Last week, I hopped the bus down to Philadelphia for the 44th annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NNCECA). In conjunction with the conference, local galleries and museums featured nearly 100 exhibitions of clay works, many of them ambitious group shows. I did my level best to make the rounds, but after visiting around 30 venues even this ceramics lover hit the saturation point. Click through the slide show above to learn more about some standout shows and pieces.

NCECA attendees, what were your favorite exhibitions year?

The Icebox
Crane Arts Building
Philadelphia, PA
March 5 - April 3, 2010
www.cranearts.com

"Medium Resistance" offered an intriguing snapshot of a certain kind of craftsmanship: ambitious, largely academic and unconcerned with traditional boundaries. The exhibit was conceived by Philip Glahn, Richard Hricko and Nicholas Kripal, all teachers at Tyler School of Art in, respectively, critical studies, printmaking and ceramics. The curators saw the latter two disciplines as forms of craft, which is not so provocative as it might seem. Both disciplines are rooted in skilled handwork, and both are under threat from the fashion for post-studio education. Despite its leftist rhetoric, the exhibit was a persuasive argument for the continued relevance of skilled work in the visual arts.

Those skills ranged from the highly traditional to the digital, and all points in between. The most conventional skill on display took the form of large woodcuts by Martin Mazorra, like his edgy Popular American Flightless Shit Bird. Here was proof that craftsmanship is not confined to the familiar craft mediums. Other works, like the maps compiled by Bill Rankin, spoke more about diligent research than any kind of handwork. (www.radicalcartography.net) But most works ...

The Society of Publication Designers' 45th Annual Competition chose American Craft as a merit winner for the feature "Masters of Mid-Century California Modernism" in the June/July 2009 issue. Designed by Jeanette Abbink and Natasha Chandani with photographs by Anne Cusack, the article was chosen from 5,000 submissions. The creative team's design illuminated Joyce Lovelace's in-depth look at the lives of Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman. Believing in the Bauhaus philosophy of combining fine art, craft and industry to produce quality goods, the Ackermans made "things we could be proud of that people could afford and get pleasure from putting on their walls or tables." Take a look back at the charmed life, marriage and work of this endearing couple.

Masters of Mid-Century California Modernism

American Craft Magazine/American Craft Council

Editor in Chief Position Description

Reports to Executive Director
Located in SoHo, NYC through July 2010; Minneapolis, MN thereafter

American Craft magazine is published six times per year with a circulation of 30,000+ and a readership of 90,000+ artists, collectors, gallery dealers, educators and advocates. Published by the American Craft Council, it is the leading voice for fine craft. The magazine also maintains a dynamic website, www.americancraftmag.org.

The new editor has the opportunity and the challenge to maintain the high quality of the magazine and website, showcasing and interpreting past, present and emerging fine craft. He or she will build on and evolve the magazine beyond its recent comprehensive redesign. The editor will simultaneously build a new staff in a new location. At the same time, the American Craft Council will be reinforcing its own role in the contemporary craft world; revamping the Council's website and focusing on the way it can impact and support the field. While American Craft is not a house organ for the Council, the new editor's openness to exploring the appropriate interrelationship between the two is important.

Organization Overview
The American Craft Council's mission is to champion ...

Somewhere between an Olympics medal ceremony and “Candid Camera” falls the annual Awards Walking Tour at the American Craft Council's Baltimore Show. Each year, we invite two specialists in the craft field to jury the show, selecting six Award of Excellence recipients and two winners in the Booth Design category. This year's jurors were Jane Milosch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Josephine Shea, curator of the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, a historic home near Detroit.

On Friday afternoon at 2pm, show attendees gathered together with the jurors and Council staff for a walking tour of the award winning booths. The selected artists had no idea that they had been chosen for an award, so each stop on the tour began with surprise and congratulations. Addressing both the artist and the attendees, Jane and Josephine explained why each booth stood out and what they found exceptional about the artist's work.

It was so illuminating to see what Jane and Josephine’s highly trained eyes picked up on in each winning artist’s work and booth design. As they discussed their choices, two main themes emerged - looking to the rich history of craft and drawing on nature as the primary sources of ...

Our flagship show in Baltimore is now in full swing! We’re all holding our breath, but so far we’ve been spared by the snowstorm, except for a smattering of flurries this morning. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather through the weekend!

Now that I’ve had a chance to take in more of it, I’ve been struck by the wonderful balance between the old and the new at our Baltimore Show. As you wander your way through the aisles, you can find 30-year show veterans like David Bacharach and Seymour Mondshein next to up-and-coming crafters exhibiting their wares in Baltimore for the first time. There are so many exciting first-time exhibitors this year, it would be impossible to highlight them all, but here are a few that particularly caught my eye.

I loved Myung Urso’s mixed media necklaces (booth 300), assembled from various fibers, handmade papers and organic materials like sponges and loofas. Some of her designs reference sea life, while others incorporate paper that has been painted with calligraphy then compressed into assemblages that bring to mind industrial byproducts like used air filters.

Ceramic artist Wendy Gingell (booth 2107) decorates her pottery using the sgraffito technique, in which a dark slip is ...

For a first-time visitor, the American Craft Council’s Baltimore Show can be somewhat overwhelming - in the best possible way. I experienced that today when I entered the Baltimore Convention Center for a sneak peek at the exhibitors in our 34th annual show. I was immediately struck not only by the sheer number of artists, but also by the eclectic variety of the work on display. It’s an incredible sensory experience to encounter exquisitely handcrafted goods in such a range of colors, shapes, textures and materials. I found it hard to make any progress through the show - I kept wanting to stop and touch things, look more closely, hear each artist's story, learn how the work was made.

And that’s exactly how a show like this should be experienced. This year, our retail show opens on Thursday for the first time, so come early to beat the weekend crowds and take your time browsing the wares. Keep on the lookout for a few of my favorites from today's rounds:

One of our Green Craft exhibitors, ‘e ko logic (booth 906), turns recycled post-consumer textiles like old cashmere sweaters into unique handcrafted apparel. Husband and wife team Kathleen and Charlie Tesnakis sort ...

The American Craft Council is seeking qualified candidates to apply for the position of Executive Director.

The next Executive Director will have the unique opportunity to lead and sustain the American Craft Council through an exciting new phase of the Council's history. With the relocation to Minneapolis, this chief executive will dynamically and strategically lead the future vitality, relevance, and impact of the Council.

As leader of a nonprofit, membership organization, the Executive Director is accountable to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for the execution of the strategic plan and development and implementation of the programs, policies, and practices of the Council. Within that framework, the Executive Director is responsible for the management and development of approximately 15 employees and a budget of $6 million.

Specifically, the successful candidate will be responsible for strategic direction, external relationships and fund-raising, board and executive committee relations, membership growth and development, spokesperson and public relations, and administration.

This position is located in Minneapolis, MN (relocation from New York City to be completed by July 2010). ...