The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design (CCCD) has launched ENEWS to keep you current with all our programs, exhibits and events. ENEWS will be sent out monthly with most news linking to more lengthy information found on our website www.craftcreativitydesign.org. Announcements cards will still be mailed for upcoming exhibits and talks. If you are on our mailing list to receive an announcement card for exhibits and would prefer to receive the information through ENEWS, please let us know and it will save us a stamp!

Dian Magie, Executive Director

This exhibition presents the works of textile artist Edwina Bringle and potter Cynthia Bringle. These sisters have dedicated much of their lives to teaching, influencing innumerable students. This exhibition celebrates their contributions by exhibiting select works from throughout their lives. Both artists will give a talk at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 9th and will be followed by an opening reception.

Cynthia Bringle

"When I was new to my art and struggling to find my own way, there were many potters working in my part of the world, but there was no one like Cynthia Bringle. Cynthia's doors were always open, her willingness to share and teach provided others and me leadership and showed me how I could model myself. The fact that she was making pots and making a living made me believe that it might be possible for me to do the same. Cynthia made pots that were based on utilitarian pottery, but treated them as one-of-a-kind objects. This creative playfulness is, in my opinion, Cynthia's hallmark. Her example has helped me to embrace the idea of continuous experimentation with my own work."

Edwina Bringle

"Edwina was my first weaving instructor and introduced me in 1973 to the world of textiles. She is an extraordinary teacher-clear, precise, calm and patient. When a loom needs fixing or a warp thread breaks, she has a solution. Encouraging words come when most needed. She enables you to stretch beyond the limits you might initially set. Through Edwina you'll observe colors and textures in your surroundings with fresh eyes. Her work warms your body and delights your soul. The Bringle sisters are gifts to Penland School of Crafts and our students and community. They are extremely generous with their time-as volunteers, advisors, mentors, teachers, and friends. They bring a kind of humor, tenacity and grit, wisdom, history, and stability to the life of the school. All that in addition to the beautiful work they produce!"

Early registration deadline is October 1st!

Inspired Design: Jacquard & Entrepreneurial Textiles Conference will feature speakers from around the world who are leaders in the field. The conference will take place in Hendersonville, North Carolina with an opening reception Wednesday January 7, 2009 followed by the conference Thursday, Friday, and ending at 1pm on Saturday, January 10, 2009. The Conference, limited to 250 attendees, will be held on the Blue Ridge Community College Campus.

The opening of the conference will begin with a reception and exhibition of work of textile designers speaking at the conference, at the Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design, in Hendersonville, the conference host. The conference is divided into a half-day focus on each of five textile design growth areas. Three to four speakers in each of the five areas will give presentations as a panel, followed by break-out sessions featuring each individual speaker.

Thursday and Friday conference days will end with limited optional tours of The Oriole Mill or downtown Asheville. Registration for the Conference prior to October 1, 2008 is $250 for professional artists and $50 for registered college students; after October 1, the registration increases to $300 and $75. Ten percent of the conference was filled by June 1st.

The conference schedule with keynote speakers, in addition to the speakers asterisked above, can be found with a registration form at www.craftcreativitydesign.org/education/textiledesignor contact CCCD at 828-890-2050 to have a registration form mailed to you.

Australian artist Patrick Hall will be traveling around Western North Carolina September 18-24th, 2008, giving talks to the public.

Patrick Hall has worked as an artist and furniture maker in Hobart since graduating with a Bachelor of Find Arts (Design & Printmaking) degree Centre for the Arts, University of Australia, Tasmanian, in1986. His work is shown regularly throughout Australia and he has developed a strong following in the United States where for 10 years he has exhibited at the annual international SOFA exposition in Chicago, with Hobart-based Despard Gallery. He has been included in around twenty group exhibitions in Australia, Japan and the United States, and has produced work for over a dozen solo exhibitions since 1990.

Hall's furniture work is between definitions and fields, a cross realm linking craft, fine art and design. His intricately crafted cabinets reveal a glimpse of the human experience through the combination of poetic narrative and visual reference.

In May 2009, Patrick Hall will be in Western North Carolina for a two-week residency sponsored by CCCD. This residency will involve faculty and students of Western Carolina University, Appalachian State University, and UNC-Asheville. For more information about his work visit www.hallison.com

The Mission of the Craft Research Fund Project & Graduate Research Grants is to encourage, expand and support research in United States Craft (contemporary and decorative arts) for professional scholars and graduate students.

