PRESS RELEASE: 50 Years of Photographic Vision to be Shown at Worcester Center for Crafts

Ron Rosenstock: Fifty Years of Camera Work Opens on Jan. 18, 2018

Worcester, MA- Renowned landscape photographer Ron Rosenstock began a love affair fifty years ago at the Worcester Center for Crafts that includes marriage and a most fruitful career as a charismatic teacher and traveler. A retrospective of his work from the last fifty years opens in the Krikorian Gallery at the Craft Center on January 18 with a reception and celebration of Rosenstock's career from 5:30-7:30 pm. The exhibit remains on view through March 3, 2018.

Krikorian Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is free.

Rosenstock's work has been variously described as "ethereal" and "richly detailed." He is a master of composition and capturing the soul of a scene. "I am not interested in the appearance of things," said Rosenstock, "but the transformational power of my lens to penetrate into the eternal moment."

"The Inner Circle, Stonehenge, England"

Approximately 30 works are in the exhibit, spanning the artist's fifty year oeuvre.

Critics have said that Rosenstock's reality is more real than it would be if you were standing next to him the moment he makes the exposure. His view of the world developed from his correspondence with Ansel Adams, his work in study groups from 1967 to 1973 with his teacher Minor White and his time as a private student of Paul Caponigro. Born in 1943, Rosenstock earned his MA degree in Photography from Goddard College and has been an instructor of photography since the late 1960s, first at the Worcester Center for Crafts and then at Clark University where he retired after 30 years of teaching. He has exhibited his work in more than 100 shows worldwide and is featured in numerous permanent exhibitions including the Fogg Art Museum, the Worcester Art Museum, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the International Center of Photography.

When Rosenstock was studying with Minor White in Cambridge, a fellow participant informed him that the Worcester Center for Crafts was looking for someone to start a Photography program. Rosenstock applied for the job and, as they say, the rest is history.

He moved to Worcester and began teaching. He met his then-future wife, Cathy, at the Craft Center in 1971: she was studying photography with him. They married the next year. "The Craft Center has always been a special place. I worked with remarkable craftspeople and wonderful human beings there. In a very short time, I began to feel a part of a caring and creative community." That sense of caring and creative community are evident in Rosenstock's work.

During his early years at the Center, he began to travel to England and Ireland to photograph, and at the request of some Craft Center students, opened up these trips to others. Rosenstock was one of the first people to create specialty travel tours devoted to photography.

"We are proud to exhibit the work of our friend Ron Rosenstock," said Candace Casey, Krikorian Gallery Director. "His work is of the highest quality and takes the viewer to a very calm, wonderful place. He is also a great human being."

Rosenstock is donating one of his signature images, "Light Celebrating Itself (Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland)" to the Craft Center to raffle off at the opening on January 18. Tickets will be available for purchase at $30 each or 2 tickets for $50. Only 100 tickets will be sold. The photograph is matted and framed by the artist.

"Light Celebrating Itself (Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland"

Rosenstock's work is featured in six monographs and he has written numerous articles on the art and craft of photography. An illustrated catalog accompanies this exhibit and is available in the Gallery Store. In addition to the opening on January 18, the Center is offering three events related to this exhibit:

• A Day with Ron Rosenstock, January 27, 10 am to 5 pm. A workshop day where Rosenstock will guide fellow photographers on a journey of discovering their own personal photographic vision and then will teach mat cutting and framing for maximum professional presentation. Online registration at worcestercraftcenter.org or 508.753-8183, x 301.
• Rosenstock will give an artists talk in the Krikorian Gallery on February 10 at 1 pm. Free.
• Closing event on March 3, 2018: Craft Center's annual Pasta Dinner.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Honee Hess, hhess@worcester.edu
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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PRESS RELEASE: Heart-felt, Hand-made: Holiday Festival of Crafts Celebrates New Englan

WORCESTER, MA - The Worcester Center for Crafts announces that their annual Holiday Festival of Crafts will be held at their 25 Sagamore Road facility on Friday, November 24, Saturday, November 26, and Sunday, November 27, 2017. This year, celebrating the craft of New England, the Festival features over sixty fine craft artists and their work, is held indoors and includes free parking and an on-site cafe provided by Bushel N Peck. The Festival is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 AM - 5 PM, and on Sunday 11 AM - 4 PM. Admission is a $5 donation to the Crafts Center with children 12 and under free.

