Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is pleased to present Head Gear, featuring three artists who use masks and portraiture to perform, interrogate, and subvert constructed identities. Inspired by the historical uses of armor and veils, Kate Clements, Arielle DePinto, and Matt Lambert explore the implications of concealing and revealing oneself through ornament. Through a combination of objects and accompanying studio portraits, the artists experiment with classic archetypes like beauty queens, brides, widows, athletes, and soldiers to create entirely new and complex identities.

Kate Clements’ crystalline glass headdresses reveal the fragility in the construction of idealized feminine identity. Merging the preciousness of kiln-fired glass with cultural signifiers, such as bridal and widow’s veils, beauty queen tiaras, and royal crowns, she addresses the ways in which these objects transform identity and perform an idealized femininity that is ultimately fabricated and unattainable. Arielle de Pinto, meanwhile, explores a darker vein of feminine identity through expressive, crocheted chain masks, which unite material luxury with grotesque bodily forms. Reminiscent of chainmail armor, her gold vermeil and silver pieces drape and sag across the wearer’s face in a way that is equally monstrous and luxurious.

By using a visual vernacular of male sport, trophy, armor, and fetish to create his masks, Matt Lambert investigates masculinity, as well as queer and non-binary identities. The artist combines large-scale portraiture and performance with masks, ranging aesthetically from intricate fringed veils and metal headpieces that resemble protective fencing gear to leather masks with antlers that evoke hunting trophies.

HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Sarah Darro, commented: “As one of the most transformative objects in material culture, a mask can protect, conceal, empower, and free its wearer. Masks are duplicitous—they hide one face and reveal another, they horrify and beguile, they disrupt and reconstruct. They bring layered, hybrid figures to life. As the artists in Head Gear subvert existing social constructs, they also offer more nuanced possibilities and ways in which to perceive, perform, and navigate identity.”

Head Gear is curated by HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Sarah Darro.

About the Artists

Kate Clements holds an MFA degree in glass from Tyler School of Art at Temple University and a BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited across the nation, in venues including the Bellevue Arts Museum, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Sherry Leedy Contemporary in Kansas City, and Bullseye Glass Gallery in Portland. She was the recipient of the Academic Award from Bullseye Glass Emerge in 2014, as well as a university fellowship from Tyler School of Art. She was an artist-in-residence at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City and has had her work featured in Vogue Gioiello magazine.

Arielle de Pinto holds a BFA degree from Concordia Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited internationally, in venues including the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Museum of Modern Art Arnhem for Arnhem Mode Biënnale in the Netherlands, PPOW Gallery in New York, and Barrister’s Gallery in New Orleans. Her work has been featured in national and international publications including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, i-D, Dazed & Confused, and Metalsmith.

Matt Lambert holds an MFA degree in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art and, from Wayne State University, a BFA in metals, ceramics, and printmaking and a BA in psychology. Lambert’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL; Craft Council of British Columbia Gallery in Vancouver, Canada; Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern in Munich, Germany; the Collective Design Fair in New York, NY; the Queer Culture Center in San Francisco, CA; and Platina Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the 2017 recipient of the Next Generation Award from the Surface Design Association and was the 2016 and 2017 recipient of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s program for visual artists and designers.

Image credits: (1) Kate Clements, “Butterfly Crown,” 2016. Kiln-fired glass. 8 x 4 x 7 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist. (2) Kate Clements, “Pink Bridesmaid,” 2014. Kiln-fired glass. Photo courtesy of the artist. (3) Kate Clements, “Snow Crown,” 2016. Kiln-fired glass. 6 x 5 x 7 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist. (4) Kate Clements, “Thistle Crown,” 2016. Kiln-fired glass. 8 x 4 x 8 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist. (5) Kate Clements, “Widow,” 2013. Kiln-fired glass.  Photo courtesy of the artist. 6) Arielle de Pinto, “Eyeball Mask,” 2009. Unpolished brass, nickel, silver-plated nickel. 12 x 6 x 6 inches. Photo courtesy of Todd Weaver. (7) Arielle de Pinto, “Female Mask,” 2010. Brass, nickel, silver-plated nickel. 10 x 8 x 8 inches. Photo courtesy of Thomas Lillo. (8) On left: Arielle de Pinto, “Female Mask,” 2010. Brass, nickel, silver-plated nickel. Photo courtesy of Thomas Lillo. 10 x 8 x 8 inches. On right: Arielle de Pinto, “Male Mask,” 2010. Brass, nickel, gold-plated nickel, silver-plated nickel. Photo courtesy of Thomas Lillo. (9) Arielle de Pinto, “Male Mask,” 2010. Brass, nickel, gold-plated nickel, silver-plated nickel. Photo courtesy of Thomas Lillo. (10) Object pictured on the right: Matt Lambert, “Mask4Masc (Rut 1),” 2014. Leather, steel, textile, lacquer, antlers. 15 x 7 x 21 inches. Photo courtesy of Danya Ensing. (11) Matt Lambert, “Mask4Masc (Muffled),” 2013. Steel, cotton. 13 x 7 x 6 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist. (12) Matt Lambert, “a(r)mor (Occupied),” 2017. Steel, textile, glass beads. 9 x 7x 20 inches. Photo courtesy of Pär Åhlander. (13) Matt Lambert, “a(r)mor (Purity),” 2017. Steel, textile, glass beads. 13 x 7 x 6 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Opening Reception
Friday, September 22, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the opening of For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America in the Main Gallery, Storyline in the Front Gallery, and open studios by the current resident artists.

Opening this summer at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC), The Sound of Things, featuring the work of artists Bohyun Yoon and Alyce Santoro, conceptualizes sound and its laden potential within objects and craft materials. The exhibition prompts visitors to ask:  What does glass sound like? What does a sonic weaving look like? Yoon and Santoro have mined the history of their respective materials—glass and woven audio tape—to engage with these questions and make tangible what was once unperceivable.

Bohyun Yoon’s work explores sound as well as imperceptible modes of communication and social structures. The artist combines his medium of glass and its properties of vibration resonance, refraction, and transparency with accompanying video performances to make the invisible visible. His Glassorganism series takes the form of Japanese popen.  These historical, hand-blown glass noisemakers are characterized by a hollow stem and bowl, connected by a thin glass membrane, which moves between convex and concave states when activated by human breath. After seeing this object depicted in an 18^th-century woodblock print by Utamaro Kitagawa, Yoon began conceptualizing the sound it would emit and, after an experimental process of making, ultimately found that the form had potential as an instrument of both sound and light refraction.

