-Way Mirror:

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Double Consciousness in
Bentonville, Arkansas Contemporary Glass by
October 14, 2023–March 25, 2024 Black Artists
Ceramist Takaezu and fiber artist Museum of Glass
Tawney forged a close friendship for half Tacoma, Washington
a century until Tawney’s death in 2007, Opens October 21
living together and sharing studio space Taking its cue from W.E.B. DuBois’s
between 1977 and 1981. Crystal Bridges definition of double consciousness—the
reunites the friends by bringing together sense Black people have of being both
seven of Takaezu’s dynamically glazed self-aware and aware of being seen
ceramic sculptures along with two dra- through a racist lens—A Two-Way Mirror
Nigerian artist Layo Bright’s Adebisi VII,
matic, large-scale weavings, two draw- brings together a multinational group 2020, kiln-formed glass, 11.5 x 11.5 x 3 in.,
ings, and an assemblage by Tawney. of Black artists who work in a notably will be shown in A Two-Way Mirror: Double
“reflective” and lens-like medium ideal Consciousness in Contemporary Glass by
76th annual Craft Fair of for interrogating ideas of identity. Black Artists at the Museum of Glass.
the Southern Highlands
Harrah’s Cherokee Center NOVEMBER OPENINGS
Asheville, North Carolina
October 19–22, 2023 Stephen Talasnik: FLOE
Contemporary and traditional works Museum for Art in Wood
in clay, wood, metal, glass, fiber, nat- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ural materials, paper, leather, mixed November 3, 2023–February 18, 2024
media, and jewelry will be on display in Philly-born artist Talasnik presents a
the autumn outing of this twice-yearly collection of “archaeological artifacts,”
fair highlighting the craftsmanship of the constructed of wood, bamboo, and com-

TOP: Photo courtesy of Layo Bright and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. BOTTOM: Photo by Nate Burrows.
southern Appalachians. Some 200 posite materials, testifying to a vanished
artists occupy two floors of the downtown future Philadelphia, buried by a natural
Asheville venue, and live music and craft disaster brought on by climate change.
demonstrations are also offered. Many of the objects evoke the fate of the
most vulnerable: the impoverished, the
unhoused, and the stateless.

Fooling the Eye:

Optics of Vasarely and Kuhn
Cafesjian Art Trust
Shoreview, Minnesota
November 9, 2023–May 5, 2024
Along with paintings by Victor Vasarely,
the Hungarian-born godfather of Op Art,
this exhibition highlights the complex glass
pieces of North Carolina–based John
Kuhn, who works with cold glass pieces
that he cuts, polishes, assembles, and
fuses. The resulting sculpture reflects and
refracts surrounding light in the manner of
an outsized diamond. The Cafesjian was
recently established by Gerard Cafesjian
to share his collection of contemporary
and modern art with a focus on glass.

More Craft Happenings!

Made of wooden blocks strung onto ropes, this
45-by-30-by-36 in. rocking chair by Alan Daigre Discover additional exhibitions, shows, and
Designs of Tennessee will be available at the 76th other events in the online version of this
annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. article at craftcouncil.org/CraftHappenings.

14 american craft fall 2023 / collect / new & noteworthy

 NEW RELEASES

In Kelly Reichardt’s new film

Showing Up, sculptor Lizzy (Michelle Williams, left)
prepares for an upcoming show while balancing inter-
ruptions from her job, her negligent landlord, and her
difficult family. Reichardt grounded her film in the local
craft scene in Portland, Oregon, incorporating Cynthia
Lahti’s richly textured figurative sculptures as Lizzy’s
work. Lahti tutored Williams in ceramics during pro-
duction and created greenware duplicates of her work
for Williams to work on during filming.

SHOWING UP
Movie directed by Kelly Reichardt
A24, 2022
Available via streaming services

STUDIO CERAMICS:
BRITISH STUDIO POTTERY
1900 TO NOW
By Alun Graves,
foreword by Tanya Harrod
YOUR BRAIN ON ART Thames & Hudson, 2023
By Susan Magsamen $85
and Ivy Ross
Random House, 2023 This book, by a Victoria and Albert Museum curator, is both a
$30 history and a definitive reference work on how British ceramics
made their radical contribution to modern art. Text that sums
This book’s bold assertion is that, beyond inspiring thought, up the movement succinctly is followed by excellent color
enhancing sensibilities, and building community, the arts photos of major works, 1909–2019, in chronological order. The
“can . . . fundamentally change your day-to-day life. They second half of this 400-page tome presents accounts of major
can help address serious physical and mental health issues, makers alphabetically, from Jerome Abbo to A. and J. Young.
with remarkable results. And they can both help you learn
and flourish.” The art-brain nexus that does these things is
termed neuroaesthetics, and Magsamen and Ross introduce
the reader to it with loads of scientific evidence.

ROGAN GREGORY:
CRACKED WITH EVENT HORIZON
CHEVONNE ARISS By Rogan Gregory
TOP: Photo by Allyson Riggs, courtesy of A24.

Podcast available on Monacelli, 2023

standard platforms $60
15 episodes available as
videos on YouTube The curvy, blobby, bio- and geomorphic forms of
design-consultant-turned-artist Gregory reflect his passion
A stained-glass podcast? Absolutely. Ariss, proprietor of Rüna for geology, ecological systems, and evolutionary biology.
Glassworks in Austin, Texas, holds animated, informal conver- His furniture and sculptural works, executed in materials
sations with artists who use colored glass in many ways, from ranging from wood, stone, and bronze to innovative aggre-
windows to multimedia works. She and her guests talk style gates, receive deluxe treatment here: page after lush page
and influences as well as the nitty gritty of setting up and run- of images are interrupted only occasionally by short essays
ning an arts business. Mindful of the wide reach of her art form, by experts, including his father, social historian Stanford W.
she welcomes conservators and hobbyists to the show too. Gregory, and his sister, biologist Tremaine Gregory.

new & noteworthy / american craft fall 2023 / collect 15

 Come On In
In Harlem, Claire Oliver Gallery seeks a
more inclusive and equitable approach to
cultivating collectors.

The Harlem-based dealer Claire Oliver builds her business

on moments of connection. “If, when I look at an artist’s
work to show, I don’t immediately feel possessed to own
everything I’m seeing, I don’t show the work,” she says.
“There’s a visceral reaction that I have to the work that I
show. I have to believe in it personally.”
The approach has proven to work well. Over more
than three decades, Claire Oliver Gallery has built and
sustained a reputation for championing historically under-
represented artists, many of whom are today recognized as
significant voices within American art history. The major-
ABOVE: Claire Oliver (left) with artist Simone Elizabeth Saunders, whose
ity of names on its roster have always been of women, and Unearthing Unicorns exhibition was held recently at Claire Oliver Gallery.
the gallery has facilitated the acquisition of more than OPPOSITE: In 2020 the gallery moved from Chelsea to Harlem (pictured).
300 works by Black and brown artists by major museums
throughout the United States. These include the exuber- has his first job and has a little money put aside, who lives here in
ant, intricate quilted portraits of Bisa Butler; the cut-paper Harlem and has bought his first house. That person will get equal
and illuminated works of Barbara Earl Thomas; and the priority, because we want to see more Black collectors getting a seat
sewn and layered textiles of Gio Swaby that celebrate Black at the table.”
women. “The work, conceptually, has to be rigorous, and it Many of those relationships get built through word of mouth,
has to have a message that’s important, that is going to elicit often referrals from museums the gallery works with and from
conversations,” Oliver says. “But then equally important is collectors to whom it has previously sold art. But Oliver—who
I want to see the hand of the artist on the craft.” despite her veteran status says she often feels like an art-world
Amid an art market suddenly hungry for the kinds of outsider herself—also hopes to cultivate a space that is inviting,
artists the gallery has long represented, Oliver is also care- where a passerby may step in without feeling the intimidation
fully considering where the gallery places work long-term. often associated with contemporary art galleries, and discover
In 2020, after 17 years in New York’s Chelsea neighbor- work that excites them. “We don’t want anyone standing outside
hood—and before that, with chapters in Philadelphia and looking through the glass,” she says. “It’s very important, not just
in Florida—the gallery relocated to a four-story brown- from the standpoint of creating new collectors. As a representa-
stone in Harlem that Oliver purchased. The move to Oli- tive of some of the most powerful Black and brown voices speak-
ver’s own neighborhood (she gets to walk to work now) ing in the art world today, I need to have their work seen by their
has allowed her to focus on expanding her collector base own community. So being in Harlem, to me, just rings true.”
with greater intention, especially toward equity and inclu- She recalls seeing mothers and their children flock to Gio Swa-
sion. It’s been her lifelong passion: the Southern Califor- by’s first solo exhibition in 2021, and seeing girls strike poses in
nia native’s childhood dream was to be chief curator at the front of the life-size, patterned portraits of Black women. There’s
Photos courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, but she grew to realize she a strong sense of camaraderie—not only among her neighbors
wanted to engage directly with artists and promote their but also among other Harlem art spaces—that she never felt
careers, rather than occupy herself with research. when in Chelsea, where business always trumped community.
That work today involves seeking out not only well- “People look out for and care about each other, and it’s just a
known art collectors but locals who are curious about start- nicer way to do business that, I think, rubs off on the collectors
ing their own collections. “We take great care that maybe a as well,” Oliver says. “We’ve lived here a long time, and we want
third of a show goes to people trying to establish a legacy to be able to create a legacy here.” —Claire Voon
for their children and their children’s children,” Oliver says. ◆
“We’re interested in that first-generation college grad who claireoliver.com | @claireolivergallery

16 american craft fall 2023 / collect / new & noteworthy

 SPOTLIGHT

new & noteworthy / american craft fall 2023 / collect 17

MARKET

To Have and to Hold. When you want to

protect and honor special items—and keep track of them—
handmade keepsake boxes are a beautiful solution. These four
options, in ceramic and wood, offer a variety of styles and
sizes for holding some of your most cherished possessions.

TOP LEFT: Photo by Vaughan Nelson. BOTTOM LEFT: Photo by Kimberly Allison. TOP RIGHT: Photo courtesy of Sophie Glenn. BOTTOM RIGHT: Photo by Jeff Neil.
Furniture maker Sophie Glenn of Reading,
Pennsylvania, made this 3-by-4-by-7-in. band-
saw box from a block of poplar. With ridges cut
into the perimeter and amoebic patterns painted
on the top with milk paint, it’s part of her series
of germ boxes, available in a number of colors
and shapes from Contemporary Craft. / $100
sophieglenn.com | contemporarycraftstore.com
@arcburn_furniture

A military brat, Vaughan Nelson of One Blue Marble moved

frequently throughout his childhood, observing and absorbing
the artistic traditions of his diverse surroundings. Now living
in Tucson, Arizona, he incorporates dots, swirls, spirals, and
squiggles into his whimsical ceramics. This slab-built stone-
ware pillow box, measuring 6.5 x 5.5 x 7.5 in., is topped with
a radiant, colorful handle. / $160
onebluemarbleceramics.com | @onebluemarble

To create her kurinuki trinket box, Salem, Massachusetts–

based Kimberly Allison hollows out a block of solid porcelain
in accordance with the Japanese technique of the same name.
Decorated with elegant black mirror glaze and gold luster, the
boxes from K. Allison Ceramics measure approximately
1.25 x 1.5 in., perfect for holding rings or small earrings. / $65 Formed from bent cherry, secured with copper
kallisonceramics.com | @kallisonceramics tacks, and topped with a wood veneer sunburst
star quilt pattern, at 3.5 x 8.5 x 6 in. this oval box
is perfect for storing sewing notions—and so much
more. It was made by Jeff Neil of Gray, Tennessee,
who unites two storied American craft traditions in
his quilt-top Shaker boxes. / $105
southernhighlandguild.org/artist/jeffreyneil

18 american craft fall 2023 / collect / new & noteworthy

 THE CRAFTY LIBRARIAN

Niche Magazines. Professional associations in

the field of craft cover specific types of media and technique, and
a good number of them produce magazines. The American Craft
Council Library, which can be visited by appointment, holds
nearly 100 periodical subscriptions, as well as myriad issues of
publications no longer in print, most of them catering to specific
areas of the craft field. ACC librarian Beth Goodrich highlights
five such publications here, with a longer list (not exhaustive) of
niche magazines below.

Stained Glass, published by The Artist-Blacksmith’s

the Stained Glass Association of Association of North
America, is a quarterly publication America (ABANA) issues two
featuring articles on the history of publications. The Anvil’s Ring is its primary
TOP RIGHT: Hammer’s Blow photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives. ALL OTHERS: Images courtesy of the publications.

architectural stained glass, artist publication and contains feature articles,

spotlights, and noteworthy proj- historical notes, member spotlights, and book reviews.
ects, as well as resource pages Its educational counterpart, Hammer’s Blow, provides
listing suppliers, books, and how-to articles, tricks of the trade, notices, and classified
opportunities of interest to ads for the blacksmithing community.
stained glass artists.

Hand Papermaking, Inc., publishes Hand

Papermaking to promote “the scholarship and
production of handmade paper and paper art.”
Leather Crafters & Saddlers Journal will Each issue features artist interviews, exhibi-
provide you with plenty of inspiration for tion reviews, and articles about historical and
your next project. Each issue features sev- regional practices, and includes tipped-in
eral projects with step-by-step instructions, samples of handmade paper.
as well as a large pullout section with cut-
ting and carving templates. The journal also
provides industry news and event listings
for leather craft.

