Diane Kennedy, of Boyertown, makes these lovely reed baskets with plant material.  Her baskets have the feeling that they were plucked from the forest.  A lot of thought and skill goes into making these baskets look naturally made.

Visit her some time at the Goggleworks Center for the Arts in Reading in room 207.

On Saturday, our exhibition ‘from Raw to Refined‘ closes at the Reading Public Museum.  If you have not yet made it, change your weekend plans, get in your car and drive out there.  It’s a wonderful showing of fine crafts.

For details on hours and directions, visit the Reading Public Museum’s website http://www.readingpublicmuseum.org/

I’m sure you know by now that we have a fall craft festival coming up this weekend at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell.  We’ve only been saying it every chance we get since it’s a great way to celebrate fall outside!

But there’s a lot more happening in the coming weeks, here’s a quick preview…

Also this weekend, in Lancaster, we have a Juried Member Showcase during Fall ArtWalk at our 252 N. Prince St gallery.  David Lunin and Jay Brubaker are showing their furniture for two days in what they’re calling ‘Divergince’.  These showcases are an opportunity for our juried members to rent our gallery.

October 31 is the final day to see ‘from Raw to Refined‘ at the Reading Public Museum.   If you have not made it, it is worth the drive.  Plus there’s a really cool printmaking exhibition on display with works from Cezanne, Millet and Whistler.

October 31 is also the date of our ‘Anatomy of a Pattern‘ workshop with Debby Spence at Millersville University.  There are a number of spaces remaining.  If you’re interested in making your own patterns for clothing, don’t miss this one.  It’s gonna be great.

We open our Prince St gallery doors for ‘Handmade Holiday‘ on Friday, November 6.  This store setting runs until January 2.  We’ve extended our regular hours for the month of December so you can get in and buy some handmade crafts for gifts.  For those of you from out of town, it’s worth the drive: come down to see our gallery on a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday and you can also catch Central Market, the country’s oldest continuously operating farmer’s market.

Saturday, November 7 is the ‘FELT: Hat, Bag or Vessel’ class with Jeri Robinson.  It’s also the start of Lebanon Valley Studio Tour, which has a number of Guild members involved.

The following weekend is our return to Manheim Township High School for our Holiday Fine Craft Fair on November 14 & 15.  We love this show and we know you will too.  It’s a short (10 minutes) drive outside of downtown Lancaster.  And if you’re planning to come to this craft show, you should make it a point to then drive into our gallery downtown.

I can’t believe how much is going on in the next few weeks!  Leave comments below about other events I may have missed.

This class is one of our most popular.  Held in the Goggleworks Center for the Arts woodshop, where there are four lathes.  What a setting.  In a small class like this, you’ll get much personal attention from the teacher.  The next class is September 5&6, which is currently full.  However, call us to get your name on the wait list because we are planning on scheduling a date in early 2010.

photo by George Geissler

With an emphasis on safety and wood turning principles, Ed Youtz teaches wood turning through demonstration and individual attention.  On Saturday, you will use a spindle-roughing gauge, parting tool, skew, and spindle gauge. After practice you’ll design and turn a dry flower arrangement holder, an end-grain cup, and a lidded box.  On Sunday, you will use a bowl gauge and scrapers to design and make plates and bowls. 

For additional information regarding this class visit www.pacrafts.org.

A tree becomes a table, a vein of metal ore becomes a wedding ring. This is the journey through which a gift of nature is transformed into a work of art. 

Handmade.  That is the mark of the master craftsman.

From start to finish, from raw to refined, the master craftsman begins with the abundance of earth, field and forest, and through sheer skill and ingenious thought, gives back that which is finely wrought and utterly breathtaking.

It seems so romantic to be a craftsman. In reality, craftsmen are like chemists and engineers who work long hours, using trial and error to develop works of lasting beauty.

Theirs are lifetimes spent perfecting the craft: studying the chemical properties of glazes, learning just how to strike when the fire is hot, testing strength in woven patterns, building sculptures that demonstrate both balance and restraint.

Raw talent is a good starting point, but years of making, observing, experimenting, gathering feedback, and just making, making, making are how masters create truly resolved designs.  

Crafts and craftsmanship are both vast categories, hard to define yet always intriguing to behold. 

The traditional craftsman is imagined by some as a hardy soul, the true pioneer of time honored methods and heritage practices. Their powerful skills create work that is supremely functional in our everyday life. Windsor chairs, wooden spoons and oil pitchers come to mind.

The contemporary craftsman often shares the stage with fine art, creating sculptural, sometimes whimsical and always creative works that may be functional yet are quite decorative in tone. Tiny teapots of pure silver are perfectly able to hold tea, yet are less about quenching thirst, more about feeding the soul. 

Yet fine craft encompasses all that is well-conceived and finely executed by hand. Fine craft is designed by old and young, men and women, each skilled beyond measure, and each working alone or in collaboration. Handmade is a worldwide concept.

The collection here celebrates some of the best work of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. It speaks to all mediums in traditional and contemporary craft, and to the years and decades in the field, as raw moves to refined, and as each maker grows in technique, skill and accomplishment.

This is an exerpt of ‘from Raw to Refined’ on display now at the Reading Public Museum through October 31.

Lorann Jacobs is a sculptor.  She has a knack for surprising you with her work, which tends to stray equally to the polar ends of whimsical and realistic.  That range is inspiring. 

As you walk up the steps at the Reading Public Museum to view from Raw to Refined, her sculpture Peace grabs your attention and welcomes you to the exhibit.

I hope you make time to head to Reading and view it.  It is spectacular.  Plus while you’re there, head to the third floor where the Berks Art Alliance is having their 32nd annual exhibition.

Check out our Flickr set of the from Raw to Refined opening.

Enjoy our Flickr set of the opening of ‘from Raw to Refined’ now on display until October 31 at the Reading Public Museum.

Tomorrow Tonight we’re having a special opening reception for from Raw to Refined, our new exhibit opening at the Reading Public Museum on July 18 and running til October 31.

The reception begins at 5:30 pm on Friday, July 17 and is open to the public.  Guild members can attend for free with their membership card and anyone else may gain admission for $7.  The Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen are hosting a wonderful spread of food and refreshments.  I’m told you should come to the opening hungry.

Last evening, our executive director Sherrie Boyer was on BCTV’s Your Berks Craftsman with the host Gene Burkhart and the guests (Barry Bennecoff and Denise Wilz) about the show.  Did you miss it?  Here’s the full show video streamed.

I hope to see you at the opening.  I’ll be there and if you make it try to seek me out.

David Barkby makes wall hangings that are 10 feet in diameter.  This is him at his standing lathe. 

One of his works will be in our new exhibition ‘from Raw to Refined’ at the Reading Public Museum from July 18 to October 31.

I’d like to invite everyone to attend the opening reception this Friday, July 17 at 5 pm.  If you are a participating Guild member, entry is free.  Everyone else, the admission is only $7.

Karen Howell is a tile and mosaic craftswoman from Pittsburgh.  Her imagery focuses mostly on animals and wildlife.  An avid outdoor adventurer, she draws her inspiration from nature. 

This particular tile mosaic ’Streak the Cat’ is part of ‘from Raw to Refined’ at the Reading Public Museum (July 18 to October 31).   She also exhibits at various craft shows including our July 25 & 26 show at the Chase Center on the Riverfront, Wilmington, DE.

Have a suggestion for a future Member Monday showcase? Email nick -at- pacrafts.org.