The sonic potential of glass objects is expressed and explored in other series by the artist as well. Composed of varying blown-glass tubes with onomatopoeic names, each piece in Yoon’s Glass Tube emits a singular sound when warm air is blown through it, releasing ephemeral tones unique to each object. Harnessing the properties of historic “singing glasses,” Yoon’s Glass Helmets series offers water-filled helmets functioning as both musical instruments and prosthetic devices that amplify communication and social connection. The helmets’ spouts allow multiple wearers to change the water levels, thereby altering the tones produced.

Like glass, weaving has a longstanding connection to the aural realm:  drafting a weaving pattern is similar to composing music on a staff, and the process of weaving itself has a rhythmic, tonal quality. Alyce Santoro has amplified this connection in her work, developing a woven textile that is literally imbued with recorded music, in a series of works entitled Sonic Fabric. Weaving audio-cassette tape began experimentally for the artist and musician. After a number of trials and collaborative efforts, she found that weaving the tape on a loom resulted in a glinting textile that was both highly durable and retained its magnetic properties, thereby holding sonic potential. In order to “play” her weavings, Santoro developed tape-head-reader gloves, which emit sounds from the tapes as they are run across the surface. She also developed a visual musical score for the textiles by converting light wavelengths to sound wavelengths. Each band of color on the weaving corresponds with a musical note and can be read visually as well as played with the gloves. She uses audio sourced from diverse cultures and time periods as well as records her own audio in the field, allowing for site-specific weavings.

HCCC Curatorial Fellow Sarah Darro commented, “The works in this exhibition expand the realm of the gallery-viewing context by incorporating conceptual sound. We invite visitors to experience the artwork with all of their senses by listening to Alyce Santoro’s weavings and viewing the sonic potential in Bohyun Yoon’s ethereal glass pieces.”

The Sound of Things is curated by HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Sarah Darro.

About the Artists

Bohyun Yoon is currently based in Richmond, Virginia, where he is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds MFA degrees from Rhode Island School of Design and Tama Art University in Japan. Yoon’s work has been exhibited internationally, in venues including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Shelburne Museum, and the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in Korea. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the West Collection, and Song Eun Art Space in Korea. He has been the recipient of a number of fellowships and awards, including the Hayward Prize for Fine Arts, the S&R Washington Award, and the International Research Center for Art Fellowship at Kyoto University of Art and Design. His work has been featured in such national and international print publications as Glass Art Quarterly, New Glass Review, Art in Culture, and 40 Under 40: Craft Futures.

Alyce Santoro is an artist and musician. She holds a graduate certificate in scientific illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BS in marine biology from Southampton College. Her work has been exhibited widely in international venues including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Gwangju Design Biennale. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum, and Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, among others. Her work has been featured in national and international print publications including The New York Times, Wired, MAKE Magazine, and Orion Magazine, and she has been the recipient of a number of fellowships and awards at venues including the Vermont Studio Center, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Blue Mountain Center, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Image credits: (1 – 2) Alyce Santoro, “Sonic Fabric” (detail), 2017. Cassette tape, polyester. Photo courtesy of the artist. (3) Alyce Santoro, “Scroll Scores (Black: 136.1 Hz Edition, Brown: Between Stations Edition),” 2015. Cassette tape, polyester, cassette-tape patches. 10 x 5 feet each. Photo courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, “RePurposed” exhibition, 2015. Photo by Giovanni Lunardi. (4) Alyce Santoro, “Scroll Scores (Black: 136.1 Hz Edition, Brown: Between Stations Edition),” (detail), 2015. Cassette tape, polyester, cassette-tape patches. 10 x 5 feet. Photo courtesy of the artist. (5) Bohyun Yoon, “Glass Helmet,” 2004. Blown glass. 8 x 12 x 12 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist. (6) Bohyun Yoon, “Sound of Glass Helmet (Video Still),” 2004. Color video with sound. Three minutes. Photo courtesy of the artist. (7 – 8) Bohyun Yoon, “Glassorganism,” 2013. Blown glass, 17-channel color video with sound. One minute and 20 seconds. Photo courtesy of the artist. (9 – 11) Bohyun Yoon, “Glass Tube,” 2012. Blown-glass tubes, color video with sound. Two minutes. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Opening Reception
Friday, September 22, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the opening of For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America and open studios by the current resident artists.

Last Look at Fall Exhibitions
January 6, 3:00 – 5:00 PM

This fall, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents Storyline: The Contemporary Quilt, a survey that highlights the spectrum of contemporary quilt-making techniques and traditions. As living artifacts that change over time, historically, quilts have depicted personal histories and fostered community-building throughout many different cultures. Storyline brings together a diverse selection of quilters, including Kathryn Clark, Luke Haynes, Carolyn Mazloomi, Aaron McIntosh, and Anna Von Mertens, who utilize various techniques, patterns, and materials to document their stories as well as comment on broader cultural narratives. Each artist uses the language of fiber to capture the unique content of his or her work.

“The quilt is one of the most complex objects in the history of American art,” explains HCCC Executive Director, Perry A. Price. “When hung on the wall, it can be viewed like a painting, but this art form is only truly understood when we acknowledge its complex physical construction, its historical precedent as a functional object with a relationship to the body, and its role as an artistic outlet for groups frequently marginalized by mainstream fine arts.”

Some of the quilts in Storyline revisit points in history to spark new modes of inquiry and reflection. Starting in 2015, Kathryn Clark (San Francisco, CA) researched the failure of Russia’s short-lived democracy in the ‘80s and ‘90s and discovered a pattern that anticipates Russia’s current political climate. With 2017 marking the 100-year anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Clark has embroidered an infographic timeline of the country’s democracy in her patchwork quilt, The Russia Project: 1987-1996 (2017), hallmarking the significance of this brief period.

Identifying iconic paintings from art history in her Portraits series (2009), Anna Von Mertens (Peterborough, NH) revisits the myths that surround these familiar works, taking a closer look at their subjects, through the construct of aura photography and the relationship between emotion and color. Using hand-dye techniques to produce a bold palette, Von Mertens reverse engineers the auras of her subjects, based on their personalities and places in history, to provide a more personable account of each sitter.