Other niche magazines to explore:

American Woodturner (American Association of Woodturners)
Book Arts arts du livre Canada (Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild)
Chip Chats (National Wood Carvers Association)
Guild of Book Workers Journal
Metalsmith (Society of North American Goldsmiths)
Needle Arts (Embroiderers’ Guild of America)
SAQA Journal (Studio Art Quilt Associates)
Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot (Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.)
Surface Design Journal (Surface Design Association)
Tile Heritage: A Review of American Tile History (Tile Heritage Foundation)

About the ACC Library

The American Craft Council Library & Archives in Minneapolis contains the country’s most comprehensive archive of contemporary
American craft history, with more than 20,000 print publications, files on nearly 4,000 craft artists, four major archival collections, and a
robust digital collection. To explore the ACC Digital Archives, visit digital.craftcouncil.org. Sign up for librarian Beth Goodrich’s quarterly
newsletter at craftcouncil.org/CraftyLibrarian. For more information about joining the Friends of the ACC Library & Archives, contact Judy
Hawkinson, ACC’s associate executive director, at [email protected] or 651-434-3951.

new & noteworthy / american craft fall 2023 / collect 19

 Photo by Wade Adakai.

20 american craft fall 2023 / collect

For the
Future
An Indigenous-owned retail
space on Santa Fe’s famous
Canyon Road, 4KINSHIP
supports Native makers—
and communities.
BY CLAIRE VOON

Two months after opening 4KINSHIP,

her retail space on Santa Fe’s historic Canyon
Road, Amy Denet Deal invited artists to paint
a message on the adobe building: we belong
here. She chose the phrase as a variation on
“We are still here,” the assertion of Indigenous
groups around the world; the three words are
4KINSHIP’s claim to homeland, but also a call
to its broader community, including Santa Fe.
“It’s mostly a town built on the back of Native
artists and cultures, but there’s a lot of non-Na-
tive people selling Native goods,” Denet Deal,
an enrolled member of the Navajo (Diné)
Nation, says. “We’re a big beautiful community
and 4KINSHIP is grateful to have a space that
can be of support.”
The interior of the store is a swirl of sun-
light and color: one-of-a-kind garments, most
of them made from upcycled textiles and many
hand-dyed by Denet Deal herself to evoke desert
landscapes, fill racks from end to end. There are
eye-catching accessories, home goods, and other
objects designed and handcrafted by local Native
artists, some sourced and others commissioned.

Amy Denet Deal stands at the entrance to 4KINSHIP,

which she opened in Santa Fe in 2022.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 21

 Visitors may encounter bold, oversized hair clips with tradi-
tional beadwork by Diné artist Raymond Anderson, or earrings
and necklaces hand-strung by Diné artist Mary Rose Yazzie
that feature dried juniper berries, also known as ghost beads—
powerful objects with protective properties. Mary Jane Garcia,
also Diné, has created jewelry pieces exclusive to 4KINSHIP
that combine traditional designs with a modern perspective,
such as geometric cuffs that frame Kingman turquoise gems, or
jumbo rings set with bumblebee jasper or pyritized ammonite.
“We honor everyone that does traditional art. And my
store embraces some of the younger, more contemporary art-
ists,” Denet Deal said. “That juxtaposition between the past
and the future is really where we want to be, because there
are beautiful, beautiful things from our traditional side that
get passed down, and we’re loving to see and nurture points
of view from young trailblazing artists who are working with
traditional arts in exciting new ways.”

The Years Everything Changed

It was thinking about her own legacy that led Denet Deal to
create a sustainable brand in the first place. After working as
an executive in the fashion industry for 40 years, she realized
she wanted to take an active role in preserving the planet for
her daughter and future generations. In 2015, she launched an

LEFT: Denet Deal’s hands after dyeing clothing outside the store.
ABOVE: A view of upcycled and dyed clothing inside 4KINSHIP.

22 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 “That juxtaposition between the past and the future is really where
we want to be, because there are beautiful, beautiful things from
our traditional side that get passed down.” —Amy Denet Deal
online business called Orenda Tribe that initially focused on $835,000 and distributed more than a million PPE (personal
selling repurposed vintage pieces. Four years later, she moved protective equipment) units and more than a million servings
from Los Angeles to Albuquerque to connect more deeply of food. WebMD named Denet Deal one of its 2021 Health
with her indigeneity and with a commitment to be of service. Heroes, along with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Born to a Diné mother, Denet Deal had been adopted by He received its Lifetime Achievement Award, and Denet Deal
a non-Native family and was raised in Indiana, distant from its Trailblazer of the Year Award.
her culture. In 2007 she reconnected with her birth mother The year 2021 brought more transformation for Denet Deal
and began visiting New Mexico to learn about what it means and her company. In addition to handling a business during a
to be Diné. The move to Albuquerque in 2019 allowed her to health and economic crisis, she learned there was concern in
increasingly collaborate with Native artists and open a store- Native communities about her use of the word orenda. Roughly
front that included their work. translated, orenda refers to a certain spiritual energy in people
But six months later she was forced to close the store when the and their environment. The original form of this anglicized
COVID-19 pandemic hit. Due to lack of infrastructure, includ- Oneida word has deep meaning for the Haudenosaunee or Six
ing limited access to running water, food, and WiFi, the Navajo Nations Iroquois people; the Oneida are one of the six nations.
Nation was hit especially hard. With the help of women volun- So Denet Deal began learning about intertribal appropriation
teers, Denet Deal transitioned her space into the Dził Asdzáán and how to address it “with integrity and care.” Understanding
(Mountain Woman) Command Center. She called on connec- the importance of being open to learning, she traveled east to
tions at companies such as Patagonia and Outdoor Voices for meet with many Haudenosaunee tribal leaders and linguists to
fabric, and they went to work making masks. Having experience offer, she says, her respect and humility. “Together we undertook
Photos by Wade Adakai.

running large corporations and raising funds, she also solicited a three-month process of relationship building, intentionality,
donations and held fundraisers, including a concert with singer-
songwriter Jewel that raised enough to fund 42,000 care boxes TOP LEFT: Constellation Cuff by Diné silversmith Thomas Coriz. TOP
RIGHT: Painted on the outside of 4KINSHIP are the words “we belong
for the children of the Diné community and their families. In here.” ABOVE RIGHT: Jewelry and accessories, including oversized hair
2020 the Dził Asdzáán Command Center raised more than clips with traditional beadwork by Diné artist Raymond Anderson.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 23

 Acessit vent occat et et litatis audam
que nobis nus. Poratur autaqui stemoles
earum fugit harupti offic temolup
tasperspe eos nem aut qui si aut
minverum quamenis autemporro ipic
temporro beriosa ndisque aute conesed
ut fugitium restiatur antias ipis magnam
iumquia tquunt acienda doluptias ut
veliquasit, tem qui que nimet des sit,
nonsernam, quosani hitium enecus nestiat
ectium cuptatur assequia.

TOP LEFT: Josh Tafoya’s architectural garments are

sold at 4KINSHIP. Pictured here is Patched Identity,
which is handwoven and handsewn. ABOVE: Diné
artist Peyton Alex, a painter, illustrator, and silversmith
whose work at 4KINSHIP has raised funds for Diné
Skate Garden Project. LEFT: Handmade sheep
figurines by Emily Jacket. OPPOSITE: Shawn Harrison,
host of Masa TV, skates at the Diné Skate Garden
Project in Two Grey Hills, New Mexico.

24 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 and healing,” she says, noting that cultural protocol is essential
to reclaiming one’s indigeneity and to intertribal relationships.
“Through that beautiful learning, the brand evolved into
its forever name of 4KINSHIP,” says Denet Deal. “Orenda
was the beacon that brought me home and 4KINSHIP is
really the vessel and purpose for my life’s journey. When you
say you’re Native, that comes with responsibility, and I’m here
to do that work. This learning process has been such a gift.
Considering the impact of 4KINSHIP’s work through an
Indigenous lens—thinking beyond the now and me to always
offer a creative way to be in service to community and in har-
mony with all relations for future generations—the organiza-
tion is working to put cultural wisdom into motion.” bright turquoise wool into traditional neutral patterns, as did
In 2022, Denet Deal moved 4KINSHIP to Santa Fe, seeing her grandmother Bernice Brown.
an opportunity to represent Native voices in a distinct way, and “The expectation people have of Native fashion or arts is
in a highly visible, high-traffic location. “It’s the mecca of Native that it looks a certain way, like it’s always looked,” Denet Deal
American culture and art,” she says of the state capital, noting says. “We’d never expect that from the talent that we work
that she doesn’t think the city is doing enough to make Native with. It’s up to them to decide how they want to authentically
American businesses a permanent fixture of its commerce. “In represent themselves.”
2023 there are no initiatives in Santa Fe to get Native busi- Tafoya, who has been working with Denet Deal for more
THIS PAGE: Photo by Shaun Marcus. OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: Photo by Josh Tafoya. ALL OTHER IMAGES: Photos by Wade Adakai.

nesses in a permanent way. No grants, no resources. The talent than a year, says being able to showcase his perspective has been
just isn’t sufficiently recognized. Instead, the city invites Native freeing. “Growing up in New Mexico, I found it extremely hard
artists to share their work via temporary permits, pop-ups, and to sell or display my work,” he says. “My work in fashion and
Indian fairs. We belong here, our beautiful art deserves perma- contemporary or experimental weaving really doesn’t fit the
nent space, and our community deserves reciprocity.” mold of what shops and galleries want to showcase. They really
Johanna Nelson, director of Santa Fe’s Office of Economic want to curate to what they think tourists want.”
Development, acknowledges that the city does not currently He ended up moving to New York, where he felt appreci-
have specific incentives to support Native artists but works ated for his work, but was forced to move home during the
to connect them with state and nonprofit resources. “We are height of the pandemic. Back in New Mexico, he met Denet
in the process of developing a strategic action plan for our Deal. “She welcomed me into her space, where I’ve really
office,” she says. “Supporting Native entrepreneurs will be a flourished,” Tafoya says. “Her shop is really something new
key component—gathering input and making sure we have here and is breaking the mold in Santa Fe. I really think she’s
strategies identified.” creating a new wave by giving space for artists to create freely.”
Denet Deal recognizes the long-term significance of “I cherish and value our talent, innovations and energy as
opening a Native-owned space on Canyon Road. “I felt it was Native people,” Denet Deal says. 4KINSHIP reinvests prof-
necessary to be representative in an area that’s considered a its from store sales into the Native community, hiring Native
luxury, higher-end experience, and offer this space to younger photographers, models, writers, and filmmakers.
talents,” she says. 4KINSHIP also takes on community issues and raises needed
funds. Recently, 4KINSHIP spent five months raising about
For the Long Run $200,000 for Amá Dóó Áłchíní Bíghan, a shelter in Chinle,
Intergenerational dialogue permeates 4KINSHIP—between Arizona, for Diné domestic-abuse survivors. 4KINSHIP also
featured artists, and between those artists and their relatives raised funds to open and maintain the Diné Skate Garden Proj-
who have passed down traditional knowledge. Younger tal- ect to serve youth in Two Grey Hills. “It’s just a show of what we
ent has included Josh Tafoya, a Taos-based designer who can do when we work together,” she says.
handweaves and sews otherworldly, architectural garments, Denet Deal is committed to the vision, having signed a
and Suni Upshaw, who under the name Yesterday’s Flowers 10-year lease for the Santa Fe storefront. “We’re in this together,
makes stoneware vessels that explore her Diné and Japanese and for the long run.”
identities and ancestral practices. 4KINSHIP has also sold new ◆
4kinship.com | @4kinship
rugs by artists from Two Grey Hills, New Mexico, who carry
generations of weaving knowledge. Among them are Virginia Claire Voon is a Brooklyn-based journalist and critic who has contrib-
Jumbo, Shirley Brown, and Ashley Tsosie, who integrates uted to publications including the New York Times and Artforum.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 25

 the consummate
collector Along with her late husband George,
Dorothy Saxe built friendships with artists
while collecting their work. At age 97,
she reflects on her love of craft.

