Please welcome our new crafthaus members:

 Heidi Abrahamson   Alison Bear          Diedrick Brackens

CERF+                     Anja Jagsch       Jungwha Kim

Frank Mancuso        Tennille Mitchell  Ann Fay Rushforth

Margarita Sampson Noemi Selisker    Anna Soenen

Katie F. Wright

The SNAG conference has just passed - and what a whirlwind of activity it was - here's the link to the 2 crafthaus blogs about what went on. More posts will follow soon, so sign on up to follow along.

New Calls for Artists:

Call for Artists: ‘Suspend.ed in pink’ You are invited to participate in ‘Suspend.ed in pink’, a touring exhibition that seeks to explore the world of jewellery as it is NOW. With a focus on concept driven jewellery, also known as art or research jewellery, this call out is looking for wearable pieces that contain the colour PINK.

The result will be a juxtaposition of jewellers, themes and styles, all suspended from the gallery’s ceiling, which will invite the viewer to engage and interact with the work.

Submission Deadline: SEPT. 21, 2012

More information about PINK...

More Calls for artists....(crafthaus members sign-in)

Colorado Metalsmithing Association presents:

::: CoMA Conference ~ Stop. Reflect. Illuminate. :::

When: July 20 - 22, 2012
Where: The Steamplant. Salida, CO

Presenters:
* Bernd Munsteiner
* Boris Bally
* Petra Class
* Cynthia Eid
* George Sawyer
* Bill Dawe, who will be doing blacksmith forging demos

More information about this conference....

New Scholarship:

Buying Custom Jewelry Scholarship

CustomMade is a marketplace for creating custom items in cooperation with North American-based production shops. Consumers come to CustomMade in search of fine custom jewelry including custom rings, custom bracelets, and many other types of custom creations.

At CustomMade.com, we believe in the production and purchase of locally-made products. An increasing challenge faced by local jewelers is that of overcoming the competitive prices offered by companies that manufacture overseas. Many local jewelers, like those on CustomMade.com, compete by offering a higher quality and one-of-a-kind product that will last for generations - delivering better value to the consumer.

Submission deadline is December 15, 2012

More information about this scholarship....

New Postdoctoral Fellowship:

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Modern Craft

Crafts Study Centre

University for the Creative Arts

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The Trustees of the Crafts Study Centre wish to make available a post doctoral Fellowship in Modern Crafts to be located at the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, England.

It is intended that the research will align the interests of the researcher with the collections of the Crafts Study Centre. Further information on these collections is available at www.csc.ucreative.ac.uk and via the website of the Visual Arts Data Service www.vads.ac.uk. The outcome of the period of research should be defined in the application, and it could include, for example: the completion of a research project already in hand; an extended essay published in a peer-review journal or other appropriate publication; a lecture and web-based publication facilitated by the Crafts Study Centre; an exhibition essay or catalogue.

More information about this fellowship....

New jobs:

Working at the Crafts Council: Trustee,  London UK

The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary craft; an independent charity established by Royal Charter and funded through a combination of earned and raised income and government funding.

We wish to appoint a new Trustee who will share our belief in the value of craft and its contribution to the nation’s cultural, social and economic agendas. This person will help us to achieve our goal of making the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft.

You will be an ambassador for the organisation with great advocacy and networking skills, contacts and profile. You will help us in fundraising and income generation and to help increase our support of contemporary craft makers.

More information.....

Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh: STUDIO APPRENTICE

The Society for Contemporary Craft is offering a yearlong studio apprenticeship to an emerging artist seeking to develop professional skills working with one of the nation’s only non-profits focusing exclusively on creation, exhibition, and education across all contemporary craft media. The organization’s mission is to engage the public in the creative experience through contemporary craft. This opportunity aims to engage the apprentice with real-world experience working within a professional studio and educational context, as well as give the recipient full access to SCC’s studios to facilitate the creation of a body of work. The apprentice will work five days a week. The SCC apprentice scholarship offers a monthly stipend of $1,000 and an additional $300 housing allowance. The candidate must find his/her own housing for the duration of the apprenticeship (although SCC will try to provide leads).

