F R O M T H E S T A C K S
“ T h e f a f t th a t th e o u tco m e o fm y w o r k is n o t a lw a y s p r e d ic ta b le
a d d s a n e x c ite m e n t to d o in g it. ” — J u n e S c h w a n z
Located in Suite 200 of
1224 Marshall Street
n e
in Minneapolis is the
American Craft Council
library, one of the largest
collections in this country
of craft, art and design
books documenting the
studio craft movement
from the 1940s to the
present. The over 14,000
volumes include the
June
Schwarcz:
Enamelisft
STO R Y BY
Christine Kaminsky
After studying industrial design, June
Schwarcz was introduced to enameling
in the 1950s through friends. The rest, as
the saying goes, is history. In the October/
November 1981 issue of American Craft,
writer Lisa Hammel profiled the Sausalito-
based Schwarcz, by then an eminent enam-
elist, noting the various methods utilized
by the artist to create her distinctive expres-
sionistic vessels. “Although Schwarcz
works in traditional enameling techniques,
they are all transmuted in some way. Rarely
is a piece done that does not employ several
techniques at once,” Hammel observed.
Schwarcz herself recently said, “The fact
that the outcome of my work is not always
predictable adds an excitement to doing it.”
Prior to and since 1981, Schwarcz’s
work has been in numerous solo and group
shows. She was selected for inclusion in
“Painting with Fire: Masters of Enameling
1930-1980,” a major retrospective of Ameri-
can enamel, and in the survey “Craft in
America: Expanding Traditions.” Both
exhibitions, each accompanied by a publica-
tion, premiered in 2007 and toured through
2009. During the past year, Schwarcz
garnered rave reviews in a retrospective at
the Mingei International Museum in San
Diego that closed in July. Additionally,
pieces spanning various periods of her ca-
reer have recently been acquired by the de
Young Museum of the Fine Arts Museums
of San Francisco, where 16 of these gifts
are currently on view in the museum’s per-
manent collection display.
Designated a Living Treasure of Cali-
fornia in 1985, Schwarcz was elected
to the American Craft Council’s College
of Fellows in 1987 and subsequently
chosen by her peers to receive the Coun-
cil’s Gold Medal for consummate crafts-
manship in 1996. She received the Special
Award for Achievement in 2009 from
the Enamelist Society.
According to Bernard Jazzar and Hal
Nelson of the Enamel Arts Foundation,
and co-authors of the
Painting with Fire
cat-
alog, Schwarcz, at 92, spends several hours
each day in her home studio, “creating
new forms with a power and energy that
belie her age.” W ith her love of enameling
and passion for the process, note Jazzar
and Nelson, “June Schwarcz provides a
model of artistic integrity and commitment
that have exemplified her career for more
than 55 years.” *
To view the entire American Craft article,
visit us at americancraftmag. org.
Council’s 68-ycar pub-
lishing history—all past
issues of
Craft Horizons
and American Craft.
We’d like to share some
of this amazing past with
you each issue as we dig
through the stacks.
072 am erican craft aug/sep 10
More at ebook-free-download.net or magazinesdownload.com
Photos Edward Claycomb.