BY DEBORAH BISHOP

Before 1980, Dorothy Saxe had not collected much of anything, They paged through the Corning catalog, researched artists,
apart from some restaurant matchbooks back in her youth. and visited studios and galleries. Above all, they learned to trust
But soon thereafter, she and her late husband, real estate their gut—still the best advice Dorothy has for new collectors.
developer George Saxe, whom she’d met soon after graduat- The first pieces they acquired were by Richard Marquis,
ing from Northwestern University and who died in 2010, Jay Musler, “and someone I’ve never heard of before or since,”
began to amass one of the most thoughtful and free-ranging says Dorothy. “Many of the artists went on to have illustrious
collections of postwar studio craft in the country—more careers; others faded away. It made no difference to our enjoy-
than 700 objects rendered in glass, ceramic, fiber, metal, and ment, because we never bought anything as an investment.
wood, as well as jewelry. An object had to spark an emotional response—literally
“As a couple, we weren’t very acquisitive—we never cared demand, ‘Take me home with you.’”
about buying the latest stuff,” says Dorothy, a petite and This was a siren call they happily heeded, and when their
commanding woman of 97 who expresses herself in clipped, collection of glass outgrew their pied-à-terre in San Francisco,
declarative sentences that are often capped with a dryly George and Dorothy purchased the apartment next door to
humorous coda. “But once we discovered craft, I guess you gain display space. On a wintry day in November, the objects
could say that switch got flipped.” are animated by the crisp light that pours in through windows
The Saxes’ passion for collecting was sparked after their facing the whitecap-dotted bay. As Dorothy walks through
three children were grown. Both were immersed in philan- the rooms (wearing expressive jewelry by Sam Shaw), she rat-
thropic pursuits, and weekends found George on the golf tles off artists’ names and stories as if they’re family members
course and Dorothy attending opera and ballet. “We wanted or close friends—which, in fact, many are.
something new to us both, so we could learn and enjoy these “It was the most wonderful time of our lives,” Dorothy
experiences together—but we didn’t have any idea what that reminisces. “The people we met through craft became our best
might be,” Dorothy recalls. friends—fellow collectors, but especially artists like Howard
Photo courtesy of Craig Lee/The Examiner.

When a friend shared her catalog of The Corning Museum Ben Tré, Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey and Linda MacNeil, Flora
of Glass’s 1979 glass exhibition, New Glass: A Worldwide Sur- Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, and Billy Morris. George gave up
vey, the genie flew out of the bottle. “We had no inkling there golfing, because he said he preferred prowling around the gal-
was such a thing as contemporary art glass,” says Dorothy. leries and studios.”
“We fell in love with the work, and when a glass exhibition Sculptor Joey Kirkpatrick recalls dining with the Saxes in
came to the Oakland Museum six weeks later, George said, the early 1980s with his wife, artist Flora Mace, and becom-
‘Okay, this is it!’ But we hadn’t a clue where to start.” ing fast friends. “Flora and I had just returned from Pilchuck,
While many in their position might have turned to an art full of excitement, and George and Dorothy quickly became
adviser, the Saxes created their own immersion crash course. part of the fabric of the place—watching glassblowing and

26 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 “An object had to
spark an emotional
response—literally
demand, ‘Take me
home with you.’”
—Dorothy Saxe
Photo by XXXX.

Dorothy Saxe in her Menlo Park, California, home. Her

brass necklace, ca. 1985, is by Pal and Lumi Kepenyes.
Behind her is Robert Arneson’s ceramic self-portrait, A
Hollow Jesture, 1971, 20.25 x 12.5 x 14 in.
american craft fall 2023 / collect 27
 learning about being an artist from the ground floor,” recalls
Kirkpatrick. “They thought outside the box of established norms
“They thought outside
of collecting and put together a fantastic collection that not only
supported artists but inspired collectors too.”
the box of established
The Saxes also encouraged the next generation. Every spring,
Clifford Rainey—who chaired the glass department at California
norms of collecting and
College of Art—brought his students to the Saxes’ apartment,
where each selected three pieces that moved them and discussed
put together a fantastic
why. “They had a way of seeing things as artists that wouldn’t have
occurred to George or me, and we gained so much insight from
collection that not only
them into our own collection,” says Dorothy. supported artists but
After a few years of doggedly pursuing glass, there was
little left to buy. “George was getting the bends—he loved inspired collectors too.”
the thrill of the chase,” says Dorothy. As they contemplated
other media, it was in the context of their primary dwelling, a —Joey Kirkpatrick, sculptor
wood-shingled house in leafy Menlo Park, about 45 minutes
south of San Francisco.

28 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 THIS PAGE, ABOVE: Glass works in Saxe’s San Francisco
living room include 1990 portraits of her and her late
husband, George Saxe, by Narcissus Quagliata, and 23
other works, including the yellow sculpture by Ivan Mares
(left) and the tallest red sculpture on the shelves (right) by
Lino Tagliapietra, as well as pieces by Zoltan Bohus, Dan
Dailey, Alessandro Diaz de Santillana, Mona Hatoum, Jon
Kuhn, Jan Johannson, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava
Brychtová, Harvey Littleton, Matei Negreanu, Tom Patti,
Sibylle Peretti, Clifford Rainey, Bertil Vallien, Ann Wolff, and
Mary Ann Zynsky. LEFT: Clifford Rainey’s Fetish, 1990.
BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Three glassworks by Oben
Abright: Waiting Series II, 2004; West Oakland Torso, 2014;
and Silence Series II, 2003.

OPPOSITE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Clifford Rainey’s Freedom of

Conscience, 1989. Amber Cowan’s River Green and Mint,
2015. Two works by American glass artist William Morris:
Canopic Jar: Buck, 1993, and an untitled bird, date unknown.
Photos by Alanna Hale.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 29

30
Photo by XXXX.
 This sun-dappled space is cozier—more domestic and
inward-looking—than their city apartment, and a natural set-
ting for the ceramic, wood, fiber, and metal objects that reside
on every surface (a Viola Frey sculpture holds court over the
bathtub). The house is, in its way, a shrine to the very values
of postwar studio craft: a rejection of the mass-produced and
machine-made in favor of the personal and the handwrought.
“At first, the only ceramist we’d heard of was Peter
Voulkos,” says Dorothy. “So our dear friend, art dealer Ruth
Braunstein, took us to Pete’s studio to pick out a plate. She also
showed us some of his stack pieces, and we fell in love with
one, but it was way out of our price range for our first foray.
Ruth insisted we just enjoy it for a while and then return it.
So Pete came over for drinks and placed it in the house—and
it was terrific. Every time we tried to return it, Ruth lowered
the price—which was not our intention, although it’s a good
technique—until finally, we couldn’t afford not to keep it.”
The Voulkos stack was followed, in short order, by ceramists
such as Ron Nagle, Richard Shaw, Robert Arneson, Manuel
Neri, and Betty Woodman (“her pieces make my heart sing”)
and by objects and furniture in other materials—from a John
Cederquist trompe l’oeil chest to beaded jewelry by Joyce Scott,
a trove of Kay Sekimachi’s delicate fiber vessels, and a wall
of turned wood bowls by her late husband, Bob Stocksdale.
“Whenever George needed a fix, he’d visit Bob in Berkeley and
come home with two or three new bowls,” says Dorothy.
While Dorothy had long been enamored with textiles, their
fiber collection was jump-started when she and George received
a New York gallery announcement for Cranbrook-educated,
Colombian-born artist Olga de Amaral. “We adored the image,
so George called our good friend Jack [Lenor] Larson and asked
if he’d take a look. Jack said, ‘Buy it!’” That piece [Riscos I (Fibra
y Azul), 1983] still hangs over the fireplace.
Although both Saxe abodes are filled to the gills, many
works have already made the transition to their forever homes
in museums around the country. In fact, Dorothy considers that
she and George were not so much collectors as stewards. Bene-
ficiaries include the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, the Oak-
land Museum of California, San Francisco’s de Young Museum,
to which the Saxes bequeathed 223 objects by 132 artists in
1998 (of which 105 are already on-site), and many more. It was
important to them that the work primarily go to fine arts muse-
ums rather than craft-centric institutions, as a direct response to
the balkanization of studio craft by the art world at that time.
Photos by Alanna Hale.

ABOVE RIGHT: Viola Frey’s Mask & Rose (on the wall) and Paul Soldner’s
Untitled Vessel #36-48. RIGHT: Olga de Amaral’s hanging Riscos I (Fibra
y Azul). Betty Woodman’s Rose Pillow Pitcher (left) and Xiaoping Luo’s
A-1 Teapot (right) on the hearth. Side chair by Jay Stanger. OPPOSITE:
Sculptures by Sergei Isupov and Rick Dillingham on a Wendell Castle
coffee table. Behind the couch (left to right) are Richard Deutsch’s
Journey (on wall), Peter Voulkos’s Yogi, and Michael Lucero’s Mermaid.
 LEFT: In front of an unidentified
tapestry is a 1990 fiddleback
maple chair by Sam Maloof and a
2001 walnut end table by Tetsushi
Inoue. ABOVE: Nick Cave’s 2008
Untitled (Soundsuit). OPPOSITE,
TOP TO BOTTOM: Linda Sormin’s
Ta Saparot (pineapple eyes), 2019.
Two works by Al Farrow: Sabbath
Candelabra, 2017 (right), and
Dreidel, 2011/2019. Wanxin Zhang’s
Mao with Red Babies, 2008.

Discover More
To see details about the works
in these photos—which show a
small selection of the pieces in
Dorothy Saxe’s collection—visit
the online version of this article:
craftcouncil.org/DorothySaxe.

32 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 “George and I always
welcomed work that
was challenging and
thought-provoking.”
—Dorothy Saxe

“George and Dorothy were absolutely instrumen-

tal in shining a light and helping to erase the ridicu-
Photos by Alanna Hale. OPPOSITE LEFT: Photo by Alanna Hale. OPPOSITE RIGHT: Photo by Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

lous and arbitrary distinctions between art and craft

that were then so prevalent,” affirms de Young curator
Timothy Anglin Burgard, who met the Saxes in 1996
and wrote the book accompanying the 1999 exhibi-
tion—The Art of Craft: Contemporary Works from the
Saxe Collection. “And they played a vital role by visit-
ing studios, offering encouragement, and supporting
the infrastructure by purchasing through galleries.”
Although donating is at the cornerstone of the
Saxes’ philosophy, there are pieces Dorothy would
have liked living with just a little longer. Linda
Sormin’s abstract ceramic Ta Saparot (pineapple
eyes), a 2019 meditation on the chaos of migra-
tion, quickly joined the Smithsonian American
Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. And a Nick Cave
Soundsuit (Untitled, 2008) had a brief sojourn in
Menlo Park before moving to the de Young. “I do
miss that piece,” says Dorothy wistfully, describing
one of the ornate garments Cave created as a protec-
tive “second skin” in response to the vulnerability of
Black men after the police beating of Rodney King
(sadly as relevant now as they were in 1991).
“George and I always welcomed work that was
challenging and thought-provoking,” Dorothy con-
tinues, discussing art that meditates on the state of
humanity and the world. Two of Richard Notkin’s
surreal teapots (which he called “a visual plea for san-
ity”) rest in the den—one crowned with a mushroom
cloud (Cube Skull Teapot, Variation #25, 2001). A
powerful, glazed ceramic sculpture by Wanxin Zhang
of Chairman Mao holding bloody babies (Mao with
Red Babies, 2008) resides on Dorothy’s bedside table.
And she displays two pieces by Al Farrow—Driedl
and a Shabbos Candelabra—part of his series of rel-
iquaries rendered from munitions that explore the
intersection of religion and violence.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 33

 Photo by XXXX.

Ramekon O’Arwisters’s Flowered Thorns

#13 2021–2022, 2021, part of the Dorothy
Saxe Invitational at the Contemporary
Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

34 american craft fall 2023 / collect

Photo by Impart Photography, courtesy of Tosha Stimage. OPPOSITE: Photo by Impart Photography, courtesy of Ramekon O’Arwisters and the Patricia Sweetow Gallery.

Tosha Stimage’s installation No one is listening to

us, 2022, digital collage on paper, mixed media,
vintage ceramics, at the Dorothy Saxe Invitational.

Dorothy acquired the Farrow pieces at two of the Con- Dorothy, when asked about potential controversy. “The
temporary Jewish Museum’s Dorothy Saxe Invitation- museum and I hold firm in that belief, and I can’t wait to see
als, an endeavor she supports that asks artists to explore a what the next theme brings.”
Jewish object or concept within the context of their artis- Although she continues to attend galleries, studios, and
tic practice. “The Invitational combines two of my great- fairs, and recently joined a new group of glass enthusiasts, Dor-
est passions: I love Judaism and I love art,” says Dorothy. othy claims her collecting days are over. “I can’t decide if that
(Although Farrow is Jewish, many of the artists are not.) makes me happy or disappointed,” she allows. “There are so
Over the years, themes have ranged from Judaica such as many new artists making extraordinary work—and I’m aware
seder plates and Tzedakah boxes to such open-ended con- that our collection is in some ways dated. But I’m 97! If I buy
cepts as Sabbath and the latest iteration: Tikkun Olam—or something now, how much longer am I going to enjoy it?”
reparation. “It was so timely and provocative—the best one Most of the works have already been earmarked for insti-
yet,” says Dorothy. tutions, save for a few pieces selected by family. “I think
Among the 30 works at the most recent Invitational were a George and I may have been most impactful as pioneers—
Lava Thomas cracked mirror repaired with kintsugi-like gold both in the collecting and the gifting to museums,” says
leaf (Gilded Fracture, 2022); a Ramekon O’Arwisters assem- Dorothy. “Of course, they probably didn’t realize they’d
blage of fabric, jewelry, and ceramic shards (Flowered Thorns have to wait quite so long for the rest of it. It’s sure been a
#13 2021–22, 2021); and No one is listening to us (2022), an hell of a fun ride.”
installation by Tosha Stimage that depicts flora indigenous to
◆
Israel and Palestine and includes a Palestinian flag. “Tikkun Longtime contributor Deborah Bishop writes about craft, art, design,
refers to repairing something that is broken, and we leave it architecture—and other stuff—from her home base in San Francisco, a
to the artists to interpret that however they see fit,” affirms city she continues to love despite rumors of its imminent demise.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 35

 Pieces
of Life
Chris Malone’s elaborate clay and
mosaic sculptures tell stories of
spirituality and an unknown past.
BY AMBER LONG

Once, as a boy living on a farm in rural Indiana, Chris Malone

worked a sheet of aluminum foil until it gave way to the frag-
ile figure of a horse. “Wow, you’re pretty good at this,” his
mother said. “How about we give you some modeling clay.”
“What’s modeling clay?” Malone asked.
Today Malone, based in Maryland, makes striking clay fig-
ures and complex mosaic sculptures. Through them he tells
stories about his “unknown African past” and expresses his spir-
ituality. The faces of his intricate busts and dolls are often look-
ing up or frowning or fixing the spectator with a piercing gaze.
Malone’s work has appeared in such disparate publications
as the Washington Post and Art Doll Quarterly. He has shown
at the Brooklyn Art Museum in New York and is represented
by Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans. Several of his dolls
were featured in the 2012 film Woman Thou Art Loosed: On
the 7th Day, starring Pam Grier and Blair Underwood.
Malone, who is largely self-taught, credits his success to
the power of creativity and a strong personal drive derived
from his upbringing. “This was a true old-fashioned farm,”
Malone says of his childhood home. His family rose early
to tend to the cows, chickens, and skunk kits that called the
farm home, before the school bus came. “There was nothing
like, ‘I didn’t get around to milking the cow’ or ‘Oh, I forgot
Photo by Steven M. Cummings.

about the eggs.’ No, that was your responsibility.