Taking a cue from the current wisdom of “shop local” and “locally sourced food,” the Holiday Festival pays tribute to the best craft of New England. This year’s line-up includes all New England artists including 43 from Massachusetts, 5 each from Maine and New Hampshire, 4 from Rhode Island, and 3 from Connecticut. Included in the artists from Massaachusetts are four area artists with connections to Worcester and the Worcester Center for Crafts, Kim Cutler and Erika Jorjorian of Worcester, Lauren Beaudoin of Springfield, and Elizabeth Ryan of Spencer. Jorjorian, Beaudoin and Ryan all teach jewelry and metalworking at the Craft Center as well as create and sell their own jewelry lines. Cutler got her ceramics start at the Craft Center and is currently part of the volunteer leadership of the Center.

L to R: Kim Cutler, Liz Ryan Looka Jewelry, Erika Jorjorian, Lauren Beaudoin Creative Dexterity

The Holiday Festival of Crafts, now in its 35th year, is the logical partner to the Buy Local and Eat Local movements of the last decade as it features hand-made work exclusively in an environment where you can meet the maker, you can take your time, and the artist can personally assist you.

The Festival is part of the Craft Center’s mission to sustain craft as an important part of the community by showcasing craft and artisan gifts for purchase - ceramics, wearable art (including scarves, shawls, and hats), photography, hand-printed stationery, glass work, jewelry and metalwork, work by woodworkers, and much more. Almost 30% of the artists are new to the Festival this year.

A list of all of the artists, with the new artists starred, is at the end of this press release.

“The Craft Center Holiday Festival is the perfect outing for Thanksgiving weekend,” says artists Melissa Rocklen who creates whimsical mobiles with crystals, polymer clay and other creative materials. “Each artist is carefully chosen by the juror who has a fantastic eye—I’m always impressed with the quality of art throughout the show. It’s inviting and casual, so you can talk with the artists about their process and inspiration. I can’t wait!”

L to R:  E. Drumm Designs, Heather Bell, Lora Wahl Kudisch

Sponsored by UniBank, the Festival continues the tradition of the Worcester Center for Crafts as an economic engine for artists.  Every year the Festival promises new, imaginative handmade gifts for all ages. Featured this year are mobiles, wooden puzzles for adults and for children, glass and ceramic ornaments as well as windchimes, wooden kitchen utensils, soap and candles, wearables, jewelry, children’s toys and more—all handmade American work.

“The Festival has become a tradition,” says Candace Casey who organizes the event each year. “It is our pleasure to promote the best of American handmade craft.”
The year-round Worcester Center for Crafts Gallery Store will be open as well during the Festival, making work available by over 300 other artisans from all over the country including fine glass work by Simon Pearce.

The Festival is also an opportunity to give the Gift of Craft: Festival goers can buy gift cards for use in the Gallery Store and to sign up for a variety of classes and workshops. The Craft Center offers instruction for adults and for youth in both six-week classes and shorter workshops where you can learn the skills of making with glass, metal, enamels, clay and more.

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England’s leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio – an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. In 2009, WCC became partners with Worcester State University and now hosts WSU visual arts program in its studios. The Craft Center’s mission is “to sustain craft as a vital part of our community” by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO Pass program, and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Honee A. Hess, Executive Director of the Crafts Center at hhess@worcester.edu or 508.753.8183, x. 302


HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF CRAFTS – Artist List (numbers refer to booth numbers)
*Denotes an artist new to the Festival this year.
1. Marian Ives - Ives Weathervanes & Ornaments* Norwell
2. Susan Garry - Felt Experience, Lowell
3. Virginia Stevens - Virginia Stevens Designs, RI
4. Aaron Slater - Aaron Slater Glass, Lowell
5. Mary Risley - Mary Risley Jewelry, Northampton
6. Andrew Osborne - Beaded Dragon Artisans*, Norwood
7. Erika Jorjorian - Erika Jorjorian Jewelry & Metalsmithing, Worcester
8. Laura Pierce - Iris Designs, Whiting ME
9. Samir Dhamija - My Mez*, Providence, RI
10. Stephen Rosenberg - Stephen Rosenberg Jewelry Design, Somerville
11. Jan Franco - JMF Dezigns Exquisite Jewelry, N. Attleboro
12. Erin Moran - Erin Moran Designs, Portsmouth, NH
13. Cindy Walsh - Red Rover Clothing Co., Framingham
14. Nancy Marland Wolinski - Nancy Marland Jewelry*, Swampscott
15. Lora Wahl Kudisch - Many Colored Glass, Roslindale
16. Trish Kozub - Idazz Custom Designs, Hopkinton
17. Frank & Judy Dobai - The Shade Tree, LLC, CT
18. Michelle & Bill Champitto - Fresh Cut Glass, Winthrop
19. Reid Gilmore - Central New England Woodturners, Upton
20. Marcy Schepker - Pear Tree Studio*, NH
21. Peter Jones - Mountain Street Pottery, Camden, ME
22. Nancy Reid Carr - Nancy Reid Carr Art & Photography, RI
22A. Tarja Cockell - Tarja Cockell Studios*, N. Andover
23. Sarah Caruso - Sarah Caruso Ceramics, E. Falmouth
24. Betsy Keeney - Centre Village Studio, Pepperell
25. Lauren Beaudoin - Creative Dexterity, Springfield
26. Syd Milliken - Malabar Glass*, Easton
27. Regina & Dan St. John - Chena River Marblers, Amherst
28. Carole Michelfelder - Taproot Threads, Greenfield
29. Arlette Laan - Arlette Laan Fiber Creations, Lowell
30. Melissa Rocklen - Rocklen Designs, Jamaica Plain
31. Dianna Beaulieu - D.J. Jewelry Designs, N. Andover
32. Aron Leaman - Aron Leaman Glass*, Lowell
33. Michael Gadsby - Custom Woodworks*, RI
34. Linda Williams - Country Weaver Designs, Asby
35. Vartus Varadian - Vartus Design, Newton
36. Ashley Vick - Filomena's House, Boston
37. Liz Rodriguez - Liz Rodriguez Ceramics*, Hull
38. Barbara Bitgood - Holyoke Puzzles, Holyoke
39. David Pollock - Maggie's Farm, ME
40. Elizabeth Ryan Belton - Looka Jewelry, Spencer
41. Renee Mallett - Amaranth & Rue Handmade Silks, NH
42. Libby Boss - Teesies*, Belmont
43. Nancy E. Burke - Quicksilver Glass, Westboro
44. Steve Stamas - Steve Stamas Designs, Lexington
45. Kim Cutler - Kim Cutler Ceramics*, Worcester
46. Heather Bevilacqua - Grinns, Amesbury
47. Aisling Colleary - Horizon Line Ceramics, Newton
48. Lauren Blaise, Somerville
49. Chong & Judy Lim - Island Designs, ME
50. Peter & Patricia Guilday - Guilday Glass, Walpole
51. Suzanne & Steven Rosendahl - Teagan and Ash, CT
52. Marcia Press - Meshugenah Hats Company, LLC.*, NH
53. Marianne Janik - Calli B., Portsmouth, NH
54. Mark Hutton - Hutton Studios, ME
55. Patrick Zephyr - Patrick Zephyr Nature Photography*, Pelham
56. Jennifer Moran - Gracie's Gunnies*, Denham
57. Nancy Engel - Goodness Remedies, Southboro
58. Susan & Christopher Swift - Swift Farms, CT
59. Caroline Golden Kirkland - C.E.Golden*, Harvard
60. Beth Rigero - B.A.R Soaps, Hubbardston
61. Heather Kidson - Heather Bell Designs, Westwood

L to R: Tarja Cockell, Marian Ives, Malabar Glass

PRESS RELEASE: Artists-in-Residence Brown Bag Lunch Talks at the Worcester Center for Crafts

Worcester, MA- Two brown-bag artists talks will be presented by The Worcester Center for Crafts on October 11 and October 18, from noon to 1:20pm. Admission is free and open to the public.  The talks will be given by the Center's Artists in Residence, artists at the beginning stages of their careers who spend a year or two at the Craft Center.  Visitors are encouraged to bring their own brownbag lunches and listen to the most current AiRs present their work. The talks will be held in the Carol and James Donnelly Library at the Center.

The Artists-in-Residence Program at the Craft Center is a way to "sustain craft" (our mission) and to insure the next generation of artists carrying on craft traditions. The program is open to artists in clay and glass and is designed to support the growth of pre-professional artists.

At the October 11 talk ceramic artists Faith Connor, Jon Glabus,and Ian Petrie will talk along with glass artists Amanda Nardone and Momo Shafer. At the October 18 talk ceramic artists Abby Nohai and Paige Ward will speak as well as glass artists McKayla Carville and Angela McHale. Connor, Shafer, McHale and Carville are from Massachusetts; Glabus is from Chicago; Petrie is from Minnesota; Nardone came to the Center from Philadelphia; Ward hails from Montana; and Nohai comes to WCC from New York state.

These talks are an opportunity for the public to learn more about the creative process and to see what these contemporary artists have explored to date in their mediums.