Other quilts act as diaries, documenting the personal histories of their authors. Activist and leader of the Women of Color Quilters Network, Carolyn Mazloomi (West Chester, OH), draws upon the African-American tradition of story quilts in her work, Wrapped in Love (2016).  Producing whole cloth quilts, Mazloomi stencils, hand paints, and machine sews her images to depict the ancestral ties among three generations of women in her family. Alternatively, in his Fragments series (2012), LGBTQ activist Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA) machines together a series of zeros with the cover of a gay magazine as a personal reflection on his identity.

Storyline: The Contemporary Quilt is co-curated by HCCC Executive Director, Perry A. Price, and HCCC Curator, Kathryn Hall.

Image credits: (1 – 3) Luke Haynes, “Log Cabins” series, 2016. Used textiles, thread, wool batting, sheets. 90 x 90 inches. Photo by Luke Haynes. (4 & 5) Aaron McIntosh, “Freshman Magazine, August 2002 Issue (Broken Links),” from the “Fragments” series, 2012. Digital textile print on cotton broadcloth, vintage printed cotton, batting, thread. 71 x 56 inches. Photo by Aaron McIntosh.  (6 & 7) Kathryn Clark, “The Russia Project: 1987-1996,” (detail), 2017. Linen, hand embroidery. 60 x 132 inches. Photo by Kathryn Clark.  (8) Anna Von Mertens, “Arrangement in Grey and Black’s Aura (Whistler’s Mother), after James Whistler,” 2009. Hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton. 54 ½ x 63 ½ inches. Photo by Don Tuttle.  (9) Carolyn L. Mazloomi, “Wrapped in Love,” 2016. Fiber. 70 x 60 inches. Photo by Carolyn L. Mazloomi.

Opening Reception
Friday, September 22, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

September 22 – 25
Live Sign Painting by Sean & Kayleigh Starr of Starr Studios

October 13 – 15
Live Sign Painting by Norma Jeanne Maloney

October 14
Sign Painters Film Screening, Q & A, & Book Signing

November 1 – 5 and 8 – 12
Live Sign Painting by Ira Coyne & Forrest Wozniak

November 29 – December 3
Live Sign Painting by Cayetano Valenzuela of Black Rabbit Studio

December 13 – 15
Live Sign Painting by Ken Davis

January 6
Last Look at Fall Exhibitions

This fall, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) explores the rich history and current renaissance of hand-lettered signs in For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America. The exhibition showcases a range of contemporary sign painters who use traditional methods to create banners, sandwich boards, paper signs, murals, fictional advertisements, and more. Some pieces will be installed from the start of the show, while others will be created in the gallery, during public hours, over the course of the exhibition. This will allow visitors to witness, firsthand, a variety of sign-painting processes.

As recently as the 1980s, storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all hand lettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled crafts and trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into the modern landscape. Fortunately, there is a current resurgence in the trade and a growing trend of business owners seeking out traditional sign painters.

In 2010, exhibition guest curators, Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, set out to provide the first anecdotal overview of the trade by documenting these dedicated practitioners, their methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. The result was both a book (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012) and a feature-length documentary, called Sign Painters. To continue the project, Levine and Macon collaborated with HCCC to create the exhibition, inviting a group of working sign painters who were featured in the documentary, as well as several who were not, to contribute new work. HCCC Curator Kathryn Hall commented, “HCCC is excited to work with Faythe and Sam on this important exhibition, which acknowledges the history and revitalization of a skillful trade that greatly enriches the commercial landscape of cities across the United States.”

For Hire urges visitors to think about their surroundings, how the landscapes of their cities were formed, and about the individuals who were behind that process. Over the course of the exhibition, viewers will have the opportunity to see signs painted before their eyes and leave with a new appreciation of the devotion, talents, and personalities behind this time-honored craft.

Featured in the exhibition are sign painters Remy Chwae (Los Angeles, CA), Forrest Wozniak and Ira Coyne (Minneapolis, MN and Olympia, WA), Norma Jeanne Maloney (Taylor, TX), Shelby Rodeffer (Chicago, IL), and Sean and Kayleigh Starr (Denton, TX), among others.

For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America was curated by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon and organized by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Image credits: (1)“For Hire” curators, Faythe Levine and Sam Macon. Photo by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, 2012.  (2) Hand-painted sign by Norma Jeanne Maloney. Photo by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, 2012. (3) Norma Jeanne Maloney in her Austin, TX, studio. Photo by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, 2012.

(1) Kate Barber, “Bind,” 2016. Polyester, linen, cotton. 9 x 11 inches. Photo by Karen Philippi. (2) Julie Marks Blackstone, “Knotty Girl VIII: The Krasner Fan,” 2016. Cotton embroidery floss. 9 x 9 x 1 inches. Photo by the artist. (3) Beth Blankenship, “Oiled Elder,” 2016. Glass beads, thread. 6 x 10 x 13 inches. Photo by the artist.(4) Nicole Bunting, “Who, When, Where,” 2016. Cotton fabric and yarn. 8 x 13 inches. Photo by the artist. (5) Al Canner, “Mid-Century Modern Pictograph,” 2017. Cotton and hemp cords. 13 x 8 x 8 inches.  Photo by Ken Sanville. (6) Andrea Cook, “Garden of Roses #87 Natural,” 2017. Raw natural canvas. 10 x 10 x 3 inches. Photo by the artist. (7) Emily Dvorin, “Eye Tunes,” 2014. Lampshade, music paper, silk thread, paper rush, cable ties. 12 x 13 x 12 inches. Photo by Kate Cameron. (8) Jean Koon, “Steam Punk Pine 2,” 2016. Pine needles, waxed linen, copper foil, stainless-steel pins. 4 x 4 x 4 inches. Photo by the artist. (9) Jane Marie, “A Song of Swift Syncopated Syllables,” 2016. Gourds, devil’s claw pins, hematite square beads, copper wire, metal spring. 12 x 11 x 4 inches. Photo by the artist. (10) Erin Miller, “Wool Packing Peanuts,” 2016. Undyed merino wool. 10 x 3 x 10 inches. Photo by the artist. (11) Joh Ricci, “Chameleon,” 2016. Nylon cord. 4 x 5 x 5 inches. Photo by the artist. (12) Michael Rohde, “Radiant,” 2016. Silk, natural dyes. 11 x 14 x 2 inches. Photo by Andrew Neuhart. (13) Ruth Tabancay, “Micro-organism Lab Series,” 2016. Fabric, embroidery floss, petri dish. 14 x 1 x 14 inches. Photo by Dana Davis. (14) Lillian Whipple, “Weaver’s Knot,” 2016. Silk. 15 x 12 x 1 inches. Photo by A + Image. (15) Peggy Wiedemann, “Secrets,” 2015. Pakistani grass, India rag cordage, Irish waxed linen, escutcheon, keys. 7 x 11 x 2 inches. Photo by Jan Seeger.