“To this day, I’m up in the morning by 6:30 and I’m taking
care of things,” he says. “I’m working in the garden. I’m taking
care of the animals,” which include bull mastiffs, a labradoodle,
a bloodhound, and peafowls. “There’s no day off.” By 8 a.m.,
he’s in his home studio sculpting. Each of his pieces takes about
a month to finish, and he works on two or more at once.

36 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 Sculptural ceramic busts in the
woods next to Chris Malone’s kiln
shed in rural Maryland.
38 american craft fall 2023 / collect
 “It’s a lot like everyday
life. You just make
the right choices.”
—Chris Malone on allowing materials
to convey the stories behind his work

ABOVE: Malone’s They Told Me I Had No Reason To Be Upset,

2022, mixed media ceramic, 23 x 11 x 10 in. OPPOSITE:
Malone sculpting in his kiln shed and creative space.

Malone typically creates his sculptures in sections. When Maybe wire, and I could put felt on top of the wire. I could
making a doll, he begins by covering an aluminum core with put beads on top of that or into the felt to make it look like
polymer clay. He toasts each section for 20 minutes before paint- the hair is moving.”
ing it and joining it to another part of the doll. When working Fabric from local shops and feathers feature prominently.
on a bust, Malone covers an armature with paper, and then cov- “I have peacocks that drop their feathers every year,” he says.
ers the paper with ceramic clay. The type of armature varies based “I get their feathers, clean them off, and dry them out. I use
on the size of the bust. He allows the clay to sit for almost an those inside, around the head, or in different places on it. I
hour before cutting the head and body in two. He then hollows like for fabric to come from all over the world, different fab-
out the sections, scores them, and joins them back together. rics. Just like me, it took a lot of different kinds of people to
Many of his busts feature adornments such as feathers, create me. That’s what I do with the fabrics.”
fabric, beads, tiles, sculpted flowers, and geometric shapes— For a doll such as Don’t Move They Might Be Watching
Photos by Steven M. Cummings.

even parts of old sculptures that he breaks off and repurposes. (2019), Malone might fasten cloth and mirrors to the doll’s
It’s a free-form process of building and experimentation. He obsidian polymer skin. “I hollow out the head, then I join it
allows the materials to determine how the story behind an back together so there’s a hole in the back, large enough that I
individual sculpture or mosaic is conveyed. can set the eyes in,” he says. “The eyes are very important because
“It’s a lot like everyday life,” Malone explains, giving insight I want the eyes to grab people.” Malone embeds tiles and pieces
into this creative process. “You just make the right choices. of glass into the soft clay to provide movement and to control
I’m thinking about different kinds of things to use for hair. the degree of brilliance emanating from the fragments.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 39

 Malone is open to and inspired by voices that others
might disregard or simply not hear. The creation of his
mosaic-on-foam-board sculpture The Runaway is Hiding
in the Garden (2020) followed an encounter with a spirit.
“When I first moved to Alexandria, I was walking
through Old Town, either late at night or early in the
morning,” Malone says. “Old Town is kind of creepy any-
way. At night, there aren’t many people. I walked from
my apartment, and a spirit came to me.” The spirit asked
whether Malone was real. “Yes, I’m real,” he responded.
The spirit said, “I don’t think I’m real.”
“I don’t think you’re real, either,” Malone said.
The spirit added, “I don’t think I’m alive.”
The spirit told Malone that he’d escaped from some-
where and was hiding in an old woman’s garden. He
asked whether Malone was running away. Then he asked,
“Who owns you?”
“No one owns anyone anymore,” Malone said. “Or
they shouldn’t.”
When Malone explained that he was an artist living in
the present day, the spirit said he wanted him to tell his

40 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 story. The spirit’s energy pestered him all the while, leaving his
side only when the mosaic sculpture was completed.
Experiences such as this were normalized in his family.
“The ancestors are always present,” he says in his matter-of-
fact manner. “They’re not with you every day. They have other
things to do. This might be my reality, or this might be reality.
By saying that, I realize this is weird to some people.”
Malone has never sought formal training. Once, a high
school art teacher, spotting his talent, asked him to fill a sketch-
book with drawings conveying cubism, modernism, and neo-
classicism. The teacher mailed the sketchbook to a few colleges,
and Malone received two offers of admission.
“It meant nothing to me,” he says, recalling the economic
strife of his teenage years. “We were living day to day. Are we
going to have enough food? That’s what we were concentrating
on. When I got these envelopes, it was like getting something
in a foreign language. When I showed it to the teacher, she
was happy for me. But, through no fault of her own, she didn’t
explain to me what I should do next.”
Once he began pursuing his craft, Malone found that
teaching artists charged exorbitant fees or asked him to travel
long distances for classes. “I’m not taking my Black ass any-
where I didn’t feel I was wanted, in the middle of nowhere!”
Photo by Chris Malone. OPPOSITE TOP: Photo by Chris Malone. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Photo by Steven M. Cummings.

Instead, he picked up techniques from the craftspeople

around him, such as the contractors completing renovations
on his house, and applied them to his work. “You figure it
out,” he says. “Yeah, and I figured it out.”
Whether he’s honoring his beliefs, exploring the past, or
devising new ways to use mosaic pieces, finding his way as
an artist has required vulnerability and generosity. Malone
shares videos of his progress and setbacks on Instagram. He
teaches online and studio-based workshops such as “Creating
the Modern Doll” and “Mixed Media Character Sculpture
Materials,” providing other artists with some of the knowl-
edge that wasn’t readily available to him.
In 2021 Malone became a member of the Smithsonian’s
ABOVE: Malone’s But You Cannot Have My Power,
African American Craft Initiative, launched by the Center 2021, mixed media ceramic, 23 x 11 x 11 in.
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage to expand the visibility of OPPOSITE TOP: The Runaway is Hiding in the
African American artists. “It will be nice to see what we as a Garden, 2021, mosaic tile and glass, 48 x 10 x 3 in.
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Malone in his kiln shed and
group, and what the Smithsonian as an institution, will do creative space working on the sculpture I Can Only
with this,” he says. “We as crafters and artists should be inclu- Suggest, the Choices Are Yours.
sive and nice to each other.”
◆
@chrismalone634

Amber Long is a digital magazine intern with the Smithsonian Center

for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and an urban planner for the city of
Rogers, Arkansas. She’s a journalist and writer who hopes one day to
write a love poem in Pittsburgh.

This article was coproduced by the Smithsonian’s African American

Craft Initiative and American Craft.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 41

 Norwood Viviano’s Detroit
Population Shift, 2009, CNC
machined and cast aluminum,
36 x 26 x 18 in. The piece, which
depicts Detroit’s changing population
over time, took hundreds of hours to
carve and required a computerized mill.

SEEING IS BELIEVING
Three craft artists turn scientific data into visual
works that help explain the world.
BY PAOLA SINGER
 Made from kiln-cast
glass, Viviano’s Recasting
Detroit, 2021, combines
imagery from the city’s
manufacturing past and its
current urban landscape,
11 x 16.5 x 13.5 in.

After moving to Plainwell, Michigan, a town of seen from the air. Carving it required a computerized mill and
about 4,000 residents on the banks of the Kalamazoo River, took 300 hours.
artist Norwood Viviano realized that nearly everyone he met Viviano is part of a group of sculptors and craft artists who
had in some way been affected by the paper mill industry. The are using statistics and data in their creative processes. The
Plainwell Paper Mill, established in 1887, was the town’s beat- themes they deal with are varied, yet they seem unified in their
ing heart until it declared bankruptcy and shuttered its plant goal: to help people understand important social, political, and
two decades ago. environmental changes that occur over long periods of time.
Viviano chose Plainwell in 2005 to be close to Grand Val- “Craft is really effective at providing accessible pathways to
Photo by Tim Thayer / RM Hensleigh. OPPOSITE: Photo by Tim Thayer.

ley State University, where he teaches sculpture, and because understanding the world around us,” says Beth C. McLaughlin,
it seemed like a tranquil and affordable place to raise a family. artistic director and chief curator at the Fuller Craft Museum in
Being there, he says, made him think more deeply about the Massachusetts, which recently unveiled an exhibit called Mate-
“ties between industry and community and the hierarchies at rial Mapping: Data-driven Sculpture by Adrien Segal & Nor-
play,” leading him to create a series of metal sculptures called wood Viviano, on view until March 2024. “Humans have been
Recasting Michigan. The sculptures showed, in a tactile way, using their hands to convey information for thousands of years,
the population shifts that have taken place since the indus- and incorporating data is a way of expanding this tradition.”
trial revolution in manufacturing cities across the state. “That McLaughlin says she is seeing more and more craft
was my first foray into experimenting with data,” he says of related to data, as well as significant interest from collectors.
the works, completed between 2009 and 2011. “Most people Although the trend is hard to quantify, there is anecdotal
would walk right by raw statistics, but if you make it three- evidence supporting a growing link between facts and statis-
dimensional, it has an ability to draw you in.” tics and craft, including the publication this year of Making
One of the sculptures, made of cast and machined aluminum, with Data: Physical Design and Craft in a Data-Driven World
has an angular, geode-shaped base representing Detroit’s popula- (CRC Press), which presents more than two dozen contem-
tion growth and decline over time (it peaked in 1950), and a flat porary designers, researchers, and artists who are using data
top showing a detailed three-dimensional portrait of the city as to produce objects, spaces, and experiences.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 43

 The strands in California Water Rights, 2017,
Adrien Segal’s aluminum and ball chain suspended
sculpture, represent the largest permitted water
users in California, 34 x 16 x 32 ft.

Illustrating Natural Phenomena

Photo by Mario Gallucci, with art consultant Heidi McBride & Co.
Adrien Segal, the other artist in the Fuller exhibit, has used a Although the piece raises questions about sustainability
variety of materials, including bronze and plywood, to create and shows the perils of mismanaging a finite natural resource,
sculptures that illustrate environmental processes and natural Segal says she is more interested in presenting information in
phenomena. In 2017 she won a CODA award for California an experiential way than in feeding us an opinion.
Water Rights, a monumental site-specific installation based “Some people think I’m an environmental artist, but that’s
on water allocation data in California. The three-story piece, not a true reflection of who I am,” says the Oakland, Califor-
which occupies the atrium of a tech lab, is made of more than nia, resident. “I find inspiration in tapping into natural pat-
1,000 color-coded ball chains draped at varying lengths from terns and processes and connecting to these grander forces
an undulating metal “river” that hangs from the ceiling. Each in the universe. I provide the richest possible information
strand corresponds to the amount of water allocated to an about how I got to those things, but leave the interpretation
entity, be it a corporation, government institution, or individ- to others.”
ual, and each ball represents one acre-foot of water, or about Pressed further, she adds: “I don’t believe the purpose of
326,000 gallons, providing a striking visual of the immense art is to have an agenda.” In this sense, she’s somewhat of an
quantities of water used in the state. outlier among the cohort of artists who use data.

44 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 Depicting the Climate Crisis plant-derived fibers with petrochemical-derived fishing lines,
“I’ve been making work with climate data as a response to the drawing a connection between petrochemical extraction and
climate crisis for over eight years,” says Illinois-based weaver the buildup of toxic plastics in the earth and in human bodies.
and sculptor Tali Weinberg. “Before that, I made work about She uses a floor loom, generating the color-coded informa-
gender violence and other forms of injustice.” tion line of thread by line of thread. “I don’t think of weaving
Her recent climate-related series, 2021’s Silt Studies, in binary terms, but it does lend itself to this translation pro-
focuses on the minute particles of rocks and minerals that are cess,” she says of the craft, which has historically been linked
carried away by flowing water, eventually becoming sediments to mathematics, particularly geometry.
somewhere else. As Weinberg explains on her website, “When Weinberg’s tapestries are undeniably beautiful, the kind
ecosystems are polluted, silt goes from benign to destructive.” that could find a place of prominence on the walls of an elegant
TOP: Photo by Joseph Minek. BOTTOM LEFT: Photo by Melissa Luckenbaugh. BOTTOM RIGHT: Photo by Joseph Minek.

