JURORS
GRETCHEN KEYWORTH
Clay … the perfect vehicle for storytelling. When reviewing the selected work, I focused on originality of expression, truth to materials, and mastery of technique. Did the artist understand and address the theme? Unlike a story written with words, the ceramic artist uses threedimensionality, line, shape, texture, glaze, color, and firing to communicate. The pieces I chose for this exhibition not only told the artists’ stories, they also elicited a personal response from the viewer. This reciprocal exchange of emotion, meaning, and connection between maker and viewer is a powerful tribute to the effectiveness of clay as a medium for storytelling. @gretchengkeyworth
JENNIFER LING DATCHUK
As an artist and educator, I am forever in awe of the power of sharing one’s work and the stories being told. It was an honor to spend time with these entries and learn more about everyone’s work, work that crossed generations, forms, techniques, and narratives. Thank you for your time and effort in your applications and most especially thankful for your voices, power, and vulnerability throughout this process. jenniferlingdatchuk.com @jenniferlingdatchuk
MALCOM MOBUTU SMITH
The strongest of works submitted here blend a vocabulary of narrative inventions that synthesizes the representational with the symbolic, along with a personalized aesthetic of form. The best of these works joins these attributes by clarity of approach and an earnest sensitivity toward the materials. It was encouraging to review the selections that ranged in strategy from pictural collages to figurative tableaux to compelling archetypal abstractions that engaged narrative via the act of decoding form and building intuitive associations. Overall, a generous group of works. It was a pleasure studying the submissions with my peers and learning from new voices. malcommobutusmith.com | @malcommobutusmith
No Peace for Sophy 2020; dark brown stoneware, engobe, underglaze, 20k gold luster; 16.25 x 14.5 x 9 in.
jocelynbraxtonarmstrong.com @jbarmstrongceramics
I create modernist figurative forms that evoke the contemporary woman and straddle the line between realism and abstraction. My narrative sculptures and installations are devoted to activism driven by historical narratives, feminism, and social justice. I experiment with different clay bodies, building methods, and surface treatments to examine and discover new methodology.
JOCELYN BRAXTON ARMSTRONG
STEPHEN EARP
A View from The Rabbit Hole
2024; earthenware; thrown, underglaze sgraffito engraving, overglaze sponging, etching, painted decoration; 17 in (dia.)
stephenearp.com | @steve.earp.71
As students, we were taught to equate the idea of boundaries with hindrance and limitation to be avoided at all costs. Nothing should keep you from doing your own thing. As I transition into my dotage years, I find that the style you work in (ie. boundaries) is a powerful tool for focusing your concentration. Find a style you love and lean into it!
Ring Around the Rosie 2024; ceramic, found object, underglaze, glaze, metallic lusters; Laguna B-mix cone 5 with grog hand-built and multi-fired to cone 1; 16 x 16 x 13 in. lindasfitzgibbon.com
My hand-built ceramic sculptures reveal the important role women play in nourishing society through food, motherhood, and education, while exposing the tension inherent in the division of gendered roles. In addition to produce, compositions may include replicas of classic toys, inflatables, and china, as contrasting symbols of nature vs. nurture and the natural vs. plastic environment.
LINDA FITZ GIBBON
DIANA JOHNS PHOTOGRAPHY
DIANA JOHNS PHOTOGRAPHY
CLAUDIA OLDS GOLDIE
Got The Bull by the Tail
2022; white stoneware, graphite; built from slabs, pinched, and formed; 25 x 27 in.
claudiaoldsgoldie.com @claudiaoldsgoldie
These figures portray strength in stillness and a powerful sense of determination. Each has a unique story to tell from an exclusively female perspective. The work is constructed of white stoneware and built hollow from slabs. Parts of the work are pinched and modeled to achieve a high level of detail.
2024; sculpture clay, fire to cone 6, hand built; 16 x14 x 5 in.
sooyeonceramics.com @sooyeonkim1001
I explore the vast possibilities of vessels using innovative clay techniques to push the boundaries of artistic expression. My teapots delve into the Korean concept of the “big vessel,” a metaphor for individuals with expansive hearts and personalities. Through my work, I seek to encourage dialogue that celebrates diversity, empathy, and a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of individual and collective identity.
