crafty

a lot of the exhibitors at the American Craft Council yearly show display amazing stuff. woodwork, ceramics, glass, metal-smithing, wearable art, etc. however, a good number of exhibitors spit out their products like an assembly line. not hard to separate art from blatant commercialization, but they’re both intermixed on the convention center floor, which is huge and massive and exhausting. find myself passing by some stuff i’d usually take a longer look at, just cause i’m beat and seen too much already. BUT, lots to admire too. so lookee here.

juliana boyd sticks unspun wool through old fabric using a specially designed needle. the result: animals seem to jump through the frame

kathy wegman covers typical household items in lots and lots of tiny beads

jenifer thoem created a bunch of noses and installs them in varying designs, site specific

ann brauer: stunning, bright quilts

mona and alex szabados fired the face in this enamel 30 times. really beautiful.

amy roper lyons’s mom explained her plique a jour process to me — way detailed — that she learned from an old russian master before he died. a future investment? gotta save up for these.

kate norris projects very old images onto a wall and then fills them with her mixed media collage

denna arnold applies tint/lacquer onto stunning woodwork (by someone else) for some neat effects

a.me and her partner cut wood (!), paint it bright colors (!), and cover it in polyurethane (!!)

thomas marrison’s bowls remind me of james turrell’s light exhibit at mass moca

if my credit card hadn’t been declined, i would now own this tibetan wool bag by stephanie wheat. probably for the best. cool looking but really expensive

purchased two items. these earrings by ian henderson (business called zoa chimerum), cause, well, look at them. so intriguing. and this ceramic bowl by ruchi gupta. the bottom quote says “i don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.” first saw her at the show last year, watching her instagram, and keep thinking about how sweet and whimsical her work makes me feel. now i own one. cool!

oh, and i finished the kitchen keep-the-dogs-out-gate. routed inside of 1”x4”s, stuck them together, inserted 1/4” panel (cut), screwed/glued, and then painted and sealed. what i’d do different? use a 2”x4” and just rout a track instead. also, not use acrylic marker for the side lines — they run. lessons learned.