While at the Craft Center, the Residents are given a studio space, access to the specialized equipment of their craft, and advice and support through critiques and peer reviews to assist them in honing their studio practice. They are presented with a membership in Arts Worcester to encourage their activity in the regional art community and they have the opportunity to exhibit in a group show in the Center's Krikorian Gallery in the spring.

The Residents also provide service to the Craft Center as they learn more about the business of their field. While continuing the focus of their creative work, they are also given the opportunity to teach, mentor students, provide studio support and actively participate in the diverse studio communities that make up the Worcester Center for Crafts. 

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PRESS RELEASE: Fantastic Felted Works Featured at Worcester Center for Crafts Fiber of Our Being Opening on Sept.

Work by Leslie Alexander

Worcester, MA- Over seventy-five pieces of fine art felting will be on display in theKrikorian Gallery of the Worcester Center for Crafts in the exhibit FIBER OF OUR BEING which opens on Thursday, September 28 with a reception beginning at 5:30 pm. The exhibit which is open free to the public is on view through November 18, 2017. All of the artists on view are members of the Northeast Feltmakers Guild and hail from MA, ME, NH, VT, CT, RI, NJ, NY and PA.

Artists represented in the show include: June Adinah, Leslie Alexander, Marsha Biderman, Susan Blakney, Robin Blakney-Carlson, Deb Bolcko, Jocelyn Bushy, Eva Comacho-Sanchez, Kathleen Crescenzo, Josephine Dakers-Brathwaite, Judith Daniels, Sally Dillon, Temple Fawcett, Susan Gately, Susan Getchell, Kimberly Goodling, Anna Kristina Goransson, Beth Harwood, Carol Ingram, Denise Kooperman, Helene Kusnitz, Melinda LaBarge, Angela Maroun, Maureen McGuiness, Charlotte Moore, Joy Muller-McCoola, Jeanne Noorsdy, Lynn Occone, Tinka Pritchett, Etta Rosen, Flo Rosenstock, Kirsti Sandoy, Marianne Senechal, Janet Sikirica, Nan Travers, Linda Van Artsdalen, Maria Wiklund and Nancy Winegard.

Krikorian Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.  Admission is free.

Work by Josephine Dakers-Brathwaite

Although felting is an ancient craft with extant artifacts dating back 5,000 years to Central Asia, Turkey, Green, Rome and Scandinavia, it is a craft which in the last 40 years has been reinvented as an international art form. This exhibit will show the artistic output of 38 makers from all over the Northeast and including local felters, Susan Getchell (Princeton) and Susan Gately (Worcester). 

How is felt created? Unspun wool sometimes with the addition of plant and other animal fibers, is laid in different directions, wet down with soap and water and agitated through direct touch or rolling to felt the fibers together. Then the felt is fulled-or shrunk-so that the fibers form a strong, tight bond. It is what the artist does in this felting process that changes the medium into art.

"The more an artist touches an area with the warmth of our hands, the more densely the fibers join together," said Susan Getchell. "Responding to our touch, from a gentle caress to a strong throw, we work the fibers to meet our vision. It is the medium we use as artists and craftspeople but it comes from the fiber of our being."

There are many different techniques and forms which will be shown in the exhibit

Felted Vessel by Carol Ingram

including wall hangings, wearable art, vessels and more, and an artist talk by member Joy Muller-McCoola will be given at 6 pm the night of the opening along with demonstrations of wet felting and needle felting. Ms. McCoola has had a 37 year career teaching art but in 2011 she took a hat-making workshop and became hooked on felt as felting gave her the immediacy of color, like painting, and the sculptural possibilities found in metal and/or clay.

An all-day workshop entitled, "Felted Sculptural Vessel Basics," will be offered on November 4 by Carol Ingram. In this workshop participants will discover the transformative qualities of felt to create a pleasing vessel while experimenting with surface texture, design and sculptural techniques. It will appeal to all skill levels. Pre-registration is required. Tuition is $140; instructions regarding what to bring and the materials fee ($25) are found on the registration page. Students may register online here or by phone at 508-753-8183, x 301.

"Our mission is to sustain craft," said Candace Casey, Gallery Director. "One way we do that is by exposing people to the great variety and depth in the many, many forms of craft.  We are delighted to put on this exhibit."