Opening Reception
Friday, June 16, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the opening of Annie Evelyn: Multiple Impressions, and open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

Master Workshop: Life Drawing
August 26, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is pleased to present the first career retrospective of work by Pittsburgh-based ceramic artist, Edward Eberle (b. 1944, Tarentum, PA). Over the past three decades, Eberle has explored and tested the limits of porcelain, with his prolific body of work ranging from classically inspired vessels to altered and deconstructed sculptures. The retrospective brings works from the mid-1980s to the present into dialogue, allowing visitors to discover the timeless and intriguing work of a true master. Comprised of over 40 works, the show highlights the evolution of Eberle’s exquisite forms and fragmented dreamlike imagery by featuring both his trademark porcelain work, as well as a series of works on paper. Audiences will see paper-thin wheel-thrown vessels of both closed and open forms, as well as more conceptual pieces from the early 2000s. The exhibition culminates with examples of the artist’s most recent mixed-media sculptures and large paper cylinders.

“Looking back at earlier work has been revealing,” notes Eberle. “I see that some periods have been particularly strong, and I’m learning from them all over again. I’m appreciating where the work has gone, but I’m very careful not to look back too hard. My work has to be right now, in the present. I keep the Retrospective at a distance, while still appreciating it.”

Using black and white terra sigillata to embellish the surface and create contrasting images, patterns, and textures, Eberle then paints his works with elaborately interlinked human, animal, and celestial forms. “As soon as that black hit the white, I knew what I had been hunting for,” the artist recalls, discovering what would become his signature method. “And I had been hunting for a long time.”

Eberle’s ceramics are influenced by the Oribe and Kutani periods in Japan, the black-on-white Mimbre bowls of Southwestern New Mexico, and Pysanky (Ukranian Easter eggs). His painting and sculpture influences include the works of Picasso, Miro, Duchamp, Klee, and de Kooning, among others.

HCCC Curator Kathryn Hall commented, “As the third venue on a national tour of the exhibition, HCCC is excited to partner with the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh to bring Edward Eberle’s work to Houston. Eberle’s paper-thin vessels are enchantingly beautiful.  Drawing from stream-of-consciousness, the black and white imagery in his pieces stirs the imagination and showcases his exceptional skill.”

Edward Eberle Retrospective was organized by the Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Edward Eberle

Born in Tarentum, PA, in 1944, Edward Eberle received his B.S. in 1967 at Edinboro State College (Edinboro, PA). After completing his M.F.A. at New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University (Alfred, NY) in 1972, under the guidance of master artists Ted Randall, Daniel Rhodes, Val Cushing, Bob Turner and Bill Parry in sculpture and John Wood in drawing, Eberle joined the faculty at Philadelphia College of Art (Philadelphia, PA). He was later hired as an associate professor in ceramics and drawing (1975-1985) at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA). In 1985, he established a studio in Millvale, PA, where he worked as a studio artist in ceramics and drawing for 26 years, until 2010. He has been in his current studio, located in the Homestead section of Pittsburgh, since 2012. In addition to being represented in a number of museum collections, his work has been featured in numerous solo shows in New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, including two exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art (1980 and 1991) and one at the Columbus Museum of Art (1999).

About Society for Contemporary Craft

Presenting contemporary art in craft media by regional, national, and international artists since 1971, the Society for Contemporary Craft (SCC) offers cutting-edge exhibitions focusing on multicultural diversity and non-mainstream art, as well as a range of studio workshops, community outreach programs, and a retail store. Through its mission of engaging the public in creative experiences through contemporary craft, SCC offers meaningful art opportunities for more than 145,000 people a year through four core values:  providing vital support for artists, filling critical gaps in public education, sharing cross-cultural perspectives, and using art to build community. SCC is located at 2100 Smallman Street in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, visit www.contemporarycraft.org.

Image credits: (1 – 6) Exhibition view of “Edward Eberle Retrospective” at Houston Center for Contemorary Craft. Photos by Scott Cartwright. (7) Edward Eberle, “A Dream,” 1985. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 3½ x 3¾ x 3¾ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (8) Edward Eberle, “Catching Water Fetching Breath,” 2007. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 9¾ x 17¼ x 16¾ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (9) Edward Eberle, “Chest,” 1993. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 10¼ x 16 x 14 inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (10) Edward Eberle, “City Man with a Cat,” 1986. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 1 x 10 x 10 inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (11) Edward Eberle, “Cylinder 1121,” 2016. Paper. 42½ x 21½ x 21½ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (12 – 13) Edward Eberle, “The Delight of Bending a Line,” 1996. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 2½ x 5½ x 1 inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (14) Edward Eberle, “Down by the Stream,” 2001. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 2 ¾ x 18 ½ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (15) Edward Eberle, “Eros and King,” 1992. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 12½ x 6¾ x 6¾ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron. (16) Edward Eberle, “Extramural,” 2000. Porcelain, terra sigillata. 18 x 11½ x 11½ inches. Photo by Adam Milliron.

Opening Reception
Friday, June 16, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the opening of Edward Eberle Retrospective and open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

Artist Talk by Annie Evelyn
Saturday, September 2, 3:30 – 4:30 PM

This summer, viewers can expect to see and feel the unexpected in Annie Evelyn: Multiple Impressions, a solo exhibition of recent work by the furniture maker at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC).  Punctuated by carpeted shapes that frame her furniture, Evelyn’s installation entices the visitor to experience her craftsmanship firsthand by taking a seat. Using alternative materials to upholster her chairs, she manipulates tessellations of cement and aluminum to create comfortable, squishy seat cushions. These seemingly hard and rigid materials are so surprisingly relaxing to sit on, the experience of interacting with the work is sure to change the viewer’s first impression.

