LouLife

Spotlight 2006: January 12 – March 25, 2006

Conference: March 24 and 25, 2006

Louisville will host the American Craft Council Southeast Conference with 13 of the nation’s leading craft professionals scheduled to be presenters of workshops throughout the conference, March 24 and 25, 2006. The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft will be hosting the ACCSE Conference, as well as the Spotlight 2006 exhibition which will be on display from Thursday, January 12 through Saturday, March 25, 2006.

Judy Belcher, a West Virginian who is the president and one of the founding members of the Kanawha Polymer Clay Guild and a member of the National Polymer Clay Guild, will teach Millefiori: A Polymer Clay Basics Class.

Leslie Blackford, a Kentucky native who has been a polymer clay artist for over 10 years and whose work has been published in several books, will teach a class how to make beautiful stone masks from polymer clay and smooth river stones.

Fong Choo, a Louisvillian who is recognized for his miniature teapots and has received over major 40 awards including the Smithsonian Craft Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, and the Washington Craft Show, will do a demonstration and hands-on workshop that explore everything from the teapot proportions and glazing, to networking, pricing and presentation of work.

Michael Davis, President, Cofounder, and Director of the National Basketry Organization, Inc. from Atlanta, will lead a workshop on creating sculptural baskets using the twining technique.

Jack Fifield, a Kentucky resident who has exhibited nationally and been a longstanding member of the American Association of Wood Turners and the Southern Highland Craft Guild, will teach a Fundamentals of Woodturning workshop, intended for beginners, with a goal of producing a small wood bowl.

Lori Flood, a textile artist who is lives in West Virginia and makes felt creations, will lead a felting class where the students will transform colorful wool fibers into three-dimensional items such as sculptural vessels, hats and handbags.

Craig Kaviar, an award winning and internationally known blacksmith who also owns Kaviar Forge Studio and Gallery in Louisville, will teach a Copper Repousse class for beginners interested in forging copper.

Carol LeBaron, professional artist, educator, and curator who has won several awards for her clamped wool and jacquard work, will teach Irresistible Resists with Acid Dye where participants will explore imagery using acid dyes on wool and silk.

Alice Ballard Munn, experienced professional clay who has worked in China and India and who has her work in the permanent collections of the many Museums including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (D.C.), will teach Creating Forms with a Relationship in which participants will make one or more groups of small forms in white earthware.

Paul Nelson, a Nashville native who uses blown and hot sculpting techniques to create one-of-a-kind objects in glass, will lead a workshop on glass slumping and fusing.

Mary Hallam Pearse, assistant professor of Jewelry/ Metalsmithing at the University of Georgia Athens, will teach a workshop on chainmaking where participants will learn the basics of chainmaking in order to create bracelets and neckpieces.

Brook White, an Owensboro native who studied with Stephen Powell and now owns Flame Run Studio and Gallery in Louisville, will lead a workshop on hot glass at his studio.

Jennifer Heller Zurick, a self-taught artist who has developed her own unique designs and personal style in creating willow bark baskets, will teach Black Willow Bark Baskets that will introduce weavers to black willow bark, an uncommonly used yet strong, flexible and beautiful fiber.

For more information or to register for any of these workshops, call (502) 589-0102 or visit www.kentuckyarts.org.

The Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet has provided funding support for the ACCSE Craft Conference 2006 with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.