More information about this apprenticeship...

Communications Director

Costume Designers Guild - Greater Los Angeles Area

CommunicationsDirector, 60K + benefits (MPIPHP)

The Costume Designers Guild,Local 892, IATSE is seeking a talented, creative, resourceful, self- motivated person who works well with others. Technology skills required in order maintain and upload information to our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Familiarity with website management using Wordpress, basic to intermediate HTML development skills, and a basic understanding of Photoshop and image editing. Basic knowledge of Access, Word, Outlook, along with some programming knowledge.

Additional information about this and other jobs ... (crafthaus member sign-in)

Call for Artists...

name - << CHAIN >>

Date of online exhibit - 2, November 2012
Participants are asked to send one image of a piece of chain between 10 and 20 cm long.
The online exhibit will be  the result of the images selected and linked in a long and unique chain shown on real size.These works will be visually connected by a round jump link.

More information about this call...

More calls for artists on crafthaus....

 

NCECA scholarship blog: "Emerging Artists"

Today I present snippets of the back story of  Brian R. Jones, ceramic artist and podcaster.
Brian is featured here, in the Emerging Artist Report, not because he was a 2012 NCECA Emerging Artist, but because it was his podcast that inspired me to conduct the interviews that will later be published here. I have to say that Brian's genuine, pessimistic nature exposed in the posdcast is endearing. I immediately felt that I knew Brian for a long time and  his honesty and directness helps the conversation to stay very real.

Continue reading Kala Stein's blog...

The Importance of the F-Word and Taking Smart Risks

Failure.  It’s not a topic we often talk about and is typically associated with a popular four-letter F-word, but sharing the lessons we learn from failure are often far more valuable than sharing our successes.

The past 3 years have taught me a lot about the importance of failure and risk.  Failure, or more importantly the fear of failure, is a paralyzing force.  It stops you in your tracks before you ever get started.  It keeps you up at night twisting your stomach in knots…what if, what if?  For years, my artistic career was stuck in neutral and I ended up spinning my wheels because I was afraid to take even the tiniest risk.  Earning my MBA in Entrepreneurship and listening to my customers and brand advocates provided me with the skills and insights to know what opportunities are worth the risk and which ones aren’t.  I’ve also learned how to better evaluate what success and failure for a project would look like for my business.

Continue reading Michelle Pajak-Reynold's emerge business blog....

by LOUISE PSYLLIDES, The Sentinel

 

THE ceramics industry is facing a chronic skills shortage that could threaten its future, according to company bosses.

That was the verdict of an industry summit held last week and attended by the Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Representatives from firms across the city met at the Potters Club, in Stoke, when the Lord Mayor visited the Potteries to discuss the future of the sector.

He also visited Moorcroft Pottery, in Burslem, Middleport Pottery and Steelite International, also in Middleport.

Companies including Steelite, Wade Ceramics, Caverswall China and Endeka Ceramics pledged to work more closely together to tackle the skills shortage.

Etruria-based Wade's managing director Paul Farmer said: "We are struggling to find a talented pool of people with the traditional skills we need.

"Yes we are moving forward with technology but we have all got 50-something technical managers and nothing backing them up.

Continue reading Louise Psyllides article.....

New blog post on STEAMPUNK:

One universal aspect of the Steampunk genre is the ownership and embellishment of equipment and more specifically a primary weapon. This weapon can range from a sword to a pistol, long rifle, battleaxe or any combination of ranged and melee weapons to further develop the character that each person takes on.  Not only are the weapons chosen based on innate appeal but are then further embellished by the owner to suit their own style.

Continue reading "Steampunk Quartermaster"....

Reminder: Deadline August 1, 2012

Information about this grant....

The last word......

A love letter to plywood (video) by Tom Sachs.

Directed by Van Neistat, 2012. Watch the other two movies from the "Energies and Skills" trilogy: Space Camp.
Produced on the occasion of Tom Sachs' Space Program: MARS
http://www.tomsachsmars.com