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People &
Places
Turning Point
A FE W Y E A R S AGO S T O N E Y
Lamar, one of America’s top
woodturners, was watching
a video of himself at the lathe
when he had a startling
realization.
“I said, ‘That man has Par-
kinson’s,’ ” he recalls. “It was
pretty powerful.”
When doctors confirmed he
had the neurological disease,
it was devastating, given that
Lamar’s livelihood and identity
depended on manual dexterity.
But while it was “the end of one
lifetime and the beginning of
another,” the Saluda, North
Carolina-based artist now says
his struggle has strengthened
both his work and his belief
in craft’s ability to empower
and heal.
In November, Lamar, 59,
received a lifetime achievement
award from the Collectors of
Wood Art during the SOFA
decorative aits and design expo
in Chicago, where the del Mano
Gallery featured his new
sculptures.
“W e’ve honored artists be-
fore, just for their work. Stoney
has the additional hat he wears
as an advocate,” says his friend
Robyn Horn, a fellow wood-
worker and founding member
of the collector group. As a
trustee of the American Craft
Council and representative of
the Windgate Charitable Foun-
dation (which sponsors fellow-
ships at the University of North
Carolina’s Center for Craft,
Creativity & Design), Lamar is
passionate about promoting
handwork. “This is serious
stuff, the fact that we’re main-
taining a tradition of using
our hands in this culture and
society,” he says.
020 american craft fcb/m arn
His mission became even
more personal after his diagno-
sis. “The fact that I’m a maker
has given me a way to deal with
it. When you make stuff, it’s all
about intentional movement.
I understand that aspect of my
body better now,” Lamar says.
“Robyn and I always used to
talk about how art saves lives.
It never really became a cogent
reality for me until this
happened.”
Horn thinks Lamar has “re-
ally come into his own” lately,
and he agrees. Having to be eco-
nomical with his fine-motor skills
has pushed him to get to the
essence of his vision, resulting
in pieces that are more stream-
lined, architectural, and refined.
“It’s kind of a funny thing,”
he marvels. “I feel like I’m do-
ing some of the best work of my
life right now.”
K noxville's
Glass Duo
T H E SE A R E BU SY, F U LF ILL IN G
days for husband-and-wife glass
artists Richard Jolley and Tom-
mie Rush.
At SOFA Chicago, the Art
Alliance for Contemporary
Glass gave the couple its 2010
award for outstanding accom-
plishment. (Collector Jon Lieb-
man and the Museum of Arts
and Design were also honored.)
Back home in Knoxville,
Tennessee, they’ve both been
working on major commissions.
Known for his figurative sculp-
tures, Jolley is creating what
will be one of the largest glass
installations anywhere - on a
ioo-foot wall for the great hall
of the Knoxville Museum of
Art. Rush, who serves as an
ACC trustee, is also doing a
wall (“not nearly as big as
Richard’s, thank goodness”),
for the boardroom of H GTV’s
new corporate building; like
her vessels, it will have a bo-
tanical theme, reflecting her
love of gardening.
Married since 1988, they
each take a distinctive approach
to glass. “I definitely see that
blend of art and science in
Richard. For him it’s a cerebral
endeavor involving lots of re-
search and chemistry,” Rush
says. Her style is more roman-
tic, as befits a native of Mobile,
Alabama: “I am a product of the
Deep South. Growing up, I
thought everyone had io-foot-
tall camellia bushes and beauti-
ful cut-glass crystal vases full of
flowers all around the house.”
One thing they fully share is
a commitment to local outreach.
For years they’ve worked with
Knoxville’s Community School
of the Arts, bringing at-risk kids
into their io,ooo-square-foot
studio to blow glass.
“As far as knowledge assimi-
lation goes, there are different
ways of learning,” saysjolley,
who overcame dyslexia.
“W e’re not trying to make art-
ists out of them, just give them a
bigger world view.” He tells of
one fifth-grader for whom spin-
ning out a glass bowl became a
life-changing lesson in centri-
fugal force. “He’s now a junior
at Georgia Tech, because sci-
ence became real to him.”
In B r ie f
“ T H E VASE A N D BEYO N D : TH E
Sidney Swidler Collection of
the Contemporary Vessel”
is among the inaugural shows
at the newly expanded Crocker
Art Museum in Sacramento,
California (through April 10).
Other recent additions to the
Crocker’s clay holdings include
a gift from collector Rob Wood
of 37 works by ceramist Rob
Barnard, one of the foremost
practitioners of the wood-fired
tradition, and a donation by
renowned ceramist Toshiko
Takaezu of 45 pieces spanning
her career.
.. Arts supporters
Bernard and Sherley Koteen
will by honored by the James
Renwick Alliance during
Spring Craft Weekend in
Washington, D.C., March
24 - 27.
.. To complement its
extensive glass collections, the
Chrysler Museum in Norfolk,
Virginia, plans to open a $7.5
million glass studio in the fall.
-JOYCE LOVELACE
Stoney Lamar, one
of America’s most
renowned woodturners,
has been honing his craft
for decades. A diagnosis
of Parkinson’s initially
felt like a huge setback,
but ultimately has
strengthened both his
work and his conviction
that art can save lives.
Photo: Sara Hohman