This is the fourth year of the national grant program with the selection process moved from spring to fall to help administrators who also work with panel selection of the Windgate Fellowships in the spring. A description of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Graduate Research Grants can be found on the CCCD website.

These SPOTLIGHTS highlight the accomplishments of Craft Research Fund grant recipients.

Peter Held

"Funding was provided by the CCCD to support research for the development of the book Following the Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner. The publication provides an in-depth overview of David Shaner's (1934-2002) illustrious career which spanned more than four decades. It provides a timely tribute to a highly disciplined artist who had a deep understanding of himself, his materials, and the world in which he lived, and offers a fresh perspective on the burgeoning mid-century ceramic movement in the United States.

The book was released in September, 2007 when the exhibition by the same title opens at the Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center. It is being distributed by the ASU Art Museum and University of Washington Press. Following the Rhythms of Life contains two primary essays that cover biographical, art historical and cultural influences on David Shaner's life work. These include: The Shaner Way by artist and writer Jack Troy and Following the Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner by Peter Held with contributions by journalist Conan Putnam and arts writer Hollis Walker.

The book also contains an introduction & acknowledgements, chronology of the artist, exhibition history, bibliography and collection history. The publication is hardbound, 126 pages with 66 color plates."

Alice Kinsler

"In 2005, I was awarded a graduate research grant to research and exhibit a very important part of the Dust Bowl Migration to California, the textile recordings of quiltmakers during an important time in the development of the Salinas Valley, known as the "Salad Bowl of the World." Launching into this research, there was uncertainty as to quilts surviving this most desperate period in American history...the Great Depression. What emerged was a closely linked community of people bound by a common experience of enduring hard times.

The 2006-07 exhibit, "From Dust Bowl to Salad Bowl: The Quilts and Quiltmakers of the Depression Era Migration to the Salinas Valley" at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California, featured fifteen quilts and stories about their nine makers from four States. Also included were period artifacts, historic Dorothea Lange photographs, and recordings (Smithsonian's "Voices of the Dust Bowl," President Roosevelt "Fireside Chat," Woody Guthrie music) that gave the quilts ambient context and amplified their meaning. Finding the quilts was a process of reaching out through the connecting threads of families who were either migrants of the period, or were loved ones of those who came to California seeking a better life. These quilts were made by women who were refugees during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl Period, as well as one quiltmaker who was left behind. One quilt also represents unconfirmed provenance, unfortunately a condition that is true for many quilts.

The impact of the exhibition was significant, recruiting a new audience for the National Steinbeck Center. Visitors, both domestic and international, learned about the art and craft of quilts in general. More specifically, details were presented about the featured quilts and their makers, as well as a difficult time in our country's history. Since the exhibit's closing in 2006, I have given the popular opening night presentation to more than 200 people. This exhibition became a material starting point for a community discussion of an important period in American history, when a mass migration occurred that affected significantly the development of a major agricultural center in the world.

The grant from the Craft Research Fund was absolutely critical in the launching of this project. This grant not only provided leverage and credibility for other donations, it also allowed me to breathe easily and focus my energy on finding the families and quilts, research their genealogy, and to develop and create the exhibition. It also allowed me to produce a gallery guide that lives on for the hundreds of people who made it a keepsake to share with others. I shall be eternally grateful for your generous grant."

Tim Maddox

"Exiting through the doors of my undergraduate studies into my next adventure, there was absolutely no walking to be had. I burst through the gate of graduation without a moment available to look back. Riding the excitement of being a Windgate Fellow, I was to embark on a summer of expeditions that began days before my family and friends watched as I received my diploma. It began with the incredible opportunity of showing my thesis work at my first solo show, held at Silver Fox Gallery in Hendersonville, NC. The pace was set and I felt primed to barrel forward with the intent of a steam locomotive.

Upon removing my thesis work from the college, I was given the opportunity to replace it with an installation that would show my reverence for craft while also expressing my concerns and doubts about my future endeavors. Those adventures where set to begin immediately.

I traveled to New York for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and witnessed many personal explorations in craft and design from around the world. It was an awesome overload of ambition and commitment to one's practice. I experienced a similar sentiment in Victoria, British Columbia, soon after, at the Furniture Society's Annual Conference. With all this inspiration, I set up shop in my folks' barn while I tried to find a more permanent space in Western North Carolina.

