Brookfield Craft Center is proud to present the annual faculty exhibit as a showcase of the amazing work of our talented artists/instructors.
Each piece represents technique and creativity honed by many hours of work and practice in the artisan’s specific field of fine art and craft. Viewers of the show will have the opportunity to connect with both form and function as they peruse the show filled with innovative items crafted in wood, metal, jewelry, glass, ceramics, fiber, and more.
From our founding to the present, we have been fortunate to engage highly professional artists and fine craft workers as faculty members. They demonstrate skill, creativity, and a passion for passing the torch to the next generation of artists. We are proud to present work from all of our teaching studios in what is truly a “Tradition of Excellence”.
Artists in this series are Katie Strano, Chris Doherty, Ian McCarthy, Linda Banks, Ellen Morrell, Dawn Lombard, Katie DiGiacinto, Lori Meehan, Rachel Morris, Nathalie Maiello, Maureen Henriques, Colin Harrison, Kanika Khurana, Karin Mansberg, Anna Sidrow, ShawnaLee Kwashnak, Danielle Nielson, Jim Degan, Don Metz, David Heim, Terence Tougas, and Keith Thompkins.
Katie Strano
"I weave items that are made to be used, loved, and worn in with time. The character of cloth changes as it ages and I find that it is almost always for the better; bringing moments of simple pleasure to the everyday. I design, weave, and make all of my work in my home studio in Southbury, CT."
Chris Doherty
"I took my first class in blacksmithing way back in the twentieth century and has been losing ground ever since. I attempt to accommodate the practical demands of functional objects while refining form and incorporating those time-consuming touches that modern industrial production has no place for. Other objects are more cerebral and reflect my fascination with the material of steel and how it moves and a certain preoccupation with the boundaries of Craft, Art and the semiotics thereof."
Ian McCarthy
"I have been learning traditional metalwork for the past several years. My work focuses on cookware and cooking utensils that combine simple forged to shape items with functional design and purpose."
Linda Banks
"As a child, I was sucked into the fused glass during a school demonstration of the craft. I have grown and developed in the glass over many years. I love to reflect the joy of life in teaching the process of fusing glass and in the many forms of my fused glass pieces."
Ellen Morrell
"Having taught art and science in public school for most of my life, I appreciate the quiet time I can share with glass and light. I love the way the light makes each glass piece breathe."
Dawn Lombard
"I spent nearly 25 years in corporate America where I had to ‘color inside the lines’. I began making glass beads as a way to relax from the daily grind. That was 19 years ago and today I am living the dream as a full-time artist in the Pocono Mountains. I now color ‘outside the lines’ making whimsical and colorful art jewelry utilizing powdered glass and various metals."
Katie DiGiacinto
"Lifelong passion for hard work and precision craftsmanship inspires me to share my designs and creativity in weaving baskets and chainmail. I was introduced to Chainmail by a friend. It gave me something new to figure out; little did I know how far it could go with the many weaves I’ve learned and the ability to incorporate color and utilize texture. I look forward to the inspiration that teacher-student communication lends to the artistic process. Learning happens in both directions."
Lori Meehan
"I am a metalsmith and designer behind LMM Design, create handcrafted jewelry using modern and ancient techniques. After growing up in Western NY and attending college in Rochester, NY, and London, England, I moved to Connecticut in 2008 and found BCC where my love (addiction) for working with metal started. Finding inspiration in nature and geometry, I work in 24k gold, fine silver, silver, copper, and gemstones, using various techniques including Keum-boo, Fold-forming, anticlastic/synclastic forming, forging and cold connections."
Rachel Morris
"My jewelry involves the blending of organic shapes, contrasting crisp lines, and geometrics. I meld texture, dimension, color, and even sound. Taken as a whole, my art is an eclectic range of motifs; by collection, a series of thematic works. I create pieces with an eye towards both function and form, often including hidden design elements, known only to the wearer. I work primarily in silver and gold with pearls and cut and rough gemstones as accents."
Nathalie Maiello
"My work is an exploration of the physical relationship we have with jewelry-how this connection can influence both the piece and the wearer in hopes of developing an emotional connection to the work. These ideas manifest themselves through investigations of material, color, and movement."