HCCC Curator, Kathryn Hall, explains her appreciation for Evelyn’s work: “At first, I was struck by the beauty of Annie’s patterned upholstery. Whether she is working with the smooth contours of river rocks, spotlighting the natural grooves embedded within tree bark, or fashioning geometric compositions from aluminum, her use of unexpected materials stirs one’s curiosity about the construction of her pieces. After getting to know Annie and visiting her studio, I began to see the parallels between her work and her charming humor and caring personality. While her ingenuity and attention to detail shine through her pieces, her furniture is not meant to be appreciated as delicate eye candy, but rather it begs to be sat upon and enjoyed.”

Evelyn continues to explore new ideas, often working on multiple projects simultaneously and sometimes collaborating with other artists. Her experimental methods tip traditional furniture making on its head.  For instance, her recipe for comfort lies within the clever construction of the upholstered seat:  most of her furniture includes a layer of foam that conforms to the body. In the exhibition, several unfinished samples demonstrate this process. As an interactive installation, Multiple Impressions inspires a sense of wonder and dares to confront conventions of domestic comfort.

Annie Evelyn: Multiple Impressions was curated by HCCC Curator, Kathryn Hall.

About Annie Evelyn
Annie Evelyn currently lives in Penland, North Carolina, where she is an artist-in-residence at the Penland School of Crafts. She received her BFA (1999) and MFA (2007) in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. Evelyn has taught at Penland School of Crafts, RISD, Anderson Ranch, Parsons-The New School, and other institutions. She is the 2016 recipient of The John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship, and, in 2011, Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Turning and Furniture Design awarded her a Windgate Furniture Residency. Her work has been featured in American Craft Magazine and in The Independent Design Guide: Products from the New Generation (2009) by Laura Housely, among other publications. She has exhibited her work around the country as well as abroad, including countries such as China, France, Italy, and Spain. Her work has been shown at Arrowmont Gallery, Gatlinburg, TN; Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design, Asheville, NC; ICFF, New York, NY; Colton Gallery, New Orleans, LA; RISD Museum, Providence, RI; and Kip Gallery, Indiana, PA.

Image credits: (1 – 4) Exhibition view of “Annie Evelyn: Multiple Impressions” at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Photos by Scott Cartwright. (5) Annie Evelyn, “Hexagon Armchairs,” 2017. Sapele, foam. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (6)  Annie Evelyn and Ian Henderson, “Floe,” 2015. Sapele, foam, cement. 47 x 34 x 19 inches. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (7) Annie Evelyn, “Ginkgo Leaf Chair,” (2017) and “Soft Rocks,” (2015). Photo by Scott Cartwright. (8) Annie Evelyn, “Ginkgo Leaf Chair,” 2017. Leather, steel, sapele. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (9) Annie Evelyn, “Soft Rocks,” 2015. Sapele, tulip poplar bark, foam, river rocks. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (10) Annie Evelyn, “Oshibana,” 2017.  Handmade paper flowers, silk flowers, foam, wood. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (12) Annie Evelyn, “Scale Lounge,” 2017. Metal scales, foam, wood. Photo by Mercedes Jelinek.  (13) Annie Evelyn and Ian Henderson, “Floe” (detail), 2015. Sapele, foam, cement. 47 x 34 x 19 inches. Photo by Mercedes Jelinek. (14) Display of materials used in Annie Evelyn’s furniture pieces. Photo by Scott Cartwright.

Opening Reception
Friday, March 31, 5:30 – 7:00 PM
The evening will also feature open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is delighted to present the ninth edition of In Residence, an annual exhibition celebrating HCCC’s Artist Residency Program, which has supported makers in the field of craft for over 15 years. This exhibition features work by 11 artists working in ceramic, fiber, metal, wood, and mixed media: Susan Budge, Jonathan Clark, Madison Creech, Terry Fromm, Julia Gabriel, Rene Lee Henry, Younha Jung, Wen-Dan Lin, Sarah S. Mallory, Gary Schott, and Carolyn Watkins.

The Artist Residency Program at HCCC provides a space for creative exploration, exchange, and collaboration with artists, professionals in the field, and the public. In their open studios, resident artists are able to engage with visitors as they work and explain the processes behind their craft. Though they develop individual bodies of work during their tenure, the collegiality of the program often fosters lines of collective inspiration. This iteration of In Residence features work that pushes materiality and historical forms to new limits.

By incorporating digital fabrication, illustration, screen printing, pop-culture references, and found objects into immersive installations of fiber and quilts, Madison Creech’s sculptural works redefine the medium of fiber itself. Ceramicist Carolyn Watkins takes inspiration from folds of flesh, historic ceramic vessels, and how breath fills and leaves the body. Her bulbous ceramic vessels and sculptures subvert notions of utility, while physically incorporating her breath as she applies glaze through an atomizer. Built from an almost 40-year ceramics career, Susan Budge’s monumental abstract sculptures have lustrous surfaces, vertebrae-like interwoven cuts, and soaring forms that illuminate and redefine the spaces in which they reside.

Wen-Dan Lin creates intricate ceramic structures that take inspiration from industrial design and architectural forms. His work champions structure over chaos, elevating malleable, organic earth into elegant, fragile forms with total control. Similarly, multi-media artist Jonathan Clark transforms wood, office materials, and found objects into highly complex structures using principles of mathematics, divine proportion, and natural patterning. The sinuous, ribbon-like work of metalsmith Terry Fromm brings a surprising movement and softness to an inherently rigid and unwavering medium through skilled hammer work and forging. Layers of hand-cut paper, patterning, and embroidery unite in fiber and book artist Sarah S. Mallory’s vibrant representations of worlds, both natural and imaginary. Metalsmith and multi-media artist Gary Schott creates humorous kinetic and wearable objects that are activated through various interactions, giving the viewer the ability to wear his brooches or crank the handles of his kinetic machines.

Jeweler Younha Jung creates modern, geometric silhouettes from steel, building materials, and found objects that she has collected from construction sites. Her work explores the correlation between site and identity, bringing new life to the discarded artifacts she incorporates, while acknowledging their history and power as relics. The abstracted architectural forms and acid-mottled surfaces of Rene Lee Henry’s jewelry are redolent of the dilapidated buildings and monuments from which she takes inspiration. Her work uses these forms to explore the significance of contemporary ruins. Fiber artist and handbag designer Julia Gabriel also takes inspiration from geometric and architectural forms, using the mathematical principle of the golden ratio to inform her functional designs, which range from rectangular and cubic forms to cones and triangular prisms.

In Residence was curated by Sarah Darro, HCCC Curatorial Fellow. To learn more about Houston Center for Contemporary Craft’s Residency Program, please visit: https://crafthouston.org/artists/residents/.