The Northeast Feltmakers Guild was started in 2002 to bring together the many talented felt artists throughout New England and the East Coast. Currently there are over 100 artist members of the Guild. The mission of the guild is to promote felted fiber art and increase awareness of the felt making process, while providing a forum through which information can be shared among members.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Honee Hess, hhess@worcester.edu

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PRESS RELEASE: An Unforgettable Evening Offered At the Worcester Center for Crafts Glass Studio

Worcester, MA- Daniel Clayman, an internationally known glass and multimedia artist will be the center of attraction at the September 15 event, An Unforgettable Evening, offered by the Worcester Center for Crafts Glass Studio located at 35 B New Street. A limited number of tickets are available.

The evening planned for 5:30-7:30 pm will feature wine tastings from Austin Liquors,

Courtesy of the artist and MassArt.

Photo credit: Will Howcroft

appetizers from On the Rise, and an artist's talk by Clayman who's most recent work, Rainfield, was installed this winter at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. It is comprised of thousands of glass raindrops suspended from the ceiling of the Mass College Design and Media Center Atrium on Huntington Avenue in Boston. Clayman visited the Worcester Center for Crafts New Street Glass Studio and worked with the Center's glass residents as well as his own assistants in making many of the raindrops used in the installation. 

The evening will also include glass blowing and flame working demonstrations by Dave Weintraub and Caterina (Trina) Urrata-Weintraub of Fiamma Glass (Waltham) and

Adam Waimon working with a torch.

Adam Waimon of Jim Watkins' Pean Doubalyu Glass (Providence) to showcase the New Street Glass Studio's facilities for teaching, making, and continuing the tradition of handmade/created glass works. Tickets to AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING are $40 per person and may be obtained online at tinyurl.com/newstreetfundraiser or by calling 508.753.8183 ext. 301.

When he thinks of his work Rainfield, Clayman has said, "embrace the beauty of the gathering storm" as the

Courtesy of the artist and MassArt.

Photo credit: Will Howcroft

viewer stands under the downward-looking raindrops and feels awed by the beauty of their number and transparency. The installation will be on view through January 2018. Clayman has served as a Visiting Critic at Rhode Island School of Design, on faculty at the Penland School of Crafts, and has taught both at MIT and Massachusetts College of Art and Design among many others. His work is in collections around the world including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Museum of Art, Fukui, Japan. Clayman was born in Lynn, MA in 1957 and has a BFA from RISD.

"This will be an unforgettable evening," said Gale Scott, Head of the Center's GlassStudio

Daniel Clayman

and Program. "Dan Clayman is on the forefront of imaging the future of glass, of making art with glass and he has a very approachable and entertaining style. Combine that with the hot glass skills of our demonstrators - you're in for quite a treat!"

The New Street Glass Studio of the Craft Center is the only comprehensive non-profit glass studio program in New England available to the public. Each year this program serves hundreds of adults and youth through diverse offerings in the art of glass blowing, beadmaking, flameworking, stained glass, and much more. In addition to offering quality classes, the Studio also provides a state-of-the-art professional workspace for area glassworkers. Opened by the Center in 2003, it is a fully equipped 8,000 square feet studio with comprehensive furnance, gloryholes, kilns, torches, cold-working equipment and more.

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact hhess@worcester.edu

PRESS RELEASE: New Artists-in-Residence Announced The Next Generation of Craft Artists Introduced

Worcester, MA-The Worcester Center for Crafts announces nine artists chosen to be Artists-in-Residence (AIR) at the Center for 2017-2018 year. These nine artists were chosen through a nation-wide competitive process and are with the Center for 1 to 2 years. The Artist-in-Residence program demonstrates the Worcester Center for Crafts' commitment to nurturing the next generation of craft artists.

New first-year Ceramic Artists-in-Residence include Paige Ward (Missoula, MT) and Faith Connor (Princeton, MA). Also serving as second-year Ceramic Artists-in-Residence are returning residents Jon Glabus and Ian Petrie. New first-year Glass Artists-in-Residence include Angie Hale (Reading, MA) and Momoko Shafer (Framingham, MA). Returning second-year Glass Residents are Amanda Nardone and McKayla Carville. This year's class of residents will give a noontime, brown-bag presentation on their work at the beginning of October. It will be open to the public, free of charge.

The Artists-in-Residence Program at the Craft Center is a way to "sustain craft" (our mission) and to insure the next generation of artists carrying on craft traditions. The program is open to aspiring artists in clay and glass; the program is designed to support the growth of pre-professional artists.

While at the Craft Center, the Residents are given a studio space and a supportive community: they are given advice and support through regularly scheduled critiques and peer reviews to assist them in honing their studio practice. They are presented with a membership in Arts Worcester to encourage their activity in the larger arts community and they have the opportunity to exhibit in a group show in the Center's Krikorian Gallery.