SOOYEON KIM Rooted Dream
Listening: “Be Yourself”
2022; red clay, underglaze; slab built; 17 x 17 x 22h in.
yeonsooceramics.com | @yeonsooceramics
My work addresses psychological conditions of daily life. I look for my identity as an artist. I have been focused on one subject, which I call a “Listening.” Basically, Listening is a metaphor for describing my emotions.
YEONSOO KIM
CHELSEA KNOLL
Ouch!
2024; earthenware, underglaze, glaze; hand built, wheel thrown and altered; 25 in.
instagram.com/chekbug
My work builds on the centuries-old tradition of sculpting figures in clay as a way to tell human stories. Using a number of different assemblage techniques, I explore the tension between opposing emotional elements and use these dichotomies to create a vehicle for grappling with difficult subjects. I learn about the characters while making, each decision contributing to their narrative.
Without, We Would Still
2023; earthenware, terra sig, glaze, embroidery floss, artist pedestal; glaze washes; 26 x 25 x 17 in. (installation varies)
owenlaurion.com | @laurion_ceramics
I’m interested in the human condition. Ceramics provides me with material flexible and fluid enough to draw out the simultaneous and contradictory dynamics framing how people make a good life. In the studio, I can compose material—choreographies of ceramics, collage, installation, process, genre. In a way, I am mapping my own experience into the clay itself.
OWEN LAURION
Figurative Painting_ Invaluable Thing
2024; stoneware; hand built; 19 x 17x 14 in.
hueyleearts.com | @potter.lee
My artistic practice is deeply rooted in my cultural background, religious influences, and nostalgic memories. I express these themes through my art, each piece possessing its own narrative. These narratives are conveyed through unique characters that serve as a vessel for personal introspection and societal messages, often encapsulating hidden desires and concealed emotions.
HUEY LEE
Invisible Structure
2022; ceramic; stop-motion animation of ceramic processes and objects; dimension variable
meguminaitoh.com | @meguminaitoh
I have always pushed the envelope of what ceramic work can be, approaching this with a sense of playfulness. I worked in digital screen printing, 3-D modeling, 3-D printing, videos, and animation for the past 20 years and am interested in how we live with technology. Blending clay and technology runs through my body of work. For the video, Electronic Dust, related directly to this piece, I documented lime mixture expansion over weeks to explore ceramic “lime pop.” My current work, Ceramation, features stop-motion animation of ceramic processes and objects, led by Yellow Clay, a character reflecting my Asian American identity.
MEGUMI NAITOH
SARAH PETERS
Wondergrrrl Teapot, Tank 2023; slip cast terracotta, underglazes, glaze (made f rom a nine-piece handmade mold); 15 x 10 x 6 in.
@sarahpeterssculpture (ceramics) sarahpeterssculpture.com (bronze)
Every woman has a story to tell. You can see it in her eyes. Pay attention.
Living Room
2024; stoneware, glaze, china paint, luster; 20 x 15 x 13 in.
oliviapropeckceramics.shop @livpropeckceramics
My practice in ceramics and film materializes and explores the intimate sapphic domestic space. By utilizing Grecian-inspired forms as a conduit for archiving lesbian culture, I paint interior spaces and objects inspired by my personal queer experiences, memories, and home. Through researching historical and contemporary sapphic iconography, my pieces work to make connections between the past and present experiences of queerness.
OLIVIA PROPECK
JOEL TSUI
SUSAN RICHARDS
Lullaby
2024; brown stoneware, unglazed; hand built; 9 in. @reeworks1
I began this series after making a sculpted head of Emmy Hennings who was a puppeteer and performance artist with Hugo Ball. They were Dadaists in Vienna after WWI. Emmy looked like a puppet herself, and I admire the humor and absurdity these artists expressed in their work. It certainly seems fitting for our times today.
PAT SCULL
The Linguist
2024; stoneware, wooden base; underglazed and glazed to cone 6 oxidation; 22 x 11 x 9 in. patscull.com
These recently completed vessels are part of a body of work exploring “ a woman’s work.” Each piece is a portrait that tells the story of a woman I have known. The vessel is symbolic, holding my memory of each of them. I have attached physical attributes to each piece through small oil paintings on the panels.
