Voices
IV hat's the
Best-Crafted
Elem ent o f
N ature?
BESIDES TH E TR EE ,
with its ancient
trunk and expan-
sive limbs, the ele-
ment in nature that
most captivates
my interest is the ocean. Is the
ocean crafted? I don’t know.
With transparency and depth,
color, and reflection, the ocean
seems to craft itself. The way
the sea carves out the shore, or
the way ocean and sky meld at
the horizon evince elements of
craft - a keen sense for putting
things together. When I see and
feel the porous surface of the
ocean’s chameleon skin, I re-
member the infinite potential
within my own evolving self.
-MICHELLE JOAN WILKINSON,
director o f collections and exhibi-
tions, Reginald F. Lewis Museum
of Maryland African-American
History & Culture, Baltimore
E N T R O P Y , TH E
^ tendency of nature
to distribute our
molecules and
energy randomly
across the universe,
is probably the most dependable
element of nature. As creators
of objects, we employ craft to
launch our creations into time
against the forces of gravity,
wind, fire, water, and the waves
of fashion that conspire to re-
duce our art to atoms. My ex-
perience with CERF+ [Craft
Emergency Relief Fund] has
underscored that those same
forces are capable of reducing
our studios and our careers to
dust. We need to apply our cre-
ativity to crafting more disaster-
resistant careers. CERF+’s
emergency readiness toolkit for
artists (studioprotector.org)
will help us get started.
- C r a ig n u t t ,
furniture maker
and CERF+ director of programs,
Kingston Springs, T N
TO M E, TH E BEST-
crafted elements of
nature are the pat-
terns and textures
formed in nature:
They’re perfectly
irregular. It sounds like a con-
trasting description, but noth-
ing is as regular and predictable,
yet totally one of a kind, as
items found in nature. The lay-
ers and rings of agate, the
shapes of stones, the stripes of
a zebra or the spots of a giraffe,
the arcs and points of leaves.
I find myself so inspired by this
patterning that it often inspires
my work.
-j o y c h o
,,
graphic designer and
Oh Joy! blogger, Los Angeles
A FAVO R ITE PLA N T
in my own garden
is the passion-
flower, a brazen
perennial that
always strikes me
as a well-crafted form in nature.
Year after year, I find the transi-
tion - from the broad petals to
the delicate crown to the more
sculptural anthers and goofy
pistil - surprising and exciting.
Each element also brings in a
fresh and playful use of color,
which is inspiring for me in my
own sculptural work.
-HILARY PFEIFER,
C/'aft-
influenced sculptor, Portland, OR
M Y A N SW E R IS A
snowflake: It is
nature’s perfect
design. Each one
is unique, yet can’t
exist without the
help of others. It is exactly what
art is all about. A snowflake has
structure and mobility. When
its life is over it becomes the
source of life for others. With-
out this perfect little crystal,
life would not come alive in
the spring. Snowflakes honor
the very fragility of our lives as
well as the necessity of com-
munity and family.
-DOUG CASEBEER,
artist;
chairman o f artist residency
program ancl artistic director,
ceramics, sculpture, and wood at
Anderson Ranch Arts Center,
Snowmass Village, CO
W ATER M A K E S UP
over 70 percent of
the world and 70
percent of us. It is
the only substance
found naturally on
the earth in three ever-changing
forms: liquid, solid, and vapor
- all of which I’ve explored in
my work. In its liquid form,
water is in constant motion,
crafting rock and nurturing liv-
ing creatures. In its solidified,
frozen form, only one-ninth of
its massive, stoic shapes are in
view, floating in the far north or
distant south. As a vapor, water
creates the bulbous and wispy
gestures that drift gracefully
overhead. All nature is defined
at least in part by its engage-
ment with water.
-JEFFREY MONGRAIN,
professor o f art, Hunter College,
New Tork
DC /Washington
The Textile Museum
Second Lives: The Age-Old
Art o f Recycling Textiles
Feb. 4 -Jan. 8,2012
textilemuseum.org
A spotlight on inventive ways
people around the world have
found new life for old textiles.
DE /Wilmington
Delaware Center for the
Contemporary Arts
The Book: A Contemporary View
to Apr. 17
thedcca.org
From artist-made books to de-
constructed tomes, this exhibi-
tion showcases the fascinating
ways artists have approached
the printed page (below).
FL/Tampa
Tampa Museum of Art
NCECA Biennial
to Apr. 24
tampamuseum.org
This juried exhibition is in con-
junction with the National
Council on Education for the
Ceramic Arts’ 45 th annual con-
ference March 30 - April 2.
KY/Paducah
The National Quilt Museum
The Everchanging River
to Mar. 7
quiltmuseum.org
More than 30 quilters received a
piece of “river fabric,” with en-
trance and exit points, allowing the
completed quilts to hang side-by-
side as a continuous 49-foot river.
MA / Brockton
Fuller Craft Museum
Different Lines: Drawings by
Craft Artists
to Feb. 27
fullercraft.org
Well-known craft artists apply
their creative abilities to reveal-
ing, two-dimensional pursuits.
fcb/m arn american craft 015