There are 18 Silt Studies, each a unique tapestry made home. When asked about the possibility that their attractive-
of hand-dyed, earth-toned cotton lines representing tem- ness might distract people from the message (i.e., the gravity
perature data for some of the major watersheds in the US, of the world’s environmental ills), she says that “art for centuries
including the South Atlantic Gulf Basin and the Lower Col- has used beauty as a way of engaging people.” But she also clari-
orado River Basin. “In my translation of the data, 126 years fies that, in addressing the climate crisis and the losses that come
takes form as 18 rows of color, each row an average of seven with it, it is worth remembering that “there is still a lot to care
years of temperature,” explains the artist, who interweaves for and protect, and a lot that’s still beautiful.”

TOP: Tali Weinberg’s Silt Study: Arkansas White River

Basin, Silt Study: Texas Gulf Coast River Basin, and Silt
Study: Lower Mississippi River Basin, 2021, plant fibers
and dyes, petrochemical-derived fishing line, 18 x 18 in.
each. BOTTOM LEFT: Weinberg in her studio. BOTTOM
RIGHT: Detail of Silt Study: Souris Red Rainy Basin, 2021.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 45

 The Beauty Draws You In
One of Norwood Viviano’s latest projects, Cities Underwater,
is also one of his most visually striking. It consists of nested
cylinders made of ethereal glass. Translucent blue outer vessels
represent water, and grayish inner vessels represent cities. These
interior vessels are thick at the bottom, depicting our present
time, and become impossibly thin at the top, our future. Using
lidar data (a remote sensing method used to examine the sur-
face of the Earth) along with scientific projections, Viviano
shows us the projected loss of land due to rising seas in a stark
way that is easy to grasp. By the year 2500, for example, New
Orleans could be completely underwater; New York City
could be 39 percent underwater.
“Beauty is a strategy to draw someone into a conversation
before they know what the work is about,” he says. “It may
make people more willing to engage with the content.”
Viviano started working with glass after completing a fel-
lowship at the New Jersey–based Wheaton Arts and Cultural
Center, an internationally acclaimed program devoted to
glass. Before that, he worked with ceramics, resin, and bronze.
Having access to university labs and workshops allows artists TOP: Installation detail of Viviano’s blown glass
to experiment with materiality and process, and thus bring Cities Underwater, 2018, showing predicted land
loss due to sea level rise in Boston; Galveston,
data to life in awe-inspiring ways. Texas; and Miami Beach and Miami, Florida.
Segal, for example, has her own studio in Alameda but BOTTOM: Viviano (second from right), Julian
sometimes uses the facilities at the California College of Goza, Benjamin Cobb, Sayuri Fukuda, Pablo
Soto, Niko Dimitrijevic, Gabe Feenan, and Sarah
the Arts, where she holds a teaching position. And one of Gilbert create a population graph of New York
her most important pieces, called Molalla River Meander, City during Viviano’s 2017 residency at the
was completed during a residency at the Oregon College Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.
of Arts and Craft. This wooden sculpture depicts the subtle

46 american craft fall 2023 / collect

TOP: Photo by Adrien Segal. BOTTOM: Photo courtesy of the artist. OPPOSITE: TOP: Photo by Cathy Carver. BOTTOM: Photo by Walter Lieberman.

TOP: Adrien Segal’s carved plywood Molalla

River Meander, 2013, shows changes in
alluvial flows in the Oregon river over 15 years,
15 x 46 x 11 in. BOTTOM: Segal grinding
away on Molalla River Meander.

changes in alluvial flows that happened over 15 years

in a section of the Molalla River in Oregon. It has 15
layers of plywood that were cut with a CNC router (a
machine that uses computer programming to control
a high-speed cutter), then carefully glued together
and sanded, resulting in a cohesive flowing form. “I
wanted people to connect to how a river moves in a
more intuitive way,” explains the artist.
Many of us think of data as being austere and unap-
proachable, but artists like Viviano, Segal, and Weinberg
make us realize that’s not necessarily true. Not as long as
we have the benefit of their artistic vision.
“We are trying to tell stories with data,” says Vivi-
ano, “of challenges related to the past, present, and
future—and we’re telling them from a point of view.”
◆
norwoodviviano.com | @norwoodviviano
adriensegal.com | @adriensegal
taliweinberg.com | @tali.weinberg
fullercraft.org | @fullercraft
Paola Singer is a New York City-based journalist who writes about
culture, design, and architecture for the New York Times, Architec-
tural Digest, and Condé Nast Traveler, among other publications.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 47

 “I didn’t want to stop playing
it. There was an immediate
connection, like I was
continuing the journey that
Eric had started.”
– Vijay Gupta on playing
an Eric Benning violin

Virtuoso violinist and Street

Symphony artistic director Vijay
Gupta with a prized violin made
by luthier Eric Benning.

48 american craft fall 2023 / collect

 IN TUNE
Virtuoso violinist Vijay Gupta and third-
generation luthier Eric Benning work together
to create beautiful music—and both share it
with marginalized communities.
BY ELIZABETH FOY LARSEN

When he was a 9-year-old boy studying at Juilliard, Vijay Gupta played

18th-century Italian violins borrowed from Machold Rare Violins, at
that time the world leader in the historic string instrument trade. Gupta
remembers Machold’s New York salon as something out of the court of
Versailles: impressive, overwhelming, intimidating.
The same could be said of the instruments he was playing. “Machold
had made a contract with my parents that when I was traveling around
the world as a soloist and playing their violins, an adult had to carry the
instrument,” he says. “So my dad was always carrying an instrument that
was worth three times the price of our home.”
Gupta signed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2007, when he was
only 19 years old, and was a member of the orchestra’s first violin section
for the next 12 years. Today he is the artistic director of Street Symphony,
a nonprofit that he founded to bring free musical experiences to disenfran-
chised communities, including people across Los Angeles who are strug-
gling with addiction and incarceration. He is also a cofounder of Skid Row
Arts Alliance, a consortium that creates art for and with the nation’s largest
homeless community. A 2018 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur fellow,
Gupta travels the world not only to perform and record but also to give
talks on anything from the connection between music and mental health
to the role music can play in social justice.
Along the way, Gupta has had the privilege of playing a number of
exceptional violins: from the 2003 Krutz he used for his LA Phil audi-
Photo by Kat Bawden.

tion, to a rare 1731 Domenico Montagnana that was loaned to him by

the orchestra, to the priceless 1716 Stradivarius that legendary Ukrainian
American violinist Nathan Milstein played for 40 years—an instrument
so dear to Milstein’s heart that he renamed it the “Maria Teresa” after his
wife and daughter.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 49

 These were all incredible instruments, but Gupta says music is for everyone, not just people who can afford orches-
none of them resonated with him in a way that made him tra tickets. Benning’s parents—luthiers Hans and Nancy
feel he had found his voice. That changed in February 2016, Benning—are of similar mind and in 2018 established the
when he was invited to give a talk in Canada. At the time, Benning Academy of Music Foundation, which funds music
Gupta was playing the LA Phil’s 1731 Montagnana, which schools for disadvantaged youth and adults in Mexico.
was worth millions of dollars. He couldn’t risk damaging it in A third-generation luthier, Benning started making his
the colder northern weather. first violin when he was 9 years old. “I studied with my folks,
Gupta asked a Los Angeles–based luthier and violin dealer which is the natural progression in this business,” he says.
named Eric Benning if he could borrow one of his violins for In 1997 he went to Chicago to study with Carl Becker, his
the trip. Benning offered Gupta a violin made in the style of great-uncle, whom he credits with having a pivotal role in his
18th-century Italian luthier Carlo Bergonzi, which Benning understanding of how to make instruments. Over the course
had just finished making in 2015. of his career, Benning has made more than 120 violins, violas,
“I didn’t want to stop playing it,” Gupta says, smiling at and cellos, completing 4 to 5 instruments a year.
the memory. “There was an immediate connection, like I was As an instrument dealer—Benning Violins in Studio City
continuing the journey that Eric had started. It wasn’t a thing. is a family business—Benning doesn’t hold on to his violins.
It was a living, breathing creature, and I was now part of the He wants them out in the world, being played. But he does
process. Eric had finished carving the wood and painting the
varnish, and now I was continuing the journey of that instru- DJ Sir Oliver mixes it up with Street Symphony
ment into the world.” players during a 2019 block party at the Midnight
Gupta’s connection to Benning’s violin resonated on more Mission in Los Angeles’s Skid Row. OPPOSITE:
Third-generation luthier Eric Benning inside
than a musical level. As his work with Street Symphony and Benning Violins, the family shop in Studio City,
Skid Row Arts Alliance shows, he is adamant that classical Los Angeles, which opened in 1953.

Photo by May Rigler. OPPOSITE: Photo by James Bernal.

50 american craft fall 2023 / collect

collect bows, including one that was made for a violinist in Germany. The wood has undergone a process that includes being
Napoleon’s court. Gupta also purchased his bow, made in the felled and floated down a river to a woodcutter, who sometimes
1840s by Jean Pierre Marie Persoit, from Benning Violins. puts the logs under a sprinkler to control the rate of drying before
Benning uses a combination of old-school machine and hand cutting them. The boards then age for several more years before
tools to craft his instruments. Cellos are especially demanding to they are ready to be sold. The aim is to leave enough moisture in
make. These days he can’t use a chisel for more than a half hour the wood to equal ambient moisture in order to prevent bowing,
due to a work-related shoulder injury he sustained when he was twisting, cupping, and splitting later. While many violin makers
younger. “Making instruments [requires] very concentrated prefer tonewood that has seasoned for 5 to 10 years after being
effort in a very small form,” he explains. “So you are tense and cut, Benning still stocks wood that his parents and grandfather
you have to [remember] to relax at times and let stress off. But purchased as far back as the 1940s.
when you are young and you are strong, you can muscle through Gupta purchased the 2015 Benning and played it for several
and all of a sudden you are like, Oh, why does that hurt?” years until a 2010 Benning Stradivarius model came up for sale
Benning purchases most of his tonewood—wood that and they did an even swap for the instruments. Benning still
possesses specific tonal qualities—from dealers in southern remembers the details of the 2010, which is made of Bosnian

american craft fall 2023 / collect 51

Photo by XXXX.
 ABOVE: Tonewood, used in making
stringed instruments, is meticulously
dried and possesses specific tonal
qualities. RIGHT: Cubbies where
Benning instruments are stored.
OPPOSITE TOP: Eric Benning works
on a violin while his son Levi looks on.
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Eric’s father,
Hans Benning, met his wife, fellow
luthier Nancy (formerly Toenniges),
in Germany. Together they have
run the shop for decades.
Photos by James Bernal.

american craft fall 2023 / collect 53

 maple and Italian spruce that his grandfather had acquired
in the 1940s. “As a maker, you look at wood and you just
have a desire to make it. . . . You see something gorgeous
and you’re just like, Oh, I want to see what that thing does,”
he says of his decision to use those particular pieces.
Today, the 2010 Benning is Gupta’s primary vio-
lin. “It’s my Maria Teresa,” he says, adding that he and
Benning have worked together frequently to refine the
instrument, making tweaks to the sound post, which
Benning says can affect the tone and responsiveness of
an instrument. They have also made string changes and
bridge and tailpiece adjustments.
“An artist’s voice is never found in a vacuum, ever,”
Gupta explains. “It’s co-created. So my voice is as much
Eric Benning’s voice as it is the voice of the room I’m
playing in, and the people I’m playing for, and the audio
engineer recording me.”
◆
guptaviolin.com | @guptaviolin
benningviolins.com | @benningviolins

Elizabeth Foy Larsen is a writer and editor living in

Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in the New
York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Mother
Jones, the Daily Beast, Travel + Leisure, and
the Star Tribune.

ABOVE: Eric Benning adds

strings to an instrument.
BELOW: Vijay Gupta makes
beautiful music on one of
Benning’s lovingly crafted violins.

TOP: Photo by James Bernal. BOTTOM: Photo by Kat Bawden.

54
 Thank You to Our Major Donors
for Helping Bring the Craft
Community Together
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56
THE CRAFTED LIFE
 IN MY STUDIO

The Night Owl Downstairs

A Korean painter, printmaker, and ceramic artist has created and collected in her
Atlanta basement studios for seven years while family life proceeded upstairs. BY JIHA MOON

ABOVE: Jiha Moon in her painting studio. For her new still life series, Moon mounted Korean mulberry paper, or hanji, on canvas, then used ink
and acrylic to paint symbolic icons including the peach, peony flowers, and haetae, a Korean mythical creature that protects family and loved ones.
OPPOSITE: Moon’s work table in her painting studio, where she takes her ceramic sculptures to draw and paint on them with underglaze and glaze.