The Residents also provide service to the Crafts Center as they learn more about the business of their field(s). They perform a variety of tasks that are part of running the Center's media specific studios. While continuing their focused pursuit of their creative work, they are also given the opportunity to teach, mentor students, provide studio support and actively participate in the diverse studio communities that make up the Worcester Center for Crafts.

"The teaching experience I got was invaluable," said Dan Roe, a former resident now teaching at the Putney School Summer Arts Program and Williston Northampton School. "I learned to work with people of all ages and skill levels, making connections and making the workshops special for the students."

But the best part of the Residency for Roe was the community. "My studio mates were fantastic," he said, "providing feedback, friendship and constant support. I also loved the free access I got to the Center's professional staff-they were available whenever I wanted to walk down the hall."

"Being a sounding board for the AIRs is part of our job," says Honee Hess, Executive Director of the Center, "but it's also about our giving back to the field and passing on our professional expertise to those just entering the field of craft. We feel privileged to participate with these young artists."

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A Peek at Three 2018 A.I.Rs

Faith Connor - Ceramic Cups & Saucers

Faith Connor, new first year ceramic artist, graduated from UMass Dartmouth and has

already done a residency in Denmark. She works in porcelain and loves the effects of the wood-fired kiln on her work. Her work blends the skills of the potter with the skills of a draughtsman while reflecting the personal.

Graduating from the University of

Paige Ward - Ceramic, Wood & Weeds

Montana in Missoula, first year resident Paige Ward sees her work as that of common, made, and manipulated objects presented in installation and performance. Paige looks forward to what urban life will bring to her work as she also plans to push surfaces, explore layers, engobes, and context in pattern and glazes on her objects.

Amanda Nardone - Glass Necklace

Returning Glass resident Amanda Nardone is a

flameworker and creates wearable glass necklaces and earrings but also experiments with weaving with glass, and making corsets with glass that are meant to explore social commentary along with the medium.

The Artist-in-Residence term begins in September. For more information or to arrange interviews with the artists, please contact Honee Hess, Executive Director, hhess@worcester.edu or 508-579-8564 (cell)

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State visual arts studios.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO card program, and receive funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PRESS RELEASE: The Sparks are Flying! Worcester Center for Crafts' New Exhibit: Spärk

Michelle May (Curator) with her work.

Worcester, MA-  On view in the Krikorian Gallery of the Worcester Center for Crafts is Spärk, an exhibit of work by four talented and expressive women artists, all of whom are pushing their media to explore fantasy, reality, and the limits or no limits of beauty. The exhibit was curated by Michelle May of Worcester and includes work by May, Tara Sellios, Keri Anderson, and Jessica Lyn Burhans. It is on view in the gallery at 25 Sagamore Road through September 16, 2017.

The title of the exhibit speaks to the art on view as a fiery particle thrown off from a fire or emitting sparks of fire or electricity. Provocative? Edgy? “The show is perfect for HOT NIGHT when it opened,” says Gallery Director Candace Casey, “as it speaks to the energy of the work being shown, and the spark of creativity that it inspires!”

The artists are connected only through May. Tara Sellios is a Boston-based artist working

Work by Tara Sellios

in large format photography printed on metal. “I think of my work as theater, with each collection of images like an act in a play,” says mixed-media artist Tara Sellios. Since graduating from the Art Institute of Boston in 2010, her work has been largely influenced by art history. “I love altarpiece paintings and the surreal work of Hieronymus Bosch,” she says. “There is a sense of majesty and sacredness to it that has stood the test of time.” Others call her work simultaneously grotesque and beautiful.

Work by Tara Sellios (detail)

The Craft Center is planning a one-person exhibit of her work in January of 2019. Sellios has two large photographic installations in the exhibit.

Jessica Lyn Burhans creates expressive and “relate-able” color illustrations as well as

Jessica Lyn Burhans with her work

intriguing graphite drawings. Her illustrations have been nationally published and her work has been showcased in and around Worcester since 2004, including the popular Cirque Du Noir and Whiskered Wonderland events. Burhans is represented by a large grouping of small intimate drawings.

An educator who gets inspiration from music, dreams, nature, and movement, Keri Anderson picked up her long time love of painting four years ago. She has three paintings on view. Her efforts to capture human struggle result in a narrative and in the layers upon layers of paint. “People see what they want to see,” says Anderson, “so I like to leave my paintings open for questions.”

