Clay landsacpes,natural woven forms and stitched pottery at Craft Boston

Sorry for delay in  posting..two shows in a row, then the

task of filing taxes on time caught up with me. Someday I'll make a
creature for tax time..would probably be one full of angst or maybe
REALLY sweet and calm would be more helpful.  With two less
than organized self-employed people in our home, it's always a tough
time of year.  

Back to more pleasant issues....Craft Boston was a beautiful as ever
with lots of exhibitors I'd never met and plenty of old friends. I was
directly across from Rick Epstein and his amazing clay landscapes.
Nunonna and Furb loved looking into his "Cathedral of Nature" that
you can see behind them in the photo above.

Here's Rick in his booth.  Check out his website: www.rickepstein.com
to see great images, learn more about him and  his process. He
definitely brings nature inside.

 

 And speaking of nature, as soon as I approached the booth
of Karen Gubitz, I knew we were kindred spirits.: www.wovenearth.com



   The woven sculptures  Karen creates out of natural materials
pull you right in inviting your touch and appreciation.








Karen also gives workshops. On her website she uses these enticing
words: "Experience an Illinois wild flower prairie and learn to weave
basketry as our grandmothers did." Not sure my grandmother had
such skill, but a few days with Karen on the prairie would be a delight.
A friend brought me an awesome Australian Banksia seed pod to
be incorporated into my work. I had her show it to Karen. Guess who
ended up with it?  (Fortunately my friend sent me two more later.
Stay tuned to see what emerges with them!)

You don't see too many young exhibitors at these shows, so I get
especially excited when I see new skilled younger artists 
with a distinctive style and approach.  Such an exhibitor is
Anna White: www.shadetreeceramics.com
The "stitched" pottery which Anna creates is a marvel.  She's taken
thrown work to a new dimension! Here are a couple of her pieces:



The stitching is done completely with clay slip.



I traded with her and besides getting a beautiful
sculptural bowl...received one of her canvas bags
which says "Mud is meant for throwing"..It's become
my favorite.

Speaking of trying to get a new group to Craft Boston,
the steampunk theme brought in a few costumed folk
on Sunday.  There was a whole area in the back devoted
to steampunk work..including this punked up bike:



Just goes to show it's always worth attending exhibits.
You never know what you'll find.

Next post...some intriguing work at Craft NewYork.

Adventure on!    Wendy

Craft Boston...dragons, stories and eyes oh my!

 A quick post as I get ready to set up for CraftBoston this weekend: www.craftboston.org

I've been busy since ACC Baltimore.  The storyteller above is
honoring the year of the Dragon , sporting a cape which came
from the land of dragons. The bright hand woven fabric was
gifted me by friends who enjoy traveling in the Far East. 
I'm still working on a name for the new figure. It comes with
three masks and lots of story shards in the leather trunk. Here
is tale teller donning the dragon mask. with a mini dragon
book looking on.  Name suggestions anyone?


I've also been refining my "eye" designs for e-readers,I-pads,
and smart phones.

I still have envelope type pouches, but have additionally
designed covers for I-pads and e-readers which are more
book-like than pouches.  E-reader covers come in two sizes
 to be able to accommodate the range of readers out there.


Re phones: To help solve the problem when you want
to bring along your phone, but your pants don't have
pockets,  I've made some small leather pouches with straps,\
the perfect size to slip any smart phone in or out.
(Of course they also would be good for other "eye-catching"
uses.)


For those who prefer a little color, I've incorporated
the bright colored eyes from Kelly Kotulak and added
a bit of paint!
 

If you're in the Boston area, please drop by over at the
Seaport World Trade center this weekend. I'll be in
 booth #347 - Hours:
Friday 10-6, Sat. 10-6 and Sunday 11-5

Attending Craft Boston is always  inspiring. I'll
see whom I can find there to share in a future blog.
In an effort to try something new, Sunday has been
designated steampunk day.   Anyone who shows up
wearing a steampunk outfit will get $5.00 off admission!

Adventure on...and over!  Wendy

Fun, form, and inspiration at ACC Baltimore - Evan Chambers, Bernard Katz and David Bacharach

 
The ACC show in Baltimore was as spectacular as usual.  Sales and
attendance seemed to reflect a bit more optimism and improvement
in the economy...nice for all of us.  Some of my major pieces found
their new homes - Wudaineon the dragon is off to Houston Texas
along with Spike the Pupbeast and my avian couple,  Beadle and
Esatair are on their way to Florida...good homes for all.

But, as I have said before, it isn't just sales that inspire me to do
these shows.  It's being surrounded by amazing artistic energy
and discovering new (to me at least) artists. The desk lamp
pictured above is by Evan Chambers http://evanchambersobjects.com/
one of the "new" glass artists  at Baltimore this year.   I sure
would LOVE to have one his lamps on my desk!!! Little aliens
with hawk feet...what more could I ask!  Here are a
few more that were in his booth..but check out his website
to see all his awesome creatures as well as his beautiful more
classic vessels.
 

What amazes at a show like ACC Baltimore is the incredible
variety of excellent work even in the same media.The booth
mine faced this year was  also glass, but with a very different
focus. I had the treat of savoring the gorgeous sculptural forms
of Bernard Katz: http://bernardkatz.com/ and the pleasure of
getting to know him and his family better and to brainstorm on
electronics his side passion:

Bernards forms flow and interact  beautifully. It is easy to picture
them in an elegant settings - both in homes and in more public spaces.

The thing I'm always looking out for is craftspeople I know well
who are  pushing the limits, experimenting  and surprising me. David
Bacharach did that for me this year: bacharachmetals.com/studio
I've known David for many, many years, but always love to check out
his booth. How could I resist a booth with such an avian focus:

David said he'd had the birds before, but they never have taken over
the booth as they did this year.

I enjoy the interstitial dance David's woven metal wall tapestries
and sculptural basketry provide.  He is one of those long time
exhibitors unafraid to surprise and change inspiring me  to venture
on boldly!

My eye items were very well received. Thanks to feedback
I've come up with additional designs which I will offer at
shows at Craft Boston http://www.societyofcrafts.org/cbspring/springinfo.asp
and CraftNewYork:http://www.artrider.com/CNY12.html
in March.  Stay tuned!

Adventure on!   Wendy

Bruce Chapin - Philospher in wood

In these economic times, it is more important than ever to support
each other as artists and to make sure the world knows about the
extraordinary artists out there working. As I've done in the past,
I'll perodically lift up some of my favorites.
Wood sculptor,Bruce Chapin ( www.brucechapin.com )
is definitely in that category.I've known Bruce for a number of
years and am constantly amazed by the creativity, energy and
spirit which goes into his work. His work stirs up unpredictable
thoughts in the mind of the viewer..just like all good art
should! No answers...lots of questions. He also was at Craft
Boston this year.

Here with his permission are a few images of Bruce's work.

"The keeper" (Of course I like it - it has wings!)
It is a cabinet with a figurative basednarrative inside.

"Moonboy"


The Philosopher's journey...go to his website and see a video
of everything that happens with this Large piece!



"Rennyday Tart"

Intrigued and want to see more...go on over to his website.
It is definitely worth wandering around.
or better yet visit him at one of the shows where he exhibits
- like this coming weekend at the Smithsonian Craft Show!
www.smithsoniancraftshow.org
April 22-25 in D.C. Anyone near by..go on over and say hi to Bruce!
Journey on!....Wendy