Nancy Jemio

Now in its sixth consecutive year, CRAFTBOSTON is one of New England’s foremost craft exhibitions. Produced by The Society of Arts and Crafts, the venue brings attendees the best in one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces in a host of different mediums. A majority of the exhibitors—eighty percent—are selected through an open jury process, while the show jurors personally invite the remaining twenty percent. Due to the caliber of the show, there are many returning artists, but also “enough new faces to keep it interesting,” says Show Director Margaret Pace DeBruin.

2007 Jurors Andrew Glasgow (Director, The Furniture Society, Asheville, North Carolina), Mike Holmes (Co-Owner, Velvet da Vinci, Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork Gallery, San Francisco, California) and Peggy Russell, (Owner/Designer IRO Design, Boston, Massachusetts; CRAFTBOSTON Fiber Artist 2002-5; SAC Board of Trustees) carefully considered works based on their aesthetic qualities, originality, technique and craftsmanship, creative use of materials, and execution of design.

	Judith Kaufman

“It was a tough pool,” says Beth Ann Gerstein, Executive Director for The Society of Arts and Crafts, “but we had a great juror process. We did it in two stages: The first round jurors made decisions alone, and the second stage was a conference call with everyone in front of their computers, looking at the work and discussing their thoughts. We really encouraged dialogue among the jurors when making their final decisions.” Both the wearable fiber and jewelry arts are well represented, with nearly half of the artists presenting in these two categories alone. There is a welcome variety within the jewelry, from the sophisticated forms of Judith Neugebauer, whose works are instilled with, she says, “a deep awareness and appreciation for movement, line and balance,” to Melissa St. Amand, whose intricate pieces, she believes, “lay somewhere between jewelry and garment.” Artist Holly Anne Mitchell urges us to reconsider the beauty of what we discard, utilizing empty Equal sweetener packets, old barcodes, and newsprint to add textural patterns, vibrant colors and juxtaposition to her metals.

Jaclyn Davidson	Judith Neugebauer

Last year’s Best of Media award-winning jeweler Reiko Ishiyama returns with her multi-dimensional creations. She explains the inspiration for her celebrated designs: “Growing up I observed the kimono as a geometric, flat, folded item. When the kimono is unfolded and

Thomas Mann

draped on the body what transforms the fabric into a dynamic and abstract shape is the obi, or sash. When the sash is released the kimono again regains flatness. Everything in my work begins with [a] sheet of metal. Even though I release silver into tensile shapes it never loses that original sense of birth from a flat world. I’m not interested in massive, permanent structure. I put metals together to hold space in between, underneath, never enclosed, never shielded. If the work is successful it creates an eddy or pocket of space. It’s a way to cup the work in its own temporary moment.”

Variety abounds in the wearable fiber category as well. For accessories, artists like Roxanna Ahlborn, with her unusual handbags, and Karen Chu, with her playful sculptural scarves, fit the bill. Other wearable offerings include Patricia Palson’s use of bright aquas, fuchsias and deep reds which bring a bold femininity to her work. Nancy Jemio’s pictorial jackets and sweaters create setting and mood. Also featured within fiber wearable are four of the five international guests: Lesley Armstrong
and Anke Fox, Jo Buckler, Lotte Kjaer, and Hanne Linding. “We like the international component because we think it adds to the appeal,” Gerstein explains.

Candiss Cole Rodger-Footitt	Deborah Murphy	Marsha Fleisher

CRAFTBOSTON is also pleased to welcome the Alchimia Jewelry School from Florence, Italy to the show. “Even though it’s a school, we consider that part of our international component. They attract students literally from around the world, a really diverse community, and the work coming out of there is incredibly exciting; I’m always blown away by what they present.”

	Cynthia Chuang Erh-Ping Tsai

With attendance figures for the three-day event expected at six to eight thousand, CRAFTBOSTON 2007 is sure to be an exciting convergence of today’s artists and craft lovers. “We think it is a well rounded show,” Gerstein continues. “We feature a lecture series, media tours, tours for the blind and hearing impaired, and we have a mentor program that does a sort of business training for young artists who are just starting out and aren’t in school. I think what sets us apart is that we try to work with the community at all levels so that it is not just a shopping experience—but of course that’s still a great part of it.”

Published in Ornament Magazine, Volume 30, No. 2, 2006.
—Author Jill DeDominicis is Editorial Assistant of Ornament.
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