REBECCA STEVENS
Afternoon Tea
2022; porcelain, underglaze, glaze, gold luster; wheel thrown, sgraffito/carving; 8 x 10 x 5 in. rebeccastevensceramics.com @rstevens_ceramics
My work focuses on our connection to the objects in our homes and the ways being surrounded by beauty increases our quality of life. The process of making each pot is like a fine dance, with every minuscule movement of my hands recorded in the clay. Each of my pieces is like a self-portrait, reflecting aspects of my identity.
JULIEN TANG
Marred Fate
2024; porcelain, clay, found object; hand built; 36 x 43 x 3 in. and 29 x 17 x 20 in. julientang.com | @julientyt
The storylines I craft draw from East Asian literature, popular culture, and cross-cultural perspectives. As a Taiwanese artist, my background is fundamental to my work, informing both the themes I find intriguing and my artistic approach. Beyond aesthetics, my inquiry examines the complexities of human behavior, psychology, and the sociopolitical landscape, seeking a more cohesive understanding of humanity.
JURORS
JENNIFER NAVVA-MILLIKEN
The response to the brief of the Society of Arts + Crafts was remarkable in its breadth and range. The entries demonstrated the artists’ deep commitment to the material of wood and its creative potential. They underscore the incredible, timeless connection between human inspiration and this poetic, generous, and structural product of nature. What a gratifying privilege to be a part of this exciting opportunity.
museumforartinwood.org | @museumforartinwood
MITCH RYERSON
The variety and quality of the submissions for this show was very impressive. It reaffirmed for me the belief that wood is a very intimate and infinitely variable material that can communicate in a uniquely personal way. I look forward to seeing these pieces displayed together. ryersondesign.com
KIMBERLY WINKLE
It was an absolute delight to view the impressive, innovative, and oneof-a-kind works showcased in the entries. The entries encompassed a wide spectrum from traditional to the unexpected and everything in between. It is truly promising and exciting to witness the vibrancy of the wood art field, as evidenced by the exceptional works in the strong pool of entries.
Congratulations to all the artists, and thank you for graciously sharing your work with us.
kimberlywinkle.com | @kimberly_winkle
Project Trinket Boxes
2022; English brown oak and wenge, with inlays of various woods: avodire, black palm (endgrain), pink ivory, chatke viga, Swiss pear, ebony, and bloodwood; 13.5 x 8 x 2.5 in. (approx.)
myworkshop.com @steve_myworkshop
Each box I create is more than a container; it is a canvas where the natural beauty of exotic woods meets the geometry of imagination. I am drawn to the warmth and richness of these rare materials. It is in the play of structural and decorative angles that I find my true voice as an artist.
STEVE ALTMAN
DEREK BENCOMO
Feeling of Movement
2023; Hawaiian Koa wood; turned and carved; 6 x 14 x 9 in. derekbencomomauiartist.com @bencomoderek
I am an artist who values the freedom from strict form. It takes stamina for a tree to grow, and I find great joy in the integrity of each piece as I guide it into a new life. It is a delicate transformation, a synthesis of my creative energy and the indigenous energy stored in the trees.
CHRIS BOWMAN
Encompass #4
2024; Baltic birch, poplar, milk paint; 7 x 6 x 6 in.
@chrisbowmanstudio
The rural scenery of the Midwest is my inspiration; the landscape influences the color palette used in my work. The shapes in my pieces are inspired by old barns and farmhouses. As a cyclist, I ride the country roads of Indiana and love experiencing the backroads of the Midwest.
KEVIN BURRUS
Learning to Listen
2024; reclaimed walnut and fir; 16 x 6.75 x 9.5 in.
contourfinewoodworking.com @kevin_burrus
My intent as an artist is to look at how our complex minds process thoughts, emotions, and feelings through the ebb and flow of nature. While I have struggled with a lifelong battle with dyslexia, chronic anxiety and depression, I find peace by creating images and objects that demonstrate how I navigate the world through nature. Nature is therapeutic.
Feather 11,873
2022; oak wood, holly wood, graphite powder, sterling silver, museum glass; hand carved (oak), burnished; 16 x 4.5 x 3 in.
modernegallery.com/artists/miriam-carpenter
My process is a union of traditional hand work, innovation, and thoughtful technology that brings awareness to things overlooked. My love for working with wood is unparalleled.
