More Talking, Now with Pictures

talking with Molly Anne Bishop about her ceramic work

I was able to get some pictures from the Hand-Crafted Entrepreneurship Symposium. These are from the senior BFA critique. Thanks to Elizabeth Molinari for sending them to me! I really enjoyed my time with the VCU students. Friday of the symposium began with a three-hour group critique with the seniors and all the symposium presenters. Then after lunch we met individually with students for 30-minute one-on-one talks, six over the course of three hours. I was impressed with how interested and responsive the students were. I could tell they were working hard and thinking deeply about how to make their best work. It's always such a pleasure to speak with other artists about their work, especially emerging ones, and by the end of the day I was pumped. I left feeling excited and inspired.

Heather Mae Erickson taking a closer look at Molly's work

with Daniel Michalik, Heather Mae Erickson, and Alex Hibbitt as we talk with Maggie Davids about her steel and plaster sculptures

Alex Hibbitt talking with Frankie Toan about an interactive steel ring

Thanks for reading.

do not disturb

a letterpress sign given to me by lori talcott-perfect for times in the studio that require privacy, like critiques

before getting the residency at penland, i thought a lot about what my plans would be if i was accepted. one of my ideas was to initiate critiques or conversations with jewelers and artists who come to penland as instructors or even simply as visitors. i began working on this my first summer and have continued consistently ever since. it has become a huge part of my residency and yet one i don't ever write about here. i've been extremely fortunate to talk with a vast array of people and each conversation has impacted me and my work in a specific way--some were formal critiques, others have been casual, yet serious conversations over a cup of coffee, and, further, some have been a give and take between me and the other artist. it is difficult to put this all into words because i am still processing it, but i hope those following my work have picked up on some of the influences. i do want to take a moment to share with you who i have had the honor to talk with and i want to thank all of them for giving me some of their precious time. my most recent conversations have been with lori talcott via skype, susan cummins, and dan estabrook. these conversations are moving me into a very different place in my work and i feel i am about to embark on brand new territory.

very special thanks to:

Lori Talcott, Natalya Pinchuk, Dana Sperry, Lola Brooks, Arthur Hash,
Susie Ganch, Barbara Seidenath, Bob Ebendorf, C. James Meyer, Leslie Noell, Mary Lee Hu, Christina Shmigel, Hiroko Yamada, Helen Carnac, Anika Smulovitz, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Dan Estabrook, Susan Cummins, Gabriel Craig, Amy Weiks,
Lisa Crowder, Jen Townsend

thanks for reading.