Maureen Henriques
"I have degrees in photography and graphic design, and took metalworking and jewelry classes at Parsons School of Design, so it was only natural that I go into waitressing. I first saw lampwork beads at a small craft show in 1996 and decided to take the plunge. Diving in, I taught herself the basics of bead making. I am now a full-time glass worker and teacher, selling her work, and teaching in galleries, studios, and shops nationwide."
"I grew up on the North Sea coast of England. Photography entered my life at age seven in the form of a Kodak Brownie and has been a continuing passion. After studying engineering and physics, I worked as an engineer in Europe and the United States. I am now retired in Brookfield, CT. Retirement has offered the time to concentrate on my passion and pursue deeper interests in minimalism and photographing abstract patterns in nature."
Kanika Khurana
"I will not reason and compare: my business is to create.” These words by William Blake drive my art practice. I am a seeker first and foremost. During my journey within I have found that following my creative calling is the easiest way to soul cleansing. My mixed-media paintings are inspired by my Indian heritage and 16th – 18th-century Indian Miniature Paintings. I hope through my art; I will be able to give people a sense of enchantment."
Karin Mansberg
"I am a printmaker working on fabric and paper. I enjoy design and most of my print work is technically about controlled/designed imagemaking. However, in my drawings and collages, I prefer to be looser and spontaneous. I have been teaching multidisciplinary classes and printmaking to many age groups, including undergraduates, adults, and children. Since 2014 my main focus has been on block-printing on fabric, and I like sharing my own experience with my students."
Anna Sidorow
"I am a self-taught artist, I create pressed botanicals and eco printed pieces. I work mostly with plant material, though I am constantly experimenting with new techniques and mediums. Much of my creative inspiration comes from the natural world. I find myself drawn to the forms, colors and textures found in nature. The creation of each piece is for me a Joy."
ShawnaLee Kwashnak
"More than just a Portrait caught in time, I have always loved and been intrigued by how some portraits capture so much more than “just the looks” of a subject – but the personal character within – a hidden beauty that is found within our moments. This challenge to find and portray the inner spirit is the driving force behind my portraiture. It is a treat to share this joy with you! I love working in Charcoal, Watercolors, and Oils."
Danielle Nielsen
"I am most passionate about digital illustration, pen and ink drawings, and watercolor painting. I strongly believe in creating the weird and unusual, and that each person’s artistic journey must be approached by simultaneously infusing their own experiences with new, explorative mediums in an inclusive environment."
Jim Degen
"Wood is a fascinating medium used to create a wide variety of turned objects, from functional to purely decorative. Every piece has its unique features of color, texture, grain pattern, and sometimes hidden defects (opportunities). I let the wood speak to me so I can maximize what it has to offer. I sometimes enhance the features of the wood with piercing, carving, texturing, or color, but never mask or cover what the wood offers. The wood speaks for itself."
Don Metz
"My mission is to reveal the inner beauty of reclaimed wood. I’m inspired by the natural grain, patterns, cracks, and crevices of each piece. Different woods are selected for unusual characteristics and turned to rough shape and allowed to dry for 12 months or more. Then they are turned again to final shape. Woods are often complimented by in-laying objects on the surfaces. Cracks and defects are filled with colored epoxy, finished to a high gloss using lacquer and non-toxic oils."
David Heim
"My turnings are mainly explorations of form—fair curves and eye-pleasing proportions, with an affinity for the strong, simple shapes from Danish modern designers."
Terrence Tougas
"I have long held the view that creativity is equally important to the scientist and the artist. My creative outlets outside the scientific realm include photography and woodworking. I enjoy seeing common objects from a different perspective. We love to travel and trying to capture the essence of a new place or event in still images is a strong motivation in my photography."
Keith Thompkins
"After over forty years of creating lathe-turned objects, I feel a sense of accomplishment taking abstract concepts and transforming them. Working at the lathe gives me a sense of complete freedom allowing me to explore the limits of my creativity. Inspiration comes in many forms; from nature, folds in pieces of fabric, or seemingly insignificant life experiences. Pieces reflect my experiences as a furniture maker and woodturner striving to produce bold, dynamic pieces revealing a small part of me."
The in-person exhibition is sponsored by Seaman Mechanical Services, Jonathan and Diana Seaman, and will be open till August 29, 2021, in the Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery. Please contact gallery@brookfieldcraft.org or call 203-775-4526 to purchase a piece.
Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday noon -5:00pm, Saturday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday noon – 4:00 pm, and by appointment (203) 775-4526.