Image credits: (1) Susan Budge, “Gold Disc,” 2014. Ceramic. Photo by Ansen Seale. (2)  Jonathan Clark, “Strike Anywhere (detail),”2015. Kitchen matches, pine wood. Photo by artist. (3) Jonathan Clark, “Strike Anywhere,”2015. Kitchen matches, pine wood. Photo by artist. (4) Madison & Matthew Creech, “Take My Hand We’re Off to Never Neverland (Ranch),” 2016. Digitally printed and quilted cotton. Photo by Madison Creech. (5) Madison & Matthew Creech, “Can You Take Me Higher,” 2016. Digitally printed and quilted cotton. Photo by Madison Creech. (6) Julia Gabriel, “Denim Cube Wristlet,” 2016. Vegetable tanned leather, Japanese selvage denim, brass Riri zipper with ring pull, leather strap, hand-painted leather edges. Photo by Joshua Anderson. (7) Julia Gabriel, “Pink Circle Crossbody,” 2016. Vegetable tanned leather, soft pink leather, brass Riri zipper with ring pull, leather strap, hand-painted leather edges. Photo by Julia Gabriel. (8) Terry Fromm, “Nesting,” 2014. Enameled Copper, 24K-gold plating, wasp nest. Photo by Gregg Jacob. (9) Terry Fromm, “Four-sided Pitcher,” 2014. Lead-free pewter. 3.5 x 2.5 x 8 inches. Photo by Gregg Jacob. (10) Rene Lee Henry, “Dispossessed,” 2016. Steel, resin, photo transfer, glass beads, gold leaf, carpet tape. 20 x 3 x 3 inches. Photo by the artist. (11) Rene Lee Henry, “Nadir,” 2016. Steel, mortar, gold leaf, brass. 2 x 2 x .5 inches. Photo by the artist. (12) Rene Lee Henry, “5th Ward,” 2017. Steel, photo transfer, mortar, brass. 2 x 2.5 x 16.5 inches. Photo by the artist. (13) Younha Jung, “77018,” 2017. Found object, pin, nickel silver, sterling silver, steel. 2 x 8 x 3 inches. Photo by the artist. (14) From left to right: Younha Jung, “77005,” 2017. Found object, pin, nickel silver, sterling silver, steel. 2 x 7 x 4.5 inches. Photo by the artist. Younha Jung, “77018,” 2017. Found object, pin, nickel silver, sterling silver, steel. 2 x 8 x 3 inches. Photo by the artist. (15) Younha Jung, “77055,” 2017. Found object, pin, nickel silver, sterling silver, brass. 6 x 15 x 3 inches. Photo by the artist. (16) Wen-Dan Lin, “Untitled (Black),” 2016. Stoneware, porcelain. 6 x 19 x 8 inches. Photo by the artist. (17) Wen-Dan Lin, “Untitled (White),” 2016. Stoneware, porcelain. 6 x 19 x 8 inches. Photo by the artist. (18) Sarah S. Mallory, “Radiant Soul (detail),” 2017. Hand-cut paper, embroidery. Photo by artist. (19) Gary Schott, “Mustache Portrait: Victorian Woman,” 2013. Wood, brass, aluminum, powder-coat, decal, paint. Photo by artist. (20) Gary Schott, “Mustache Portrait: Victorian Woman,” 2013. Wood, brass, aluminum, powder-coat, decal, paint. Photo by artist.  (21) From Left to Right: Carolyn Watkins, “Bud Vase,” 2016. Stoneware, slip, glaze. 12 x 7 x 7 inches. Carolyn Watkins, “Reservations,” 2016. Stoneware, glaze. 14 x 7 x 7 inches. Carolyn Watkins, “Vase,” 2016. Stoneware, slip, glaze. 15 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches. Photo by the artist.

Opening Reception
Friday, February 3, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the openings of United by Hand: Work and Service by Drew Cameron, Alicia Deitz and Ehren Tool and Future Tradition: Melissa Cody, as well as open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

Diminutive, yet exactingly crafted, the miniature has an undeniable allure. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents Pocket Museum, a group exhibition that spotlights the contemporary craft miniature. Featuring five artists working in ceramic, fiber, glass, metal, and wood–Jon Almeda, Althea Crome, Sean Donlon, Nash Quinn, and Marco Terenzi–the exhibition explores the relevance of small-scale objects in contemporary material culture and the renewed fascination with this timeless form.

The works on view enchant viewers through the wonderment of their construction. Jon Almeda’s ceramic vessels are thrown on a two-inch mechanized wheel. Althea Crome’s tiny gloves are knitted with silk thread and wire needles that are so thin, they can accommodate more than 80 stitches per inch.  Sean Donlon creates functioning, miniature blown-glass teapots, while Nash Quinn and Marco Terenzi produce metal micro-guns and tiny, scaled woodworking tools, respectively. All of these objects serve as studies that beckon a closer understanding of process.

Within popular culture, there is a renewed interest in the miniature. Beyond dedicated maker groups, Instagram accounts like The Daily Miniature (@dailymini) have garnered over 91,000 followers. In his account, Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries, London, recently posted:  “THE MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE IS A POCKET MUSEUM.”  Scale takes on new significance in a virtual world, in which one can discover and examine objects at the touch of a finger, as well as curate digital spaces.

Historically, the drive behind making material microcosms and the scaled objects that compose them has been to achieve a different bodily perspective, a voyeuristic, all-seeing eye.  However, the contemporary miniatures featured in this show move away from a history of model making, dollhouses, and Utopian world-building and towards objects that push their material and traditional processes to newfound levels of ambition and technical skill. By displaying miniatures in a physical gallery setting, removed from either virtual online galleries or their historical encasement in dioramas or models, Pocket Museum offers a fresh perspective on these fascinating works.

Pocket Museum was curated by HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Sarah Darro.

About the Artists

Scale has always been at the forefront of Washington-based potter Jon Almeda’s artistic process. Initially throwing oversized vessels, he began to recreate those pieces on a one-inch scale, finding that the process of throwing miniatures allowed him to focus on the more formal qualities of his objects.  To throw miniature work, he designed, prototyped, and manufactured a specialized wheel, which he calls the “curio wheel,” and he holds the title of fellow at the International Guild of Miniature Artisans (IGMA). He documents his most recent work on his Instagram account, @almedapottery, which boasts 268,000 followers.