May, a painter, designer and marketer says that her creativity is “firmly centered in

Detail of Keri Anderson's work.

community…I enjoy pushing my personal boundaries and love to push the boundaries of others.” She is the creator of Cirque du Noir and the local equivalent of Slow Art Day. Eight of May’s paintings are on view in the show.

The Krikorian Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is free.

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State visual arts studios.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO card program, and receive funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PRESS RELEASE: Free Thank-you Event Offered at the Worcester Center for Crafts | Hot Night in the City will Sizzle on July 21

WORCESTER, MA - The fiery processes of craft will be on display at the Worcester Center for Crafts' free block-party style event, HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY on Friday, July 21 from 6-9 pm. Many of the demonstrations and events will take place outside to accommodate visitors, and for dramatic effect!

Crafts Center students & Faculty participate in raku firing.

During the July 21 Hot Night, the Craft Center can guarantee that where there is smoke, there will be fire since fire and heat are essential elements to working with glass, clay and metal---three of the materials that will be demonstrated at Hot Night.

Dusk's darkness will give way to the warm glow of artists' illuminating demonstrations of the ancient arts of glassblowing, raku firing, flame working, and blacksmithing. In addition, the Center will offer Wheel Throwing Under the Stars, music, food, art and drink.

HOT NIGHT visitor tries his hand at wheel-throwing

Wheel Throwing Under the Stars will feature short introductory hands-on experiences with centering clay, and members of the public will be able to try their hands at throwing pots. A portable glass furnace will be set up in the parking lot to demonstrate the glassblowing that goes on daily at the Worcester Center for Crafts' New Street Glass Studio. Blacksmiths will forge metals, and the Raku artist Ginny Gillen and her class will do a pottery raku firing. The raku artists are keeping secret what exactly will be coming out of the raku fire on Hot Night-so be there to uncover the mystery!  

Jubilee Gardens, a popular band from the area who play an all original, eclectic mix of music with hints of world, pop, folk, and rock will provide the music for dancing, eating, and celebrating craft and the Worcester Center for Crafts in the community.

Glassblowing under the stars!

"Hot Night gives us the opportunity to literally turn ourselves inside out in order to tell the community THANK YOU for being partners with us," said Honee Hess, executive director of the Crafts Center. "We have these 'hot' activities going on every day, but on HOT NIGHT we bring them out into the open for all to see and enjoy." Activities at HOT NIGHT are free to the public, although donations are accepted.  

Flameworking demo

The public is invited inside the Craft Center building to participate in several maker activities in the studios, including an enameling project and a collaborative ceramic hand-building experience, and an opportunity to preview fall's class line-up.  HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY occurs rain or shine.

Also opening that night in the Center's renowned Krikorian Gallery is an exhibit spärk, curated by local painter Michelle May. 

Fueling the crowd will be the award-winning BBQ purveyor, BT's Smokehouse of Sturbridge and pizza maker extraordinaire, Anzios: both culinary masters bring their wood-fired equipment on the Craft Center's premises to produce fresh BBQ and wood-fired pizza!

 

Blacksmithing at HOT NIGHT

For dessert, Worcester State University alum, Renee King who is relocating her business to the Canal District in Worcester, brings the Queen's Cups'award-winning cupcakes to the event. New this year, Fretzels will round out the sweetness of evening with their real frozen yogurt, pretzels and more. To top things off for the over-21 crowd, Austin Liquors has arranged a tasting of Worcester's newest brewery product, Flying Dreams Brewery beer. Food prices are set by vendors.

Spärk, an exhibit opening on Hot Night and running through September 16 will feature the work of four women artists: Jessica Lyn Burhans, Tara Sellios, Keri Anderson and Michelle May. The title of the exhibit speaks to the art on view as a fiery particle thrown off from a fire or emitting sparks of fire or electricity. Provocative? Edgy? "The show is perfect for HOT NIGHT," says Gallery Director Candace Casey, "as it speaks to the energy of the work being shown, and the spark of creativity that it inspires!"

About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State visual arts studios.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO card program, and receive funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Press Release: Coming Next-- Nexus!

Worcester Center for Crafts' Artists-in-Residence Exhibition: Nexus

Worcester, MA- The Krikorian Gallery at Worcester Center for Crafts is pleased to announce Nexus, a group exhibition of works from current Artists-in-Residence at the Craft Center that will be on display from Thursday, June 15, through Thursday, June 29, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 15, 5:30-7:30 PM at Worcester Center for Crafts at 25 

Resident Artists Ian Petrie & Hanna Brown at work.

Sagamore Road, and is free to the public. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-5 PM.