I am an artist who makes paintings, drawings, prints, and woodshop that the previous homeowner built in the base-
sculptural ceramics. I am a middle-aged immigrant Korean ment boiler room. My workspace is on the hill side of the
woman and mom of a 14-year-old biracial teenager. I am also a house, and from it I can access the backyard and garden.
full-time professor. Atlanta is the city where I have lived the lon- My dad, who lived in Korea, used to tell me that Atlanta
gest besides my hometown of Daegu, South Korea. We live in a is a sister city of Daegu. I doubt there was anything going on
suburb called Doraville, at the end of the Atlanta metro system’s between the two cities, but I understand why he kept talking
Gold Line. Overall, I have chosen the American suburban life about it—he wanted to relate to us closely. I get it, because I
with my family, while trying my best to be an active artist. also find myself constantly trying to make connections between
Photos by Ari Skin.

We live in a ranch-style house with a large family enter- Korean and American cultures. It became my habit to collect
tainment room in the basement that I turned into a painting relatable images, products, stories, and people. For example,
studio. The only change I made was to remove the carpeting. my hometown is known for producing apples, and Atlanta is
I also have a ceramic studio, which is located in a former known for peaches: this iconic fruit often appears in my work.

the crafted life / american craft fall 2023 / collect 57

IN MY STUDIO

Starting with the idea of linking East and West, my adven-

My brain and body have ture in connecting things is constantly manifesting. Old and
adopted disruption as part of new, Gen X and millennial, Korean mulberry paper and acrylic
paint . . . It became my mission to hybridize different things to
the creative process, and it make new and odd things in my art practice.

has been this way for more A Place for Two Studios
I started using clay as a medium about 10 years ago. I wanted
than a decade. I don’t try to to make scholar’s rocks with clay (found rock formations that
look like landscapes or animals of cool abstract form; my par-
carve out the perfect moment ents used to collect these weird-looking objects). When I won
MOCA GA’s Working Artist Project award in 2012, I signed
to work, because that does up to work at MudFire, the local clay studio in Decatur, for a
year. I paid the entire year’s membership up front to encourage
not exist in my world. myself to go there regularly, giving myself enough time to play
with clay and develop fluency with the medium.
As a painter who usually works alone, being in a community-
based studio was not easy at first. I felt awkward and often uncom-
fortable in the big, open setting. People there wondered if my
sculptures were functional. I hand-build and throw, often follow-
ing the shapes of vessels to build the forms and then altering or
deconstructing them. My intentions were mysterious to people
who were used to thinking of clay objects mainly in terms of how
they function. When I cut a big hole out of a thrown vase, I was
asked if I planned to put a candle inside. Through these interesting
reactions, I learned to understand objecthood and how to com-
municate with objects to make better sculpture. Overall, I met so

Photo by Jiha Moon, courtesy of the artist and Derek Eller Gallery. OPPOSITE: Photos by Ari Skin.
many wonderful people and learned a totally different perspective.
It was an amazing social study for my own understanding.
In 2016, after some exploration around the neighborhood, my
husband and I found our home in Doraville where I could have my
painting and ceramic studios in the basement. I put wood panels
over sawhorses to make large tables where I often bring my sculp-
tures to paint. The same year, I won an Artadia Award and bought
a Skutt kiln and Shimpo wheel to complete my ceramic studio.

Connecting Work, Family, and Mediums

I have had studios outside of my house, but it was never ideal. I
spent too much time driving back and forth, and paying rent for
two studios was a lot. I needed a place where I could take care of
my family, get rest, eat, and work all in one place. I like having my
studios at home. While I am working, I can hear my son taking a
shower and my two dogs running around rambunctiously—and I
can smell what my husband is cooking upstairs. It can be distract-
ing. Sometimes I have to yell through the ceiling for everyone to
be quiet, but I love this setting.
I find my peace within chaos. When I know my family is
doing what they need to do, I can better focus on my work. My
brain and body have adopted disruption as part of the creative
process, and it has been this way for more than a decade. I don’t

58 american craft fall 2023 / collect / the crafted life

ABOVE: Jiha Moon’s bisque-fired ceramics wait to be drawn on and
glazed. BELOW: The artist upstairs in her home with her son, Oliver Moon
Wilson, and their poodle, Miso Moon Wilson. OPPOSITE: Moon’s Haetae
(yellow ears), 2022, stoneware, underglaze, and glaze, 15.5 x 6.5 x 7 in.

try to carve out the perfect moment to work, because that does not exist
in my world. However, I confess I am a night owl and work best when
everyone else has gone to bed. I am finally left alone after 10 p.m. Some-
times I find myself up until 3 a.m. working. I finally get into my zone and
my process is moving, and alas, I cannot stop until it gets late.
I like to play the same movies or K-dramas on Netflix over and over
for background noise. Sometimes I do watch, but most of the time I am
just listening because I have seen what is happening already and it does
not require my full attention. Plus, this is the way I keep track of time.
I have played the Netflix series Ugly Delicious (featuring star chef David
Chang) several times. Recently I have been watching Somebody Feed Phil.
The show takes us to different cities and countries to learn about food
and culture. It is warm and funny and full of jokes. Have I told you how I
learned English? It was by watching Friends and You’ve Got Mail nonstop.
Anyhow, besides my night owl habit, I have another struggle, which
is to balance splitting my time between my painting and ceramic studios.

the crafted life / american craft fall 2023 / collect 59

IN MY STUDIO

ABOVE: This in-progress green sculpture includes fish scale

patterns and a goddess. LEFT: Moon draws and paints on a piece
inspired by the haetae and Pennsylvania Dutch folk art.

People asked if I like one medium over the other, and they York City, I made a centerpiece using this pattern. Blue Wil-
both give me different, difficult tasks and joys. They both low was designed by a British company based on a made-up
take a long time to convert concepts into process. I jokingly Chinese love story. People here collect these objects to affirm
say the painting process is like dealing with my husband (a their fantasy of Eastern beauty and tradition.
good old problem) and the ceramic process is more like my My family and I plan to move this fall to Tallahassee, Flor-
teenage son (a new, adventurous, and unexpected problem). ida, as I recently accepted a position at Florida State Univer-
They are similar yet very different. I still have not structured sity teaching painting. I am sad to leave Doraville and Atlanta,
my studio discipline perfectly, but I follow my deadline but I’m also excited to start my next chapter. Of course, I will
and exhibition schedules for both practices, and it has been have to rebuild my studios all over again, but perhaps they
manageable so far. Of course, painting and ceramics influ- will be even better than the ones we have here. As my hus-
ence each other so much. band points out, “Every time we move, we upgrade our life
and things get better.” I am hopeful that this necessary chaos
Conceptual Collections, Making Moves will be adventurous and inspirational.
What else? I collect many objects and images based on my ◆
conceptual interests. My studios are full of objects that I have jihamoon.com | @moonjiha
made and found. When I was hooked on the color blue and on
Blue Willow ceramic patterns, I went to every thrift store in Jiha Moon is from Daegu, South Korea, and is moving from Atlanta,
Photos by Ari Skin.

Georgia, to Tallahassee, Florida. Moon’s work has been acquired by

town to find old Blue Willow plates and tea cups. My friends
museums around the country, including the Asia Society Museum in
also sent them to me. I often incorporate these patterns into New York City and the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture
both my paintings and ceramic surfaces. For Stranger Yel- Garden in Washington, DC. She will have a solo exhibition at Shoshana
low, a solo exhibition in 2022 at Derek Eller Gallery in New Wayne Gallery in Los Angeles in November.

60 american craft fall 2023 / collect / the crafted life

BOTTOM LEFT: Photo by Ari Skin. ALL OTHER IMAGES: Photos by Russell Kilgore, courtesy of the artist and Derek Eller Gallery.

ABOVE: Yellowillow, 2021, stoneware, underglaze, and glaze,

15 x 11 x 11 in. RIGHT: Yellow Hare, 2023, stoneware, porcelain,
underglaze, and glaze, 21.5 x 12 x 10 in. BOTTOM LEFT: Bless Your
Heart, Keanu, 2023, sits at the center of a collection of pieces in the
studio. BOTTOM RIGHT: Yellowave Spine, 2021, 19.5 x 9.5 x 8 in.

the crafted life / american craft fall 2023 / collect 61

 With handcrafted furniture, the
process of looking through music can
be as wonderful as listening to it. This detail
shows the flip bins at the top of the Dovetail
Vinyl Storage Cabinet from Symbol Audio.

Craft That Holds

Three small companies handcraft storage crates, shelves, and credenzas
to help music collectors organize all that vinyl. BY DANIEL WAITE PENNY

During the most recent Record Store Day—an event held With this revival in record sales, a flourishing category of
every April to celebrate independently owned record stores— furniture has emerged for storage and display. And just like the
more than 1.8 million records made their way into the hands indie acts and local bands that have become most associated
Photo courtesy of Symbol Audio.

of fans and collectors. It was the best week of sales in years. with the return of analog music technology, this new wave of
Following an ebb in the early 2000s, record sales in the US record storage is being led by independent artisans and crafts-
have increased dramatically. In 2022, the Recording Industry people at small companies who understand that for vinyl
Association of America tallied the sales of 41.3 million EPs enthusiasts, it’s always been about more than just the music.
and LPs. It turns out that despite the pervasiveness of digi- These companies are reimagining the way we collect
tal recordings—or perhaps because of it—some fans crave a records by creating handcrafted pieces for vinyl storage and
physical connection to the music they love. display that are designed to stand the test of time.

62 american craft fall 2023 / collect / the crafted life

 STORAGE

FORM & FINISH

Mystic, Connecticut
formandfinish.co | @formandfinishco

“Every time I see records in milk crates, I cringe

a bit,” says Geoff Foote, cofounder of Form &
Finish, a small record storage and cabinet man-
ufacturer based in Connecticut. “Milk crates
are ugly.” Still, he has to admit there were some
benefits to this dorm-room method of storing
record collections; crates are cheap, strong,
stackable, and small enough that a single per-
son can carry one when it’s full of all that vinyl
and cardboard.
The aesthetic problem of record storage
nagged at Foote for years, but he never had
much time to devote to it until the pandemic
hit in 2020. Foote was a record collector himself
who grew up in the heavy metal and hardcore
scene in the Boston area before starting Orion
Manufacturing, a custom architectural mill-
work company in Mystic. When the pandemic
slowed the construction trade, he found himself
with time to design storage pieces he could be
proud to have in his living room—not to men-
tion a surfeit of Russian birch plywood and
some idle CNC milling machines.
Thus the Form & Finish Chelle vinyl crate was
born. Foote uses his Orion union shop to handle
the construction: ripping, spray-finishing, and
then vacuum-pressing veneer onto large sheets
of plywood. From there the pieces are crosscut
to length, pre-drilled, and finished with organic
boiled linseed oil for a nice amber color. Made
of 5/8-inch-thick plywood, the crate is stack-
able, durable, and modular—everything Foote
had been searching for to store his records. Most
important, it is accessible; the products are all flat
packed, delivered with American-made fasteners,
and assembled at home by customers with just a
screwdriver. While some collectors might balk
Photo courtesy of Form & Finish.

at having to put together their crates and shelves

themselves, Foote knew there would be others who
were attracted to the analog nature of the process.
“If you can calibrate a tonearm,” he says,
referring to the highly sensitive part of the The Chelle Vinyl Cube by Form & Finish, shown here in
record player that holds the needle above the walnut, comes with a removable storage crate that glides
thanks to soft close undermount drawer slides. The cube
vinyl, “you’re already comfortable with a lot of features integral grommeted cord management and is
the thinking involved.” customizable, 24 x 19 x 20.5 in.

the crafted life / american craft fall 2023 / collect 63

 The Open 45 Credenza from Geology in oiled
walnut, 21 x 60 x 21 in., features a slotted interior
that allows for movable divider panels. The shelves
can be moved, too, and a cord channel runs the
length of the unit for hidden cable management.

GEOLOGY
Los Angeles
geologystudio.com | @geology_studio

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Adam Friedman, founder of Friedman’s Open 45 can accommodate—sometimes requiring
design studio Geology, has been experimenting with custom space for up to 30 linear feet of vinyl. To handle the physics of
vinyl displays that are as opulent as they are innovative. For bigger collections, Friedman came up with a wood-and-steel
Friedman, the design of his deluxe record storage systems structure made in his LA workshop called the Wall of Sound
came from his dissatisfaction with how little he was actually (after Phil Spector’s lush production style). Resembling a labo-
using his record player to listen to music. ratory shelving system, the wood construction comprises more
Why not make something that promotes the use of it, makes than 100 individually fabricated pieces, and the metal frame
it easy, makes it appealing? he asked himself. This question requires over 50 individual welds with 40 threaded attachment
led him to design and build a credenza made from the finest points for the woodwork. To keep all these records from crush-
FSC-certified walnut and more than 70 individually hand- ing an overzealous collector, the Wall of Sound anchors to the
crafted components. The result is a piece of furniture that wall behind it with attachments utilizing custom-milled mag-
displays records on a 45-degree bias in a unique visual entice- netic cover plates.
Photo courtesy of Geology.

ment that makes your favorite albums into works of art. To Such complex, custom installations come at a steep cost
heighten the aesthetics, Friedman kept everything else out (upwards of $20,000), but for the audiophile who might spend
of sight with an interior cord management system for power $6,000 on a record player needle, it’s a small price to pay to have
cords and speaker cables that passes below the records and an heirloom-quality piece of furniture to hold their prized col-
runs the length of the cabinet. lection. “You want it to be solid for decades,” Friedman says.
But some record enthusiasts need more storage than “How is it going to last generationally?”