Also a fellow of IGMA, Indiana-based Althea Crome has pioneered knitting at a 1:12 scale. For reference, the fingers of her gloves are the correct size to hold a grain of rice. Her process of making these “bug-knits” requires an incredible level of precision and skill. She makes her own, almost-impossibly-thin knitting needles and uses a fine, silk sewing thread, rather than yarn, to achieve the tiny stitches that compose her works. Taken to the silver screen, her miniature knit garments adorned the lead character of the 2009 stop-motion film, Coraline.

Working in Richmond, Virginia, glassblower Sean Donlon studies the form of the teapot by scaling down this familiar archetype. Along with his hand-blown, functional, miniature teapot sets, he also creates installations of mirrored and mounted glass teapots in varying scales on the wall. He is the founder of Mule Barn Craft Studios, a Richmond art space that focuses on conceptual craft, and was the recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship.

Philadelphia-based metalsmith Nash Quinn is drawn to the small scale inherent to jewelry. He creates works that explore social behavior and physically engage with the viewer or wearer. Pocket Museum will display a series of Quinn’s functioning micro-guns. Each with intricate mechanisms, these tiny cap guns, encased in ornate mint tins and held between two fingers, actually fire. Quinn’s work has been featured in Metalsmith Magazine, and he holds an MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Based in Michigan, Marco Terenzi specializes in building miniature, functional woodworking tools to a 1:4 scale. Working through the lens of a stereomicroscope, he not only works the heat-treated steel and wooden tool pieces but also machines tiny screws, jigs, and specialized instruments that allow him to make the tools themselves. After studying craft at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Terenzi has been featured in Woodworker’s Journal and shares his process and work on his popular Instagram account, @marcoterenzi, with his over 27,000 followers.

Image credits: (1) Jon Almeda, “Untitled,” 2016. Ceramic, wheel thrown. 2 inches tall. Photo by Artist. (2) Jon Almeda, “Untitled,” 2016. Ceramic, wheel thrown. 2 inches tall. Photo by Artist. (3) Jon Almeda, “Untitled,” 2016. Ceramic, wheel thrown. 2 inches tall. Photo by Artist. (4) Jon Almeda, “Untitled,” 2016. Ceramic, wheel thrown. 2 inches tall. Photo by Artist. (5) Althea Crome, detail of “12 Warm Hands,” 2016. Hand-knit silk. Photo by artist. (6) Althea Crome, detail of “12 Warm Hands,” 2016. Hand-knit silk. Photo by artist. (7) Althea Crome, detail of “12 Warm Hands,” 2016. Hand-knit silk. Photo by artist. (8) Althea Crome, “A Warm Head, Hands and Feet (hat detail),” 2016. Hand-knit silk. ½ x ¾ inches. Photo by artist. (9) Sean Donlon, “falling side ways…,” 2016. Glass mounted on reclaimed wood. 23 x 12.5 x 7 inches. Photo by Kelley Galownia. (10) Sean Donlon, “Rhythm,” 2016. Glass mounted on wall. 13 x 5 x 1.5 feet. Photo by Kelley Galownia. (11) Nash Quinn, “Not a Toy (Micro Gun, Hammer-Fired),” 2016. Brass, nickel, steel, toy caps; Altoids tin, fabric. 3 x 2 x .75 inches. Photo by artist. (12) Nash Quinn, “Not a Toy (Micro Gun, Hammer-Fired),” 2016. Brass, nickel, steel, toy caps; Altoids tin, fabric. 3 x 2 x .75 inches. Photo by artist. (13) Nash Quinn, “Not a Toy (Micro Gun, Striker-Fired),” 2014. Brass, steel, toy caps; wood, foam, flocking. 4 x 3 x 2.5 inches. Photo by artist. (14) Nash Quinn, “Not a Toy (Micro Gun, Striker-Fired),” 2014. Brass, steel, toy caps; wood, foam, flocking. 4 x 3 x 2.5 inches. Photo by artist. (15) Marco Terenzi, “Dividers (1/4 scale),” 2016. Tool steel. 1.6 x .25 x .125 inches. Photo by artist. (16) Marco Terenzi, “Draw Knife (1/4 scale),” 2016. Tool steel, rose wood, brass. 4 x 2 x .5 inches. Photo by artist. (17) Marco Terenzi, “Ball Peen Hammer (1/10 scale),” 2016. Tool steel, box wood. 1.125 x .5 x .1875 inches. Photo by artist.

Opening Reception
Friday, February 3, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the openings of Future Tradition: Melissa Cody and Pocket Museum, as well as open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.

Exhibition Programming
The public is encouraged to participate in the following events.

Artist Talk by Alicia Dietz
Saturday, February 4, 3:30 PM

Papermaking Demonstration by Drew Cameron
Friday, March 24, 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Combat Paper Workshop by Drew Cameron
Saturday, March 25, 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Cup-Throwing Demonstration by Ehren Tool
Saturday, April 22, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Memorial Day Weekend Closing Event
Saturday, May 27, 3:00 – 5:00 PM

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents United by Hand: Work and Service by Drew Cameron, Alicia Dietz, and Ehren Tool, a program-driven exhibition led by three artists-veterans working in fiber, wood, and clay. Drew Cameron, Alicia Dietz, and Ehren Tool use craft as part of their own healing, and, through their artistic practices, continue to serve their country by promoting peace and giving a voice to veterans. Through both the works on view in the galleries and a series of craft-based programs, United by Hand pays tribute to U.S. veterans and aims to create neutral ground, raising critical awareness about the history and current state of war culture in the United States.

Second-generation papermaker Drew Cameron draws on a history of making paper from clothing that dates back to the middle 8^th century. Cameron served in the U.S. Army, right after high school, from 2000 to 2006. He was deeply affected by the time that he spent in Iraq in 2003 as a Field Artillery Soldier and found catharsis through papermaking. In 2007, Cameron cut up his uniform, reconstituting it into paper for You Are Not My Enemy. In this same year, he co-founded Combat Paper with fellow artist and activist, Drew Matott.  The two began traveling the country with a Hollander beater, a machine that produces paper pulp from plant fibers, collecting uniforms and other clothing, and transforming them into paper sheets, which he calls “lineage fiber.” Celebrating the collaborative work of veterans and civilians, this interactive project is ongoing and promotes a forum for individuals to share their perspectives on war with those who have not experienced it firsthand.

