C H E C K IN G IN
Gary S. Griffin:
Lifelong Learner
S T O R Y B Y
J e s s i c a S h a y k e t t
G AR Y S. G R IFFIN IS A SELF-
professed bibliophile. O f late,
the metalsmith has been vora-
ciously reading up on geometry,
tessellations, 3D design, and
the work of graphic artists in a
variety of mediums. Studying
these things is fueling a resur-
gence of abstraction in Griffin’s
own work.
It’s a shift from his extensive
focus on more representational
imagery, which produced the
remarkably sophisticated yet
utilitarian steel gates featured
in our October/November
2000 issue. “I guess that’s what
happens as one evolves,” Grif-
fin says. “You become inter-
ested in different things, and
then you execute or act on
that observation.”
In his northern New Mexico
studio, the driven 65-year-old
has been building tables and
benches, designing a home to
be constructed using his own
structural steel elements, and
experimenting with sheet metal.
He’s determined to incorporate
all his newfound knowledge of
shape and pattern - to make
sense of it and stretch beyond it.
“I want to move from whatever
degree of uncertainty I have
now toward more certainty,”
Griffin says.
The idea that a maker’s life
is a constant shift from the
unfamiliar to the familiar has
been of great interest to Griffin
ever since writer and critic
Akiko Busch asked him to
speak to the topic for her essay
“The Ecology of Uncertainty,”
published in
The Haystack
Reader {
2010). Busch anticipat-
ed that someone working in
metal must necessarily be
attuned to decisiveness, but
Griffin surprised her, saying
that uncertainty is an ally,
not an adversary. Uncertainty,
he points out, is not the same as
not knowing - it’s not being
sure yet. It is a state of pure
possibility, a chance to think,
process, and decide.
Named to the American
Craft Council College of
Fellows in 2005, Griffin is a
renowned artist with many
aw'ards to his credit; but despite
his years of experience and
accomplishments, venturing
back to uncertainty - so that he
might emerge from it once again
- sustains his intrinsic desire to
learn and grow' as a craftsperson.
Griffin, w'ho retired in 2006
after teaching for 22 years at
Cranbrook Academy of Art, has
this advice for aspiring makers
today: “It’s not just the subject
matter, because it’s always nec-
essary to look for new' ideas and
become interested in w'hat you
w'ant to say; but
how
you say it
is really critical and helpful
along the way.”
For a young metalsmith, that
means know'ing the fundamen-
tals of the material, keeping up
with new' technology, and, like
a w'riter, understanding what
compositions and structures are
available. In Griffin’s case, it’s a
self-propelled process of build-
ing on w'hat he’s mastered
through lectures, travel, and
experimentation in the studio.
And, of course, countless trips
to his local library.
+
Jessica Shaykett is the American
Craft Council librarian.
A L i b r a r y o f C r a f t
LO C ATE D A T
1 2 2 4
M A R SH A LL
Street NE in Minneapolis, the
American Craft Council library
is one of the largest collections
documenting the studio craft
movement. The more than 14,000
volumes include the Council’s
70-year publishing history, with
all past issues of
Craft Horizons
and
American Craft.
In each
issue, w'e follow' up with a craft
artist we’ve covered before.
Our library is free and open to the
public, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday-
Friday. W e hope you’ll visit.
072 American craft jun/juin
Periodic G a ze,
2007
ductile cast iron
4
X
8 ft.