64 american craft fall 2023 / collect / the crafted life

 STORAGE

SYMBOL AUDIO
Nyack, New York
symbolaudio.com | @symbolaudio

Like Foote and Friedman, the father-and-son design team of can scale up to the massive flagship Modern Record Console.
Blake and Walker Tovin found themselves on a similar jour- This statement piece is constructed of 14-foot American black
ney back to vinyl, but they were frustrated by the lack of con- walnut boards and sits on a base made of precision cut, TIG
temporary, high-end pieces to store and display their growing welded, quarter-inch stainless steel plates. It’s finished with a
collections. Having long operated a furniture studio based hand-applied patinated coating. All of this work is done by a
in New York City and Nyack that sold designs to the likes single craftsperson, totaling 100 hours of labor. Beneath the
of West Elm and Restoration Hardware, the Tovins decided ocean of wood grain, record lovers will find 6.5-inch, full-range
they wanted to create something they could control from speaker drivers and a 300-watt subwoofer powered by a tube
start to finish. So they launched a new firm, Symbol Audio, amplifier for an unparalleled warm sound.
dedicated to their longtime hobby. Though the Tovins have different tastes in music—
Becauseiur?
Ommolum, ofQuis
their commitment to making in the US with Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is a favorite of Blake’s while
Americanexplame
demporem wood, Symbol chose to partner with a small fac- Walker is more into Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt—an obsessive
sus
toryetinvoluptis
West Virginia that is known among industry insiders love of music is woven into the fabric of the company. “We’ve
dollige nihiliqui nus
for turning
aliquid molupta out very high quality wood furniture (the Tovins got a Slack channel for sharing music, and we listen to music
prefer
dolo that the factory go unnamed here). But it wasn’t just
diorumque eight hours a day in the office,” says Walker Tovin, Symbol’s
ium
aboutquodi voluptataand storytelling: 90 percent of the American
aesthetics brand director. “It really is a business that’s authentic to the
voluptias delestio.
hardwoods
Nempel. used in Symbol’s furniture are sourced within 70 passion that we all have.”
miles of their production facility. ◆
Symbol Audio tries to appeal to design lovers as much as to Daniel Waite Penny is a journalist who writes about culture and climate.
audio geeks. At their entry level is the 24-inch Unison model— His work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, GQ, and
an all-in-one record playing and storage solution—but things elsewhere. He is the host of the new podcast Non-toxic.

The 52-inch Unison model from Symbol Audio in natural ash, 34 x 52 x 18 in.,
holds stereo equipment behind a swinging door and up to 420 LPs. It features a
vibration-isolated turntable platform and flip bin–style record storage.
cords and speaker cables that passes below the records and
GEOLOGY runs the length of the cabinet.
But some record enthusiasts need more storage than Fried-
Los Angeles man’s Open 45 can accommodate—sometimes requiring
geologystudio.com | @geology_studio space for up to 30 linear feet of vinyl. To handle the physics of
bigger collections, Friedman came up with a wood-and-steel
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Adam Friedman, founder of structure made in his LA workshop called the Wall of Sound
design studio Geology, has been experimenting with custom (after Phil Spector’s lush production style). Resembling a lab-
vinyl displays that are as opulent as they are innovative. For oratory shelving system, the wood construction comprises
Friedman, the design of his deluxe record storage systems more than 100 individually fabricated pieces, and the metal
came from his dissatisfaction with how little he was actually frame requires over 50 individual welds with 40 threaded
using his record player to listen to music. attachment points for the woodwork. To keep all these
Why not make something that promotes the use of it, makes records from crushing an overzealous collector, the Wall of
it easy, makes it appealing? he asked himself. This question Sound anchors to the wall behind it with eight attachments
Photo courtesy of Symbol Audio.

led him to design and build a credenza made from the finest utilizing custom-milled magnetic cover plates.
FSC-certified walnut and more than 70 individually hand- Such complex, custom installations come at a steep cost
crafted components. The result is a piece of furniture that (upwards of $20,000), but for the audiophile who might
displays records on a 45-degree bias in a unique visual entice- spend $6,000 on a record player needle, it’s a small price to
ment that makes your favorite albums into works of art. To pay to have an heirloom-quality piece of furniture to hold
heighten the aesthetics, Friedman kept everything else out their prized collection. “You want it to be solid for decades,”
of sight with an interior cord management system for power Friedman said. “How is it going to last generationally?”

the crafted life / american craft fall 2023 / collect 65

 Empowering Artists of Color—
Transforming Community

Indigo Arts Alliance’s unique Mentorship Residency Program is an

arts incubator that pairs artists during a residency period. Artist “The AiR program gave me the time
pairings consist of a national or international artist who travels to and space to find the core of my artistic
Maine to be in residence with a New England–based artist. The practice. The way Indigo Arts Alliance
residency cultivates rich conversation, collaboration, art industry brings together Black and Brown artists

knowledge, and technical skills.

and creatives is unique, not only in
Maine, but also around the country.”
Indigo Arts Alliance creates positive relationships that enhance the — Liz Rhaney
AiR Alum ’22
individual artists’ life experience in ways that build lasting connections.

Applications are open

for Black and Brown
New England–based artists

indigoartsalliance.me
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 FROM ACC’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Baltimore Marketplace
March 15 – 17, 2024
Baltimore Convention Center

Fall will be here soon, and here

in the Upper Midwest, many of
us are eagerly anticipating the
return of crisp autumn air. The
American Craft Council is also
preparing to welcome a change of
seasons, metaphorically speaking.
As I mentioned in my last message in American
Craft, ACC has worked diligently to complete a
strategic planning process aimed at identifying the
impact we seek to have in the world through craft. The
outcomes of this process, which we are excited to share
soon on our digital platforms and the pages of this
magazine, reflect the collective wisdom that hundreds
have shared with us over many months. To those who
participated in one of our strategic planning surveys or
shared their perspective in a conversation with our staff
or planning partners, I give heartfelt thanks.
I am also profoundly grateful to all our members
and donors for your steadfast support. ACC turns
80 in 2023, and one of the ways we’ve marked this
occasion is by completing the most successful Giving
Week campaign in our history. Giving Week is a project
of current and former ACC trustees to broaden the
circle of individuals who support our work. Thanks
to our trustees’ leadership and commitment—and
your generosity as ACC members and donors—we
are able to foster the livelihoods of craft artists and
cultivate an audience that values the artful work of
the human hand. Shop, support and celebrate the
Once annually, it is our honor to recognize all current
ACC donors within the pages of American Craft. As you work of 350 artists at ACC’s flagship
savor this issue, please be sure to pause at page 55 to take
in this inspiring list of individuals and institutions who
believe, with us, in the power of craft to foster a more marketplace, now in its 47th year. Join
joyful, humane, and regenerative world.
more than 10,000 craft enthusiasts

as we gather for an immersive and

ANDREA SPECHT / American Craft Council Executive Director

interactive community experience.

Photo by Devon Cox.

Learn more at:

CRAFTCOUNCIL.ORG/
BALTIMORE2024
 CONGRATULATIONS to
American Craft Council’s 2023
Emerging Artists Cohort Participants.
ACC’s Emerging Artists Cohort program Daniel Brockett Lexy Ho-Tai
engages 11 innovative early-career artists Leechburg, Pennsylvania Brooklyn, New York
who are expanding the boundaries of foggyblossomfarm.com @foggyblossomfarm lexymakesthings.com @lexymakesthings
craft in a three-month virtual intensive to Dan Brockett (he/him) creates Lexy Ho-Tai (she/her) is an
advance their professional creative practice. handwoven baskets from artist, educator, and goopy
Cohort participants will connect with willow grown on his human. She recently
established leaders from across the industry, 12-acre property, built and burned a giant
including curators, designers, and gallerists, Foggy Blossom heartbreak monster,
and learn from exhibiting, marketplace, Farm, in Leechburg, and is currently
and social practice artists to gain a deeper Pennsylvania. As a constructing tiny
understanding of their field and cultivate grower turned self- textile versions of her
opportunities to thrive in their careers. taught artist, there is an family for a stop-motion
Projects designed and developed during the element of companionship animation. Her practice
intensive will be supported by a business with, and reverence for, is expansive and ever-
accelerator grant awarded upon completion his material that permeates changing, but often rooted in
every project. From choosing the exploring human connection, otherness,
of the program.
willow varieties he plants to eventually and world-building through craft, play,
Learn more about our 2023 harvesting and selecting each rod for DIY, and collaboration. She's bad at
Emerging Artists Cohort Participants a specific basket, Dan’s desire to be in small talk, convinced that everything
at CRAFTCOUNCIL.ORG/COHORT2023 relationship with all aspects of his craft is made up, and uses art to explore
is the driving force behind his work. alternative ways of being in this world.

Adam Atkinson Renata Cassiano Alvarez Cedric Mitchell

Bakersville, North Carolina Springdale, Arkansas El Segundo, California
adamatkinsonart.com @adamatkinson_art renatacassiano.com @renatacassiano cedricmitchelldesign.com @cedricmitchelldesign
Photo by Myles Pettengill
Renata Cassiano Alvarez Cedric Mitchell (he/him) is a Los
Adam Atkinson (he/they) is (she/her) is a Mexican Italian Angeles–based glass artist
a metalsmith, curator, artist born in Mexico City from Oklahoma. He is
and educator. Atkinson and currently a visiting inspired by an eccentric
received an MFA in assistant professor mix of graffiti art, pop
metal design at East at the University of culture, mid-century
Carolina University in Arkansas School modern, and Memphis
2019, and a BFA in of Art. She works design. Cedric creates
interdisciplinary studio predominantly in the work that ranges from
practices at Boise State medium of clay, searching functional to decorative
University in 2013. Their to develop an intimate art, combining simplicity
work has been exhibited collaborative relationship with in design with bold colors to
nationally and internationally material. Influenced by archaeology and craft handblown vessels
including at Boone Art and History history, she is interested in the power with a purpose.
Museum in Columbia, Missouri, and of objects with a sense of permanence
Nagoya Zokei University in Nagoya, and timelessness and language as
Japan, among others. They have been transformation. Her work has been
awarded numerous residencies including exhibited internationally and can be found
the Emerging Artist Residency at the in public and private collections. She
Baltimore Jewelry Center and the three- works between her studio in Veracruz,
year residency at Penland School Mexico, and Fayetteville, Arkansas.
of Craft.

74 american craft fall 2023 / collect / from the american craft council
Kristy Moreno Erin Peña Ọmọlará Williams McCallister
Helena, Montana Minneapolis, Minnesota Baltimore, Maryland
kristymorenoart.weebly.com @kristy.moreno @hummingbird_knight omolarawilliamsmccallister.art @adornedbyo
Photo by Amanda Greene Photography
Kristy Moreno (she/her) Erin Peña (they/them) is a
is a Mexican American queer, Jewish beader based Ọmọlará Williams McCallister
artist born in the city of in Minneapolis. They (Ọ, love, beloved) was born
Inglewood, California. have worked with beads and raised in Atlanta,
Moving to Orange since they were a child, Georgia. Ọ currently calls
County inspired her and these days they Baltimore, Maryland
to become involved in primarily create abstract home. Ọ’s work is a
the art communities of geometric sculptures call/response blend of
Santa Ana, leading her from beads and thread. sculpture, performance,
to collaborate with group They draw their inspiration installation, ritual, space
collectives including We Are both from mathematical holding, community
Rodents and Konsept. She then forms and from the natural building, surface design,
attended Santa Ana College where she world, blending crystalline and organic adornment, word, sound,
found an interest in ceramics that led her structures in a way that is compelling and song, movement, moving images, and
to transfer to California State University, unique. Their work has been shown in photography. Ọmọlará uses a combination
Chico, to pursue a BFA degree. Her several galleries and has been recognized of traditional and nontraditional materials
work now spans mediums to bring with multiple awards. including scraps, hand-me-downs, and
awareness and visibility to an abundant found and foraged materials from love’s
future. Kristy is currently an artist in Tracy Wilkinson studio, home, and local landscapes. The
residence at the Archie Bray Foundation. Los Angeles, California resulting material language provides a
tracywilkinson.com @twworkshop cohesive portrait of the many worlds that
Mika Obayashi Ọmọlará inhabits and moves through.
Tracy (she/her) is a British
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ọ cofounded the Baltimore Community
artist, living and working in
mikaobayashi.com @mikaobayashi Weaving Studio along with Najee Haynes-
Los Angeles, California.
Follins in May 2021.
Mika Obayashi (she/her) is She is a sculptor, working
a fiber and installation in mixed media, primarily
artist from Michigan. glass and clay. She Ger Xiong
Minneapolis, Minnesota
She received her BA from studied at the Royal gerxiong.com @gerxiong55
Amherst College and has College of Art in London,
exhibited her work in the graduating in 1988 with Ger Xiong (he/him) was born
US and Japan. She is a an MA in fashion and in Thailand and immigrated
recipient of the Amelia textile design. to the United States as
Peabody Award for a Hmong refugee of
Sculpture given by the St. the Vietnam War. He
Botolph Club Foundation in received his BFA with an
Boston (2020) as well as the emphasis in metals and
Mass Cultural Council Recovery jewelry at the University
Grant (2023), and was a resident at the of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Women’s Studio Workshop in Kingston, and MFA at New Mexico
New York (2022). She is currently State University. His work
pursuing her MFA at the Tyler has been exhibited throughout
This program is possible thanks to the
School of Art and Architecture in Windgate Charitable Foundation.
the US and published in Australia. He
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. is a Fulbright Scholar who researched
and collaborated with Hmong artisans in
Chiang Mai, Thailand.

from the american craft council / american craft fall 2023 / collect 75
 The American Craft Council is a national nonprofit that has been working to keep craft artists and the community
connected, inspired, and thriving since 1941. Made possible by members and donors, American Craft Council
programs include American Craft magazine and other online content, in-person and online marketplaces that
support artists and connect people to craft, awards honoring excellence, a specialized library, forums exploring
new ways of thinking about craft, and more.

