PRESS RELEASE: The Craft Center Goes UNDER FIRE Juried Enamel Exhibition on View in the Krikorian Gallery

Worcester, MA—The Worcester Center for Crafts will present UNDER FIRE 2, a national juried exhibition of works solicited for show by the Enamel Guild North East beginning Sunday, October 21 through November 17, 2018 in the Center’s Krikorian Gallery. Over sixty artists from as far away as Washington State and the Virgin Islands and as close as Massachusetts and Worcester are featured in this exhibit which focuses on the artistic use of ground glass pigments fused on metal.

Jennifer Davis Carey, a Worcester enamel artist and faculty member at the Worcester Center for Crafts, has three works in this exhibit including a wall piece entitled, “60 Million and More” made with antique slave shackles, enamel and copper. “My recent work,” says Jennifer Carey in her catalog entry, “considers the experience of the outside in the United States, and the expression of indigenous African religions in the Americas. The latter, elements of which survived the Middle Passage, have enabled a people to survive the former.”

60 Million and More, work by Jennifer Carey

The exhibit opens with presentations by artists in the Center’s Multimedia Studio on Sunday, October 21 at Noon with a reception honoring the artists beginning at 1pm. The public is invited free of charge.

UNDER FIRE 2 organizes enamel works into three categories: Objects, Jewelry and Wall Pieces. Jurors for the show are Aurelie Guillaume, a young enamellist whose fresh approach is already winning many accolades; Bella Neyman, an independent curator and writer specializing in contemporary art jewelry; and Jan Harrell, a highly acclaimed enamellist, metalsmith, sculptor and educator.

The jurors not only selected the work to be shown in the exhibit but they awarded three prizes. First place prize winner is Kat Cole’s “X Marks Necklace,” a wearable necklace made with steel and enamel. Second prize is given to Aaron Patrick Decker for his brooch, “Squished Guard,” made with copper, enamel, and nickel. Jennifer Marcson’s wall piece, “Claustrophobia,” made with copper, enamel, and aluminum won third prize.

Jan Harrell, one of the jurors, is teaching a workshop on October 19-20 at the Craft Center called Under Fire with Jan Harrell. In this unique 2-day workshop, enamellists will learn some exciting new advances in mark-making with enamels. Harrell is an internationally known enamellist based in Texas. Registration is required for this workshop by calling 508-753-8183, x 301 or online at www.worcestercraftcenter.org .

The title UNDER FIRE comes from the process of the enamel arts: vitreous pigments are applied to metal but then must go “under fire” (into a hot kiln) to fuse and become enamels.

“At the Worcester Center for Crafts, enameling has been a mainstay of our Metals Department reaching back at least into the 1950s,” says Honee Hess, Executive Director. “The famed enamel artist Lilyan Bachrach (1917-2015) learned her craft here and Judith Danner guided its loyal and steadfast artistic crew for over 30 years.” Enamel at the Craft Center is considered a craft that has ancient roots and which has developed, changed and become more creative and more widely accepted by other craft artisans. “We thank the Enamel Guild North East for bringing this creative show to us,” said Hess.

Hours at the Krikorian Gallery are Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5. Admission is free.

X Marks Necklace, by Kat Cole

Uyuni, work by Sarah Perkins

 
____________________________________________

NOTE: Jennifer Davis Carey, a local Worcester enamel artist, is one of the artists selected for this national show. Interviews can be arrange with Mrs. Carey.
____________________________________________

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 immigrants 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 inspire and build a creative community through the promotion, appreciation and teaching of craft." This mission includes the public education initiatives 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.