Craft Show Artists 2010

Geoff A. Buddie & Chris Rom — Swanton, OH   |   thebinaryproject.com

We are a husband and wife team, currently using porcelain, stoneware, handfelted wool, recycled rubber, metal, milk paint, and wood in our mixed media artwork. The tactile quality of these materials and the balance in their application lend themselves well to the two common themes that run through our work. The first we call minimalism in multitudes, the second is the ability for the viewer to interact with the work. We begin by making collections of small components. Keeping our mark making simple, we invite the use of simple shapes and basic colors, and purposely leave a considerable amount of space around those forms for context and interpretation. Keeping with our second theme, many of these small pieces are meant to be moved and exchanged for others. It is our hope that furnishing an environment such as this and inviting the viewer to contribute their own responses will, in turn, allow them to free their imaginations and investigate the way a child does - with curiosity and wonder.

Joan Dulla — Chandler, AZ   |   joandulla.com

Over the last year, I have been working with metal coins as well as paper money. My interest in this preceded the recent financial debacle. But who knows, maybe I had some premonition that sparked this endeavor. I hope this work will allow people to face the current financial situation with humor and a new way to look at things. I wish some of the 'Wizards' of Wall Street could see my work and re-assess their focus on greed, realizing that money should get back to something that is real and can offer utility, as well as provide people with beauty and pleasure.

Kathleen L. Dustin — Contoocook, NH   |   kathleendustin.com

These wristlet evening bags made of layered colored polymer clay imitate tiny seed pods and flower buds, but on a different scale. The purpose of a pod is to contain and protect something fragile and essential making it an appropriate form for an evening bag. These delicate-looking bags have enough flexibility not to be fragile.

Amy Gillespie — Arlington, MA   |   amygillespiestudio.com

I work in the two different mediums of fiber and wood. The processes both contrast and complement each other. My background lies in fiber, but I've always been fascinated by wood. My creative process often begins at the lumberyard. In order to achieve integration between the materials, I allow the wood to set the tone for the piece. As I use a router to create the channel which houses the felt inlay, my mind is racing with ideas for the color, form and composition the felt will take. My process for wet-felting the wool roving is similar to murrini glass that involves layering and slicing. I further add color and fortify the felt by coating it with acrylic paint and gel medium before cutting it into cross-sections. Each cross-section is sculpted one at a time and adhered to the wood with acrylic gel medium paste. This is a fluid process in which each piece laid in influences the next

Mark H. Hartung — Chagrin Falls, OH     

Untrained artists and their direct approach to making objects has had an influence on my way of working. I am impressed by their use of materials and basic methods used to make their work. Another significant influence on my work has been a fascination with toys from the turn and first half of this century, especially tin toys. I feel the ingenious design in these toys is overshadowed by the simplistic nature of the toys themselves. I am equally intrigued with artists who make work with sophisticated mechanical movements but choose low-tech options of production over high technology accessible to us all. It has been my preference as well to explore my work through basic means of production. The images presented in my work are derived from objects I encounter and collect, lyrics in music, my life and personal history. The work is often a collage from the fragments of all of the above. My work is typically fashioned from copper, steel and found objects. Patinas & pencils are used for color.

Jeanne Heifetz — Brooklyn, NY   |   www.jeanneheifetz.com

This body of work was inspired by the interplay of surface and shadow in the cracked-ice grillwork of Chinese furniture, the geometric motifs of mid-century Latin American painting, and the textile traditions of American crazy quilts and Korean pojagi. The work also explores color relationships, whether bold contrasts or tone-on-tone shadings that test the edge of visual perception. To me, color is like music: one of the elemental joys of human existence.

Jeremy M. Lampe — St. Louis, MO   |   jeremylampe.com

Jeremy Lampe's blown glass and ceramic sculptures are inspired by industrial castoffs and tools. Breaking down dichotomies between industry and nature, glass and clay, rubber and metal, what is genuine and what is imitation, he brings different mediums together in the examination of their individual fluid natures. This work is an exploration of different forms, techniques, and materials: this investigation is an attempt to find which media responds to the artist's designs and ideas most clearly and becomes the best exploitation of his concepts and formal issues. Lampe's goal is to dissect each of the materials and manipulate them in a way that reveals the process of their making, as well as their plasticity and fluidity; he wants it to be evident that at one time these forms were soft and malleable before the process rendered them hard and vitreous. While the finished pieces reference mechanical architecture, they have been transformed through the process.

Mike Libby — South Portland, ME   |   insectlabstudio.com

Borrowing from science fiction and science fact, Insect Lab customizes real insects with antique watch parts and other mechanical components. Each work is a whimsical and luxurious celebration of the contradictions and confluences between nature and technology.

Peter Malinoski — Hyattsville, MD   |   petermalinoskiart.com

I build solid body electric guitars. I use traditional and non-traditional guitar making materials and techniques to create fully functional instruments that emphasize sculptural qualities of shape and form that blend with the rich sonic qualities of guitar electronics. I desire to make guitars that are both beautiful objects and exquisite tools for musicians.

Leslie S. Rachlin — Elmira, NY     

As a knifemaker I must constantly remind myself that form must meet function. Knife making is one of man's earliest crafts. Even in prehistoric times knifemakers worked to make their blades esthetically pleasing, while never sacrificing the working function of the knife. That is still the quest of the modern maker. Using modern materials and tools allows a wide range of beautiful and exotic manifestations of the art. However we must never forget that what we are ultimately making is a tool with a job to do.

Cathy Rose — New Orleans, LA   |   cathyrose.com

I work primarily in feminine figurative sculpture, beginning the process with hand formed porcelain. I assemble the fired clay with altered wood, metal, fiber, paint, glass and found objects. I embellish with oil paint, paper collage, and tar.

Chandra Stubbs — Sawyer, MI   |   chandrastubbs.com

My formal training is predominantly ceramics. After years of exploring and growing as an artist I have been seduced by fiber arts and have given in to my need to combine my one of a kind needle felted wool with porcelain. Each piece of felt is made from raw Merino roving using felting needles and various needle tools. Needle felting allows me great control of pattern and detail in my work. I am inspired by designs from days gone by, and combining this with modern colors and texture, I try to draw the viewer into my world. I have framed my felt with hand thrown and extruded porcelain. The porcelain is glazed in clear celadon and high fired prior to assembly. I find the combination and contrast of the clay and felt very clean, comforting, and inviting.

Paul Sumner — Greensboro, NC     

After graduating with a BFA in sculpture concentrating in clay modeling from life, I taught myself woodworking and more recently cold working of sheet metal. The common element in my current work is a hand carved wooden form to which I piece, raise and nail or screw a closely fitted sheet metal skin. I use tin, copper, rusted steel, galvanized steel, and antique painted tins for the surface.