MISSION EQUITY STATEMENT

The American Craft Council is a national nonprofit The American Craft Council is committed to justice,
organization that connects and galvanizes diverse craft inclusiveness, and equity. Drawing on craft's rich
communities and traditions to advance craft’s impact legacy of openness and its deep roots in all cultures,
in contemporary American life and to keep craft artists the Council will work to create opportunities for
and the community connected, inspired, and thriving. creative people from all walks of life.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES STAFF

Gary J. Smith, Chair Sara Owen McDonnell Andrea Specht Madie Ley
San Francisco, California Charlotte, North Carolina Executive Director Data Snstems
Administrator
Lynn Pollard, Vice Chair Rebecca Myers Judy Hawkinson
Atlanta, Georgia Baltimore, Maryland Associate Executive Director Rachel Messerich
Programs Manager,
Marilyn Zapf, Treasurer Bruce W. Pepich Hania Asim
Legacn and Editorial
Asheville, North Carolina Racine, Wisconsin Development and
Administrative Assistant Karen Olson
Harriett Green, Secretary James Rustad Editor in Chief,
Columbia, South Carolina St. Paul, Minnesota Jenna Brace
American Craft
Manager of Events and
Kristin Mitsu Shiga Board Administration Kasey Payette
Greg Bullard Kealakekua, Hawai'i Communications Specialist
Seattle, Washington Eric Broker
Lucille L. Tenazas Senior Director, Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith
Pearl Dick Beacon, New York Marketing and Membership Senior Director, Programs
Chicago, Illinois Woodie Wisebram and Partnerships
Daniel Bynum
Rachel K. Garceau Atlanta, Georgia Digital Marketing Specialist Joanne Smith
Palmetto, Georgia Advertising Sales
Kristine Goldy
Manager
Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez LIFE TRUSTEES Director of Marketplace
Weston, Massachusetts Jessie Stepanek
Beth Goodrich
Leilani Lattin Duke Marketplace Manager
Preeti Gopinath Librarian
Astoria, New York Pacific Palisades, California Tony Uduhirinwa
Carolyn Huber
Stoney Lamar Bookkeeper
Diane Hofstede Member and Customer
Minneapolis, Minnesota Saluda, North Carolina Service Coordinator Jennifer Vogel
Marlin Miller Senior Editor,
Leslie King Hammond, PhD Katie Johnson
Reading, Pennsylvania American Craft
Baltimore, Maryland Senior Program Manager,
Sara S. Morgan Artists and Marketplaces Shivaun Watchorn
Thomas Loeser
Houston, Texas Assistant Editor,
Madison, Wisconsin Rachel Kollar
American Craft
Thomas Turner Development Writer
Joseph P. Logan
Kalamazoo, Michigan Andrew Yarish
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Tracy Lamparty
Marketing Manager
Barbara Waldman Director of Finance
Robert Lynch
San Francisco, California and Administration
Washington, DC

TO RECEIVE MORE ACC NEWS, SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL LIST AT CRAFTCOUNCIL.ORG

76 american craft fall 2023 / collect / from the american craft council
 AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL | 1224 MARSHALL ST. NE | SUITE 200 | MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55413 | 612-206-3100 | [email protected]

[email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected]

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE DONORS AND JOIN US FOR

FOUNDATIONS GIVING $5,000 OR MORE ANNUALLY AMERICAN CRAFT
FORUMS
Ronald and Anne Abramson Minnesota State Arts Board
Come be part of the
The Bresler Foundation, Inc. Alexandra Moses
conversation around craft.
Chuck and Andrea Duddingston National Endowment for the Arts
Carl and Jan Fisher Danuta Nitecki
Our free, quarterly American
Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts Lynn Pollard
Craft Forums bring our
Katherine Harris and Tom Keyser Richard Raisler
community together to explore
The Head Family Foundation Ruth Foundation for the Arts
new ways of thinking and talking
Charlotte and Raul Herrera Saint Paul Cultural STAR Program
about craft.
Institute of Museum and Library Services Kay Savik and Joe Tashjian
The John and Ruth Huss Fund of the Gary J. Smith and Jamienne Studley
Tying into the themes of each
Saint Paul Foundation Andrea Specht
issue of American Craft, these
Joseph P. Logan Barbara Waldman
online discussions feature artists,
Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Windgate Charitable Foundation
writers, curators, community
Phyllis and Joseph Meltzer Patricia A. Young
organizers, and more—diverse
Marlin and Regina Miller
voices working together to
move the craft field forward.

American Craft forums allow

us to gain fresh perspectives
from inspiring people and their
*This activitn is made possible bn the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks important projects.
to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. This activitn is supported, in part, bn the Citn of Saint Paul
Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization Program.
Learn more at:
The American Craft Council accepts gifts of stock, donor-advised funds, and more. Make a gift in support of our CRAFTCOUNCIL.ORG/PROGRAMS/FORUMS
nonprofit mission at craftcouncil.org/Donate or call Judy Hawkinson at 651-434-3951 for more information. The above
list recognizes those who donated $5,000 or more to ACC between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023.

BROWSE PROFILES OF MORE

THAN 250 ARTISTS IN OUR
ONLINE DIRECTORY!
Get an introduction to the artists, learn the story
of how their work is made, and connect with them
directly to support the handmade economy. You’ll
also be able to buy select artists’ work right from
the Directory throughout the year during our
online pop-up marketplace events.

D I S C O V E R A R T I S T S Y E A R - R O U N D AT D I R E C T O R Y. C R A F T C O U N C I L . O R G

from the american craft council / american craft fall 2023 / collect 77
Advertising Sponsors Classifieds
American Craft Council Baltimore Marketplace 73 Classified advertising is $3.95 per word, minimum 20 words.
American Craft Council Artist Showcase S67-S72 Name and address count as words. Example: “A.B. Smith” is three words.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 2 Full payment must accompany order, mailed to American Craft,
Artful Home Cover 4 1224 Marshall St. NE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55413.
Or contact Joanne Smith at [email protected] when placing
Corning Museum of Glass 8
classified ads using credit card payment.
Duluth Trading Co 2
Gallery Victor / Jim Rose 5 Deadline:
Gravers Lane Gallery Cover 3 September 28, 2023, for the 2024 Winter/December-January-February issue.
Indigo Arts Alliance 66
John C. Campbell Folk School 2
Marketplace 79
Max’s 7
Memorial Art Gallery 9
Film / Entertainment / Inspiration
Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association 78 Every now and again,
North Bennet Street School 6 on Japanese paper.
Penland School of Craft 8
Signature Cover 3 Gentle, natural films.
Made in Hiroshima, Japan.
Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery 1
Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Cover 2
Common Sundays,
The Grand Hand Gallery Cover 3 every day.
Touchstone Center for Crafts 7
White Bird Gallery Cover 3 youtube.com/@commonsundays/videos
 MARKETPLACE
The American Craft Marketplace showcases artwork, galleries, events, products, and services.
To place a Marketplace ad, please contact Joanne Smith | 612-206-3122 | [email protected]

innerSpirit
Rattles
Gentle sounds help uplift mood
and calm anxiety. Native Americans
used rattles to bestow blessings
upon their crops. Use your
innerSpirit Rattle to help rattle
some rain into your life, some
rain out of your life, to rattle your
worries away, or just to keep Working Weavers
your papers from blowing astray.
Studio Trail
(Raku rattle comes boxed
with story card.) October 14–15, 2023
A self-guided tour of weaving studios along
Find retailers near you: the scenic roads of Western Massachusetts.
jdavisstudio.com Discover unique textiles. Connect with
weavers. Experience how cloth is woven.
For information: workingweavers.com

Creations Gallery
Where you find:

- Jewelry by Lisa and Scott Cylinder

- Animal puzzles by Peter Chapman

- Metal sculpture by Fred Conlon

- Swedish door harps by

Our 28th year! Todd Preimsberg
Nov. 3–5, 2023 / Fri. 4–8, Sat. 10–6, Sun. 10–4
- Wood reliefs by Jerry Krider
WaterFire Arts Center
475 Valley St, Providence, RI / Free Parking - Ceramic tile wall art by
Annual show offering American-made, Kevin Ritter and John Rymer
handcrafted furniture, décor & art. Best in Ceramic spotted burrfish
Show awards, Parade of Chairs, Designer And more plus Free Shipping! sculpture by Alan and
Showroom, demonstrations, food trucks, Rosemary Bennett
Art Bar, student work. Adults $10. creationsgallery.com
FineFurnishingsShows.com

Fond Memories of You

by Nadine Saylor

Upcoming Issues
Winter 2024: Light
Spring 2024: Ritual
Summer 2024: Savor
Clapham’s Beeswax Wayne Art Center—
Fall 2024: Weave
Clapham’s Beeswax has supported wood,
Call for Entries
Winter 2025: Interior
leather, stone & ceramic craftsmanship since Craft Forms 2023: 28th International Juried
1986. Our nontoxic products are manufactured, Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft
Interested in advertising? poured, labeled and lidded by hand on Salt December 1, 2023 – January 20, 2024
Learn more at craftcouncil.org/Advertising Spring Island in the Pacific Northwest. Entry Deadline: September 11 , 2023
or contact Joanne Smith at Please visit claphams.com Awards: $10,000 | Entry Fee: $45
[email protected] or call (800) 667-2939. www.craftforms.org
END NOTE

Assemblage. Definitively maximalist and wildly inventive, designer

and sculptor Misha Kahn uses all the traditional craft mediums, combining them
in new and fantastical ways to create furniture, lighting, and sculpture. His recent
exhibition, Misha Kahn: Staged, at Friedman Benda in Los Angeles, included Curi-
ous Unkempt Dawn, a hand-woven fiber and ceramic table; Ever Sessile Pupa, an
aluminum and beaded and embroidered fabric chair; and the Harvest Moon love-
seat, pictured here, made of stainless steel and knit new wool, polyester, and nylon.
In describing the exhibition, Kahn likened his process to creating crime fiction:
“I’m drawn to exploring all the various motives and red herrings to arrive, inevita-
bly, at closure. When the mystery is solved, a good storyteller, having carefully tied
a string through the entire story, picks up all the seemingly loose ends and brings
them together.”
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Kahn lives in Brooklyn. His new book, Casually
Sauntering the Perimeter of Now, was published through a collaboration between
Friedman Benda and Apartamento magazine and released in April. Kahn designed
50 limited-edition dust jackets for the book.
What’s next for the eclectic, exuberant Kahn? “I’m currently working on
building a house,” he said recently. “The studio is producing every element of the
building and interior. It’s an exercise in finding the Venn diagram of sustainability,
mysticism, and radical aesthetics.” —The Editors
◆
mishakahn.com | @mishakahn

Photo by Timothy Doyon, courtesy of Friedman Benda and Misha Kahn.

80 american craft fall 2023 / collect / end note

CONTEMPORARY CRAFT
Multimedia textile
by Alicja KozŁowska, Poland.
12 x 9 x 10 in.
Fiber Reimagined exhibition
Partnered with Fiber Art Now
at Gravers Lane Gallery & GLG@1213
Oct. 6–Nov. 21, 2023.

Lathe Turned Ashleaf Maple

by Matt Moulthrop, 10 x 17.5 in.
Lathe Turned Spalted Red Oak
by Philip Moulthrop, 11 x 12 in.
For two-person show at Signature
November 4, 2023.

Herons & Moon Wall Platter

by Dave and Boni Deal
at White Bird Gallery.
Raku fired ceramic.
24.5 x 24.5 in.

Thoughts About Pots

by Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
at The Grand Hand Gallery.
Handmade paper mixed with
Warren Mackenzie’s Clay-Covered
Overalls and Warren quotes.
9.5 x 8 x 8 in.

GRAVERS LANE GALLERY THE GRAND HAND GALLERY SIGNATURE WHITE BIRD GALLERY
8405 Germantown Ave., Phila., PA 19118 619 Grand Ave. 690 Miami Circle NE, #125 251 N. Hemlock St.
GLG@1213 Walnut St., Phila., PA 19107 St. Paul, MN 55102 Atlanta, GA 30324-3001 Cannon Beach, OR 97110
(215) 247-1603 (651) 312-1122 (404) 237-4426 (503) 436-2681
graverslanegallery.com thegrandhandgallery.com thesignatureshop.com whitebirdgallery.com
Living
with

Art
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design created by North America’s
foremost artists. Scan below to shop
over 20,000 pieces at artfulhome.com

Artwork shown by:

David Patchen
Melanie Guernsey-Leppla
Sandy Graves
Jeri Hollister
Nnamdi Okonkwo
Cheryl Williams
Craig Lauterbach
David M Bowman & Reed C Bowman