Embrace Quality. Be Inspired.

Are you a woodworker looking to add a new skill to your repetoire?  How about a beginner, intersted in trying something new?  Consider Handcut Dovetails, a workshop being taught by talented funriture maker David Lunin. 

In this 1 day workshop, you will learn two types of dovetails, thru and half blind.  Experienced woodworkers can even bring their own tools to save on costs.  Sign up now!  This workshop is held on April 10.

Tim Knight, a potter from Pottstown is the Member of the Week.  He uses Raku, Stoneware and Porcelain clays to create his beautiful pieces. 

His pieces are cut or carved, bisque fired and brushed  with an iron solution.  In order to achieve his texture, Tim uses many different organic materials including salt, copper sulfate, wire and iron fillings. 

If you love Tim’s work as much as I do, visit his site Knightfirestudio.com.  You can see his work in person at the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s Chase Center Craft Fair in Wilmington, DE. 

This Friday, March 5, Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be open late for First Friday.  Come on down to our Headquarters, 252 N. Prince St, Lancaster for a great evening featuring handmade goods. 

We have work by many of our talented craftmen including:

Brad Smith

John and Judy Hesselberth

Pam Cummings

Clay and Carol Rosenbarker

And many many more!

Margaret Almon’s Glass Mosaic workshop is a must for those of you hoping to learn to mosaic.  In this two day beginner workshop, you will be taking a piece from start to finish, working with the design and placement as well as gluing, grouting and finishing a piece. 

This workshop will be held at the Goggleworks in Reading.  Sign up today!

Lisa Gallagher, of Ephrata, makes very lovely jewerly.  Her pieces often include chainmaille, filigree and bezel-set stones.

While browsing through Lisa’s website, one thing I was struck by was how much her own family taught her about jewelry making.  She says:

My father’s mother and grandmother were artists (watercolors and china painting, respectively). My mother’s father and grandfather were watchmakers and owned a jewelry store….I first learned some techniques when I was much younger (my grandmother taught me to knot pearls before I was 10),

Not only is her work beautiful aesthetically, it comes with a history that generations of family artists have taught her.  She is not shying away from passing along the tradition, either.  Lisa teaches classes for soldering, wirework, chainmaille and metalsmithing.  You can find more information on her website:  lisagallagher.com.

It’s that time again and I want to answer YOUR questions.  If there is anything you have been wondering about the Guild, please leave a comment.

This weeks question:  Does the Guild review my work in order for me to be a member?

No.  Anyone can join the Guild.  We have an open membership.  You don’t even have to be an artist to be a part of the Guild. We have chapter memberships for those looking for more involvement in their specific community.  We have a general membership for artists who may not live near a chapter. We have a friend membership for those that are not artists, a student membership for the younger generation, and we have an emeritus membership for those juried members that have retired from craft.

We do review images when you apply for our events.  If you apply for any of our shows or Guild stores, we need images to jury.  If you are applying for juried status, we need images for that as well.  But membership is open to anyone who agrees with our mission which is:

Recognizing that the making of craft enriches all, Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen seeks to encourage the practice of and nurture excellence in heritage and contemporary crafts. We do this through education, advocacy & support of the practicing craftsman.

So join today the Guild today with our new online application system.

What questions do you have for the Guild? How it operates or about becoming involved? Let us answer your questions, leave them in the comments section of this blog post.

Looking for something fun and interesting to do with a friend?  Try monoprinting!  This two day workshop will teach you make prints by applying colored clay slips to wet slabs of stoneware clay.  After rolling out wet clay, apply colored clay slips to the “leather hard” surface, one color on top of another, until the design is finished. Canvas/paper is placed over the slab, pressure is applied with a rolling pin to remove (print) a thin layer of the colored clay on to the substrate. 

Sign up now on PAcrafts.org for Mitch Lyons monoprinting workshop.

Bev Zimmerman, of Lancaster, is an incredibly talented potter.  Her work is inspired by nature, often involving impressions from leaves, seeds or twigs and sometimes incorporating words or phrases.  I like her work for many reasons, one of which is that it reminds me to notice my world.  To look a little closer, to take a breath, to try to notice the beauty that Beverly does. 

On her website, Bev says:

“I hope to convey an honest simplicity in my work”

From her choice of inspiration to her organic forms and soft color palette, her work evokes a peaceful simplicity the is both comforting and beautiful. 

If you like her work as much as I do, come see it in person at our Guild Store!  252 N. Prince St.  Lancaster, PA 17603

A lot of our new members are curious about this next questions:

What is a chapter and why should I join one?

A chapter brings the Guild into local communities. Guild members in similar areas have formed chapters to focus on specific aims in a more intimate setting.  Many of our chapters sponsor events, such as the Pocono State Craft Festival put on by the Pocono Chapter.  Chapters also work to provide opportunities within its community such as workshops and scholarships for highschool students.

The Bucks County Chapter website aptly states that one of their goals is to:

“assists members in marketing high quality crafts and provides a forum for exchange of ideas and information through its meetings and programs”

If you are looking for a setting in which you can get to know and share information with artists in your own community, join a chapter. Chapter membership is included in the new member rate, simply check the chapter that interests you the most or is closest to you geographically.

The Pennsylvania Guild has 17 chapters, a full listing can be found on our Chapters webpage.

Have you ever wanted to try something completely out of the ordinary? If so, the upcoming glassblowing workshop might be just the thing.  Joel Bless, from Glasslight Studio will be teaching a 1 day workshop on the basics of glassblowing on March 27th.  You will be learning how to gather, marver, blow, shape, color, and finish a punteed piece.By the end of the day, you will have completed three pieces!  Interested yet?  Sign up right now on the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsman website.