I hope to push the boundaries of tradition to improve, evolve, or create new opportunities and perspectives for the betterment and continuation of our collective legacy.
MIRIAM CARPENTER
CHRISTIAN GIANNELLI PHOTOGRAPHY
CHRISTIAN GIANNELLI PHOTOGRAPHY
Amalgam
2022; copper, cherry, walnut, maple, padauk, poplar, mahogany; 19 x 6 x 7.5 cm cappycounard.com | @cappycounard
I choose wood to explore relationships because it is warm and ever changing as it responds to its environment. Blocks of wood interconnect, each one adapting to the piece beside it as they are constructed and shaped into a singular form. This work celebrates the intricacy of collaboration and the vast potential of community to create possibility.
CAPPY COUNARD
TOM ECKERT
Kismet
(full view and in progress)
2024; basswood, paint; carved, laminated, painted; 24 x 17 x 4 in.
tomeckertart.com
I use traditional processes to carve, construct, laminate, and paint my sculptures. Visual deception is the basis for my creative direction.
“Cloth” carved of wood has much different structural qualities than real cloth. When this idea is applied to my compositions (a floating book, floating cards, floating rock) a sense of the impossible happens. For me, magic.
HONORABLE MENTION
JULIEN FELLER
Adirondack Lace Nº1
2024; boxwood, gold leaf; 16 x 70 x 2 mm julienfeller.com | @julienfeller
I combine wood and lace in my work to create a form of dialogue, bridging one to the other by making the wood look like lace and the lace like wood. Currently, my work is mainly influenced by the lacemakers of Europe.
To the Sea-Migration Series
2024; found aspen wood, bronze, acrylic paint, metal leaf, wax, steel stand; carved (wood), cast (bronze), painted, waxed; 15 x 16 x 13 in. elizabethfrank.com
A guiding ethic in my life is to walk lightly on the Earth. To honor that, I create my pieces predominantly from sustainable, found, and reclaimed materials. I have chosen a style for my art that blends the folkloric, mythic, and sacred. I make art to keep my life in balance with the lives of the others.
ELIZABETH FRANK
Para Vessel
2024; parallam beam scraps, woodturning; 5 x 5.75 x 5.75 in. deweygarrett.com
I am interested in the transformation and contrasts discovered through woodturning. Converting a block of wood into a graceful, symmetrical form is always fascinating and full of surprises. On the lathe, details and color are integrated into a spinning blur. At rest, complex details and dramatic coloring are disclosed with an entirely different sense of motion.
DEWEY GARRETT
Untitled Bas-relief #182 2023; sycamore, maple, pine, plywood, bamboo, stain; 17.5 x 9 x 4.5 in.
@chetgeiselman
I create works that combine wood with recontextualized found objects. My works suggest a formal relationship to the space they inhabit and allude to the potential functionality of the objects that compose them. The interplay of form and content generates a tension that is meditative, awkward, humorous, playful, and ultimately open-ended.
CHET GEISELMAN
Obon
2022; Alaskan cedar, Osage and Redheart on cloth; 14 x 22 x 1 in.
david-gootnick.com @davidbgootnick
I seek to broaden exposure to Kumiko among artists and the broader public. There are few examples of this artform outside Japan and very few North American artists working in this tradition. My work is a celebration of an enduring tradition. I hope to create a vivid visual experience and to add my voice to this ancient art form.
DAVID GOOTNICK
HONORABLE MENTION
SUSAN HAGEN
The Bird Ethic: Rachel Carson testifying before Congress (1963)
2023–2024; linden, reclaimed ash, mixed media, stain; carved, stained; approximately 10 x 20 x 20 in. susanhagen.net | @susan.hagen
The Bird Ethic is a series of eight outdoor dioramas, created for the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. The sculptures were carved and constructed from readily available linden and other timber salvaged from the site. The small scale of the individual pieces draws visitors into a personal, intimate experience of the stories represented in the work.
2024; reclaimed California redwood; 16.5 x 10.25 x 32.5 in.
richardhaining.com @richardhaining
I find inspiration in the abundance or wood being discarded throughout New York City. In this era of disposable design, I am committed to finding the intersection of sustainability and fine craft. My process is slow and methodical, stacking individual pieces to create objects with the intention of permanence.