I moved to Asheville, NC to create my vision of a co-op studio because my shop-mate and mentor, Brent Skidmore, moved here with his family to take the position as Director for the UNCA Craft Campus. Along with Brent, the talented Sylvie Rosenthal jumped on board. With our crew formed, we began our journeys together on Coxe Avenue in downtown Asheville.

Fortunate to have the machinery and advice of these incredible shop-mates, I set to work transforming this empty space into an amazing shop. At times daunting, I taught myself many new skills while trying to transition from the supportive environment and immediately accessible resources I experienced in college. From running gas lines and installing a furnace to updating our electrical capabilities, I started to fulfill a part of me that says, "No task is daunting and only requires one's will to accomplish."

The most difficultly I have experienced since moving from the experimental and safe environment of school to my own studio is the day to day task of convincing myself it is not just okay, but imperative that I explore unknown territory in my work. The desire to run, to wander outside of my studio and into others has been working confusion into my blood. Dealing with the questions we grapple with over the importance of our journey has proven to be a struggle I had thought would not strike.

Well I have decided to declare, "Little nagging Nay-Sayer, I shall be victim to you no longer. In the future you may get me in small stride, but I have no use for your blockade. Wheels turning, on all tracks my pace will be constant and forward moving."

Thank you to everyone involved with the Windgate Foundation and the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design for this incredibly special opportunity. A special debt of gratitude is given to Dian Magie for including me in the 2008 Think Tank, which introduced me to many incredible people with amazing ideas. An extra special debt of gratitude is given to Brent Skidmore and his family for their unwavering love and support.

An open invitation to visit our shop is extended to all."

American Craft Council Show in Charlotte, NC
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2008
Charlotte Convention Center
www.craftcouncil.org/charlotte

New artists, new work, and a Green Craft component will be on display at "The American Craft Show" in Charlotte at the uptown Convention Center, October 31 - November 2, 2008. Celebrating its 14th year in Charlotte, this much-anticipated event delivers the nation's leading 200 artists and their latest designer jewelry, furniture, clothing, home decor and more, to the public. Guests can indulge in daily raffles and live demonstrations and meet the artists who create these one-of-a-kind treasures. Tickets are $8 per person or $14 for a two-day pass. Free entry for America Craft Council members.

American Craft Council's
Summer in the City Salon Series: The Politics of Craft
September 18, 2008, American Craft Council library
6-7pm, with reception to follow
www.craftcouncil.org

With one of the most important elections of our era around the corner, join us in investigating craft's relationship to politics and its role in addressing issues of urgency in our world today. Rob Walker, a New York Times columnist and author, interviews makers Sabrina Gschwandtner, of KnitKnit, and Liz Collins, knitwear designer and founder of Knitting Nation. The series is made possible by the support of Leatrice S. Eagle, with additional support from Etsy.

SOFA Chicago 2008, November 7 - 9, 2009
The 15th annual Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair returns to Navy Pier's Festival Hall, presenting work from 100 international galleries and dealers. There will be a lecture series Nov. 7 and 8th, with presentations by renowned artists, collectors, and arts professionals. Admission to the lectures is included with a SOFA ticket. For more information visit www.sofaexpo.com

Don't miss "The Philanthropy of Craft: Innovative Ways to Maker Your Charitable Contributions Count" as part of the SOFA Lecture Series
1pm on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, Room 309, Navy Pier.
Moderated by Jim Hackney, Alexander Haas Martin & Partners, a firm focused on seeking results in philanthropy for non-profit organizations.

CCCD's Director, Dian Magie, will participate in this panel along with John E. Brown III, Executive Director, Windgate Charitable Foundation; Cindi Strauss, Curator, Modern & Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Jean McLaughlin, Executive Director, Penland School of Crafts.

Cherokee Pottery: People of One Fire exhibition features a collection of visually stunning and culturally significant pottery made by the Cherokee people spanning centuries of dramatic culture change. From its utilitarian, ceremonial, and decorative uses in prehistoric times to its contemporary appeal as fine art, the pottery of the Cherokees has continued as a vibrant and distinct part of their culture. This traveling exhibition is sponsored by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation of North Carolina and features over 80 pieces. www.cherokeeheritage.org. On view at the Mountain Heritage Center in Cullowhee, NC, August 4 - Nov. 16, 2008.