In conjunction with United by Hand, Cameron will conduct a Combat Paper workshop at HCCC in March. HCCC is asking the public to donate uniforms and civilian clothing for the project, and participants will work together to create a 9.5-by-5-foot flag, a continuation of his 2013 piece, Burial Flag.  This community project calls attention to the vacancy that occurs in the wake of military service and honors those who have died, as well as those who no longer wear their uniforms.

Stationed around the world, Alicia Dietz served in the U.S. Army for 10 years as an officer and Blackhawk Maintenance Test Pilot in the Iraq War. During her military career, she had the opportunity to meet a variety of people and felt compelled to share their stories. With a background in journalism, Dietz views her woodworking and furniture design practice as a conduit for these individuals. Organized by blood type, the handmade wooden frames in her Collective Cadence (2016) installation chronicles the stories of 117 active-duty soldiers, veterans, and their spouses, all etched in glass and printed on aluminum. Dietz emphasizes the individual through the collective experience of war:  “Through the telling of each, we are united as one. In the telling of the collective, we find our own. These are our stories. This is our story.” While the installation is on view at HCCC, Dietz will continue to collect stories as part of her ongoing Collective Cadence archive.

As a Marine who served in the 1991 Gulf War, ceramic artist Ehren Tool is unsettled by memories of his service and recognizes how violence has changed him, leaving him uncertain about how to talk about his experience during active duty. He has been struck by children’s toys that replicate the gas masks, uniforms, and warfare that he recognizes as products of the Gulf War. When discussing his work, he says, “You may be for or against a particular war, but I think it is too easy for us to look away. I think we as a country and as humans should look at what is actually going on.” Tool uses his potter’s wheel to make cups that expose the large disparity between fiction and reality. For him, each cup represents a human life. He uses the utilitarian object’s familiar form to engage the cupbearer in a dialogue with the graphic photographs and press-molded war paraphernalia of its surface.  So far, Tool has given away more than 18,000 of these cups, and, for this exhibition, he will create a new series to be distributed at HCCC on Memorial Day weekend.

Tool has said, “Peace is the only adequate war memorial.” All three artist-veterans devote their craft practices to promoting this message and to calling the community to action. When presented together, this powerful collection of works and programming shows that each voice in the community has the power to help heal from past events and shape the future.

United by Hand: Work and Service by Drew Cameron, Alicia Dietz, and Ehren Tool was curated by HCCC Curator, Kathryn Hall.

About the Artists

Drew Cameron (San Francisco, CA) is a papermaker, based in the Shotwell Paper Mill, and the co-founder of Combat Paper. Cameron served in the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2006 and spent four years in active duty as a Field Artillery Soldier, with a tour in Iraq in 2003, where he was promoted to Sergeant (E-5). From 2004 to 2006, he served in the Vermont Army National Guard. He has held residencies at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), University of Illinois (Urbana, IL), University of Iowa Center for the Book (Iowa City, IA), and Southwest School of Art & Craft (San Antonio, TX). His work can be found in 33 public collections and has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), Craft and Folk Art Museum (Los Angeles, CA), the Corcoran Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Courthauld Institute (London, UK), and the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), to name a few.  More information at https://www.combatpaper.org.

Alicia Dietz (Richmond, VA) is a woodworker and Iraq War veteran.  From 2001 – 2011, she served in combat and peace-keeping operations as a U.S. Army Officer, UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot, Maintenance Test Pilot, and Company Commander of over 125 soldiers. In 2015, Dietz received an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in furniture design and woodworking. She maintains two woodworking and furniture degrees from Vermont Woodworking School in 2013 and 2012 and a BSJ in advertising/journalism from Ohio University in 2001. Her work has been exhibited at the Center for Art in Wood (Philadelphia, PA), Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), and Arrowmont School of Crafts (Gatlinburg, TN), among others.  More information at https://aliciadietzstudios.com.

Ehren Tool (Berkeley, CA) is a ceramic artist and the senior laboratory mechanician at the University of California, Berkeley’s ceramic department. He served as a Marine in the 1991 Gulf War. Tool has an MFA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BFA from the University of Southern California. His work has been shown at the Minnesota Street Project (San Francisco, CA), the Oakland Museum of California (Oakland, CA), the Craft and Folk Art Museum (Los Angeles, CA), the Berkeley Art Center (Berkeley, CA), the Bellevue Arts Museum (Seattle, WA), and The Clay Studio (Philadelphia, PA). His work is in the permanent collections of The Smithsonian Renwick Gallery (Washington, D.C.), the Centre National des Arts Plastiques Français (Paris, France), and Arizona State University’s Ceramics Research Center (Tempe, AZ). More information at https://www.dirtycanteen.com/ehren-tool.html.

Image credits: (1) Drew Cameron, “Burial Flag,” 2013. Handmade paper from military uniforms, US flags, and US currency. 114 x 60 inches. Photo by Zen Cohen. (2 & 3) Drew Cameron, “Top of the Fold: October 24-26, 2014,” 2015. Pulp stencil print on handmade paper made from military uniforms, US flags, US currency, cotton bedsheets, tablecloths, t-shirts, sweatshirts. 11 x 14 inches. Photo by Combat Paper.  (3)  Drew Cameron, “Top of the Fold: October 24-26, 2014,” 2015. Pulp stencil print on handmade paper made from military uniforms, US flags, US currency, cotton bedsheets, tablecloths, t-shirts, sweatshirts. 11 x 14 inches. Photo by Scott Cartwright.  (4 & 5) Alicia Dietz, “Collective Cadence,” 2016. Birch, hickory, maple, walnut, image transfers on aluminum, glass. 288 x 168 x 96 inches. Photos by Scott Cartwright. (6 – 9) Alicia Dietz, “Fallen Soldiers,” 2015. Basswood, sapele, cypress, poplar, kevlar, fabric, ink. 24 x 26 x 62 inches. Photo by Jeremy Zietz. (10 & 11) Alicia Dietz, “Reintegration/Conveyance,” 2015. Floor: Oak flooring, LED lights, epoxy resin; Chair: oak pallets, Army Combat Uniform, audio. 240 x 192 x 26 inches. Photo by Jeremy Zietz. (12 – 14) Ehren Tool, “Untitled,” 2016. Stoneware. 96 x 96 inches. Photo by Scott Cartwright. (13)   Ehren Tool, “Untitled,” 2016. Stoneware. 96 x 96 inches. Photo courtesy the artist.