RICHARD HAINING STACKED Ovoid Amphora
JOE KRAMM
JOE KRAMM
Moon Chess
2021; carved from reclaimed pine and redwood; 14 x 17 x 8.5 in. (closed)
katiehudnall.com @katiehudnall
The piece was created while sitting around a fire on Sunday evenings with dear friends in the freezing winter during the Covid pandemic. The box was designed to reflect the joy and safety I felt in those moments.
KATIE HUDNALL
Wooly Sheep Comb
2024; oak; carved, fumed; 7.625 x 4.125 x 1.125 in.
rexkalehoff.com | @rexkalehoff
I am a sculptor and furniture maker who studies the natural world intimately, finding inspiration in the art and mythologies of ancient and Indigenous cultures. My work often features animals, familiar and imagined, and aims to inspire contemporary notions of personal myth and ritual. My creations are humorous and fun, while maintaining maturity and sophistication.
REX KALEHOFF
DANNY KAMERATH
Fridge Magnet
2024; mesquite; sculpted; 22 x 19 x 15.5 in.
dannykamerath.com
I make objects from wood: furniture, sculptures, vessels, bowls, dishes, and all sorts of whimsical things. My goal is to make good stuff—beautiful, interesting, elegant, sturdy smart stuff. I do my own designs and don’t follow trends. I don’t ignore tradition either. I use the best materials. I learn every day.
Heart in Mouth
2024; walnut, coopered, tapered, steam-bent walnut horn, turned off-set walnut heart; 18 x 4 x 4 in. rainylehrman.com @bentwoodbrooklyn @rainyarago
My recent work explores traditional steam bending methods in non-traditional ways. Scaling down the material, I have eliminated both the steam box and the jig, free-form bending compressed wood as I steam it. My interest in the potential of a specific material and its limitations typically directs form through simple interactions or responses.
RAINY LEHRMAN
2024; sand-shaded butternut veneer, cork composite, paint; 17 x 17 x 4 in. jackmauch.com | @jackmauch
My work resides at a nexus of design, traditional craft, and innovative digital processes. My deepest inspiration comes from classical to modern decorative arts. I am stirred by the blending of vision, physical material, and technical skill that is craft and see my work as part of this lineage.
JACK MAUCH
Lobed Bowl
CORY OLSEN
Tree Rock Robot Tray 1
2023; white oak, found stone; fabricated through a digital design process with CNC milling, hand profiled, hand finished; 6 (dia) x 1 in. corymicah.com | @modeloshandy
I am an individual maker striving to create beautiful, functional objects within an environmental ethic. Extremely tactile, these wooden trays and their stones encourage interaction and play. With these pieces, I think I have created something with beauty that I can maintain faculty over in terms of material usage, sourcing, and overall environmental impact.
Crimson Drop
2022; No.2 poplar, acrylic paint, wax finish; 3 x 6 x 4.25 in.
emiozaw.com @emiozawastudio
Crimson Drop expresses my interest in color, geometry, and wood in mutual collaboration. The shape changes from different points of view: a half circle to an oval to a heart.
For this piece, poplar’s slightly greenish color and its grain are notable, its warmth contrasts with the acrylic red paint.
EMI OZAWA
LAURA PETROVICH-CHENEY
Memories of San Marco (top)
2024; salvaged wood; 20 x 20 in.
Front and Center (bottom)
2024; salvaged wood; 20 x 20 in.
lauracheney.com @laurapetrovichcheney
I create textile-like wood constructions using debris from Hurricane Sandy. While I share my story and seek to inspire change, I realize that other, more impactful storms have lessened Hurricane Sandy’s significance. As a result, my work has expanded to address the broader theme of overcoming personal struggles to cultivate community, empathy, and renewal.
KEVIN REISWIG
Submerged
2023; bog oak scrap, constructed branch; laminated, joined, sculpted; 23 x 6 x 16 in.
kevinreiswig.com | @kevin_reiswig
The branches and stump were constructed using salvaged or discarded wood, making metaphorical connections between living trees and the historical use of wood. Creating (“growing”) these objects in my studio connected me to a greater flow-state of natural processes. Each piece explores my connection with trees and invites others to share in my curiosity and appreciation of them.