                

 This year, the Artist-in-Residence Exhibition brings together eight artists whose diverse working methodologies, material explorations, and individual perspectives reflect their personal interests and goals for this one or two year residency. After a competitive application process, each resident is provided with a studio space, access to facilities, and a supportive community of makers. In exchange, resident artists play integral roles at the Craft Center by completing studio support hours, teaching workshops, and volunteering at community-centered events. In this way, Worcester Center for Crafts works to cultivate creativity and foster creative exchange.

 

Nexus presents the work of the resident artists and connects them with the Worcester community. From hand blown glass vessels to abstract sculpture, wheel thrown pottery to wearable glass garments, the works in this exhibition are as diverse as the artists themselves. Come meet all of our resident artists and experience their work at the opening reception of Nexus on Thursday, June 15, 5:30-7:30 PM at Worcester Center for Crafts at 25 Sagamore Road. The exhibition runs from June 15 through June 29, 2017.

 

Featured Artists-in-Residence: Jessikah Ann, Hanna Brown, McKayla Carville, Jon Glabus, Amanda Nardone, Ian M. Petrie, Alia Pialtos, and Joshua Primmer.

FEATURED ARTISTS:      Jessikah Ann is a potter who earned her BFA from Pratt Institute in 2013. Her simple, yet elegant porcelain forms are used as blank canvases for painted and carved animal imagery. Atmospheric firing methods, primarily wood and soda, are chosen to allow the lively movement of the flame to add color and unpredictability to the work. Jessikah Ann aims to create pottery as art that can be appreciated, touched, and used daily. This fall she will be pursuing an MFA at Syracuse University.   Hanna Brown earned a BFA in Glass from Massachusetts College of Art & Design in 2015. She uses glass to explore organic forms and textures based on her own personal connections and interactions with nature. By using processes like hot glass casting and glass slumping, Brown hopes to provoke an emotional response within the viewer that offers opportunities to contemplate their own memories and experiences with nature.   McKayla Carville received a BFA in sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art & Design in 2016. Tedious process, movement, and the use of multiples are evident in Carville's work. A study of texture and movement has turned into a four year exploration of making rigid materials move with fluidity. After spending years making masses of plastic and metal move like fabric, Carville has set out to do the same with the rigid, yet fragile, material of glass.   Jon Glabus received his BA in Ceramics from Elmhurst College. He creates wheel thrown and hand built functional pottery that emphasize gesture and process unique to each piece. Trimming lines, fingerprints, and thick drips act as evidence of his process. He utilizes multiple firing techniques to bring a variety of color and surface to these expressive forms. Glabus helps shape the personality of each pot by striving to make them perfectly imperfect.   Amanda Nardone earned her BFA in 2013 from Tyler School of Art at Temple University. She creates conceptual and functional wearable glass art which she exhibits at local events and museums. Nardone's jewelry reacts to different kinds of light. Most of her glass work changes color in compact fluorescent light versus daylight, while some pieces have blacklight reactivity   Ian M. Petrie graduated with a BFA from the University of Minnesota in 2013. He was selected for the Northern Clay Center's Fogelberg Residency in 2013. Petrie spends his time making pots when he is sick of the soul-crushing neatness of paper and ink, and drawing comics when he can no longer stand the sight of an endless barrage of dinnerware.   Alia Pialtos received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art & Design and her MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her abstract ceramic work emphasizes the dynamic beauty and tension of oppositions. By capitalizing on the phenomenological qualities of ceramic materials, Pialtos captures suspended moments of transformation through her work. These complex, delicate structures appear to defy gravity as fluid lines and draping matrices are fixed in midair.    Joshua Primmer received his MFA from RISD. Greatly concerned by the socioeconomic evolution of our culture, he pays homage to the physical remnants of our society's recent industrial and sociological history. He emulates the elegance of the infrastructure left behind: Brutalist architecture of the '60s and '70s and industrial decay scattered across the country. He acknowledges that these places are linked to the current turmoil that is galvanizing our society, adding poignancy to his work.

About the Artist in Residence Program: The Worcester Center for Crafts' Artist in Residence (AIR) Program is a way to "sustain craft" and insure the next generation of artists carrying on craft traditions.  Open to aspiring artists in clay and glass (and those who might work across more than one medium), the Worcester Center for Crafts AIR Program is designed to support the growth of pre-professional artists.  Residents are chosen through a competitive process and are with the Center for 1-2 years where they have access to our studios and their specialized equipment and help support the Center's programs. About the Worcester Center for Crafts: The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.   The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO card program, and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.