A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression by Howard Risatti. Published by Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

What is craft? How is it different from fine art or design? Risatti examines these issues by comparing handmade ceramics, glass, metalwork, weaving, and furniture to painting, sculpture, photography, and machine-made design from Bauhaus to the Memphis Group. He describes craft's unique qualities as functionality combined with an ability to express human values that transcend temporal, spatial, and social boundaries. Craft must articulate a role for itself in contemporary society, says Risatti; otherwise it will be absorbed by fine art or design and its singular approach to understanding the world will be lost.

Thinking Through Craft is co-published in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Written by Glenn Adamson, Deputy Head of Research and Head of Graduate Studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum, "this book is a timely and engaging introduction to the way that artists working in all media think about craft. Workmanship is key to today's visual arts, when high 'production values' are becoming increasingly commonplace. Yet craft's centrality to contemporary art has received little serious attention from critics and historians. Dispensing with clichéd arguments that craft is art, Adamson persuasively makes a case for defining craft in a more nuanced fashion. The interesting thing about craft, he argues, is that it is perceived to be 'inferior' to art. The book consists of an overview of various aspects of this second-class identity - supplementarity, sensuality, skill, the pastoral, and the amateur. It also provides historical case studies analyzing craft's role in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, design, contemporary art, and the crafts themselves." Source: www.amazon.com

Ornament as art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection This richly illustrated 528-page catalogue, available at amazon.com, features an introduction and essay by Cindi Strauss, an essay by Helen Williams Drutt English, an interview of Drutt by Strauss, a chronology of major events in contemporary jewelry, a complete illustrated checklist of the Drutt collection and artist biographies. This catalogue accompanies a landmark exhibition that explores contemporary jewelry from a global perspective. The exhibition traces the development of artist-made jewelry and honors its craft roots while also placing the work within a larger framework of seminal movements in 20th century art. Ornament as Art showcases a broad array of national and international works made between 1963 and 2006. The exhibition includes 300 objects, including 275 pieces of jewelry and drawings, watercolors, sketchbooks and sculptural constructions by the artists. Cindi Strauss, curator of modern and contemporary decorative arts and design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, organized the exhibition; Robyn Kennedy, chief of the Renwick Gallery, is coordinating curator for the exhibition in Washington.

Makers: 20th Century American Studio Craft (working title) At the first "Think-Tank" convened by CCCD in 2002, of craft faculty, museum director and curators, scholars and critics, the initiative ranked as most important to the advancement of the field was a history of American Craft in the twentieth Century. The journey toward making this a reality can be tracked on www.craftcreativitydesign.org/research/history.php. 20th Century American Studio Craft by Janet Koplos and Bruce Metcalf is with the publisher, the University of North Carolina Press. Long awaited, the book, researched and written under the auspices of CCCD, will include 500+ images and also serve as an undergraduate text. It will be released in late 2008. The University of North Carolina Press is making craft history and criticism a focus of the Press.

Cahiers métiers d'art* Craft Journal, is a nonprofit organization that encourages and publishes critical, historical and technical research on local and international craft. Membership includes a subscription to the Cahiers métiers d'art* Craft Journal published twice a year. Each issue presents essays from international researchers in both French and English; book and exhibition reviews; and profiles of craftspeople from around the world. (www.craftjournal.ca) Denis Longchamps, publisher and managing editor, is interested in critical, technical and historical research on craft from all regions of the world.

The first issue of The Journal of Modern Craft, edited by Glenn Adamson, Victoria & Albert Museum, UK; Edward S. Cooke, Jr. Yale University, USA; Tanya Harrod, Royal College of Art, UK, is the first peer-reviewed academic journal to provide an interdisciplinary and international forum in its subject area. It address all forms of making that self-consciously set themselves apart from mass production - whether in the making of designed objects, artworks, buildings or other artefacts. Published three times a year in March, July and November. To place an order/subscription visit www.bergpublishers.com and download order forms or email custerserv@turpin-distribution.com.

The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design is an inter-institutional Center of the University of North Carolina.

The mission of the regional UNC Center is to support and advance craft, creativity and design in education and research, and, through community collaborations, to demonstrate ways that craft and design provide creative solutions to community issues. The mission of the nonprofit CCCD is to support the mission of the UNC center through funding, programs, and outreach to artists, craft organizations, schools in the community, region and nation.

email: info@craftcreativitydesign.org
phone: 828.890.2050
web: http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org