Thuja Undulatus
2024; salvaged cedar; joined, 11 x 35 x 7 in.
sethrolland.com
@seth_rolland_furniture
As a lifelong tree hugger and sculptural furniture maker, I understand the irony of loving trees while consuming them in my work. I’ve moved past that conflict by using pruned or scavenged branches shed by living trees. By collaborating with natural branches to create these simple yet improbable objects, I invite viewers to connect with nature.
SETH ROLLAND
EVA STURM-GROSS
D-G Days
2023; spruce, fabric, paint, dowel; carved, relief painted; 24 x 19 x 7 in.
evasturmgross.com @evasturmgross
Woodcarving is the technical foundation of my work; I carve both sculptures and matrices for printmaking. My work is a form of visual exegesis based in the processes of traditional materials and it is heavily reliant on visual storytelling. I am interested in theological frameworks and how they can be applied to an immediate reality.
PAUL TAKEUCHI
PAUL TAKEUCHI
BOYD TOTIN
Untitled (double vertebrae)
2019; walnut, purpleheart wood; 18 x 10 x 10 in.
boydtotin.com | @boydtotin
I am drawn to the intricate patterns and forms in tree growth and mineral formations and strive to capture their beauty and complexity in my sculptures and sculptural furniture. I first use 3-D modeling to sketch small models of my ideas, then use traditional stack-lamination and carving techniques to create the final sculptures.
HONORABLE MENTION
CHRISTOPHER TUCKER
Kip
2023; wenge, walnut, cherry, leopardwood, rosewood, ash, maple; 23 x 36 x 1 in.
sites.google.com/view/christopherlloyd-tucker/home @christopher_lloyd_tucker/
I am a multimedia artist who specializes in combining woodwork, metalwork, and digital art. I thrive in situations that involve hands-on problem solving and exploring new materials, and my body of work reflects that. My latest work has been largely portrait based, relying on gestures and expressions as a vehicle for social commentary.
NATHAN WHITE
Votive Vessel
2024; basswood, maple; turned, chip carved, hand carved; 18 x24 x7 in.
npwoodworks.com @northernprairiewood
A wall hanging crown of thorns tramp art frame housing a bowl inspired by the Swedish Snibskaal, a drinking vessel from the 17th century.
Smoke Cabinet
2023; salvaged mahogany and poplar, handmade brass and bronze hardware; solid carved panel, mitered splined corners (door), housed sliding tapered dovetails (case); 24 x 11 x 10 in. manibus.studio | @totally.literally
I’m an artist, furniture maker, fabricator, and educator. My pronouns are they/them. I strive to approach woodcraft with a socially and historically conscious lens, fusing the aesthetics and ideologies of my own intersecting identities with triedand-true as well as unconventional furniture-making techniques. It is important that I charge each piece with beckoning sensuality.
HANIEL WIDES
LANCE PATTERSON.
LANCE PATTERSON.
LEAH WOODS
Untitled in Blue 2024; red oak, veneer; 20 x 12 x 11 in.
leahkwoods.com @leahkathleenwoods
My current work explores large, volumetric forms constructed of small pieces of wood. Using bent lamination, I create curved shapes and cooper or bolt them together. When used together, these techniques create shapes that are fixed yet fluid at the same time. It is within these opposing forces, fixed versus fluid, that each of my sculptures exists.
The Society of Arts and Crafts is dedicated to supporting and fostering talented makers in the craft field and to bringing together those who care about craft.
We cultivate a thriving, diverse community centered around our appreciation for craftsmanship. We value deep connections to materials, the intentional process of creation, and equity in the arts. This continuity of purpose and our mission of promoting joyful, creative lives through craft guide us in everything we do. We believe that craft makes the world a better place. We are grateful to everyone who supports our important efforts.
THANK YOU
This publication was made possible through the participation of the wood and ceramics artists and the generous donors and members of the Society of Arts+Crafts, to whom we extend our heartfelt gratitude.
Craft improves our lives.
Craft combines old + new. Craft connects us to the maker story.
Craft provides new pathways for all.
HERE: Julien Feller, Adirondack Lace Nº1 (in progress). See page 37.
A PUBLICATION OF THE
Jack Mauch, Lobed Bowl (detail)
Photo by Loam LLC
