March Issue 2001
Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, Features Works of Haywood Graduates
Sixteen graduating seniors from Haywood Community College debut their finest craftsmanship in the Southern Highland Craft Guild's annual exhibition at the Folk Art Center's Main Gallery in Asheville, NC. This year's show, entitled A Celebration of Craft, marks the 14th year of this popular invitation to view the innovations of newly rising artists. From Mar. 11 through May 20, the best of each student's work, as chosen by the department's instructors in metal, clay, fiber and wood, will be available to view and buy during this ground-breaking period in the students' craft careers.
Included in the exhibition are: Clay: Michele Benetz, Becka Hedley, Joan Kennedy, Gail Kosowski, Stewart Lyle, Christe Schreiber, and Doug Smith; Wood: Barb Bewernwitz and Brian Wurst; Fiber: Sarah Gottfried, Erin Holdsworth, Karen Kennedy, Leslie Owen, and Kimberly Turner; and Jewelry: Dee Amick and Roya Tadayon.
"The instructors lead you to a very fertile ground," remarks Haywood senior Criste Schreiber about her experience in the clay department. After undertaking 23 years as a hospital nurse, Schreiber followed her dream of making functional pottery. She was surprised at how much artistry she had inside her. "It's up to you what you do in this fertile ground," she adds, referring to the need for genuine ambition on the part of the student. Schreiber could be considered typical of the students enrolling in Haywood's two-year intensive professional craft program. Many have had other careers and are now making room for long-held dreams to come true.
Trained and once working as an architect, Brian Wurst discovered his love for woodworking and in two years has already developed award-winning skills at Haywood. In the annual International Woodworking Fair, the Student Competition is highly selective, and HCC has consistently been chosen as one of the few schools to enter. The college has also been consistent in bringing home awards for student work in each of the 12 years they've competed. This year, Wurst won the highest honor for creative design with his mahogany "occasional table" featuring a series of gothic-like arches. Wurst's table was later selected by the International Fair to be used in next year's promotional material.
Sarah Gottfried didn't know anything about weaving before her study in fiber at Haywood, and now she will be showing hand-woven handbags embroidered with "shisha" mirror embroidery, which originated in India. Karen Kennedy and Erin Holdsworth have both found their own expression with Japanese "shibori" weaving techniques. The idea is to take a hand-woven material with extra yarns woven through the cloth. The artist then gathers the material by pulling these yarns. The cloth is dyed, and the gathered parts resist the dye. Today's tie-dying works by this principle. Haywood instructor Catharine Meurdter discovered a "loom controlled" method of shibori technique that her students are now experimenting with. Kimberly Turner specializes in weaving baby clothes that use natural, organically grown fibers in her yarns and natural, organic dyes. Her own recent experience in motherhood led her to make these healthy baby items, and make them available to other concerned parents.
Haywood students and graduates working in any medium have traditionally worked in functional crafts, whether it's wearable jewelry, dinnerware, furniture or clothing. Ceramics student Beka Hedley has been learning at Haywood how to integrate functional pottery with her innate leanings toward sculptural work. She finds the coursework has kept her thinking on the practical level about making a business plan, finding the right market for her work, and creating a marketable line of work. With a shared booth at the Craft Fairs of the Southern Highlands and the Folk Art Center exhibition, the Guild gives Haywood students a test market as they develop their designs. Hedley's work is generally functional, but with sculptural figures adorning each piece. Currently waiting tables to supplement her business as it gets started, Hedley, like many new graduates, is finding her niche in the burgeoning craft market. "Sometimes it's hard to have confidence that you can make your living at crafts when consumers can get everything they need made cheaper by manufacturers," she confesses. But when her work is presented to an audience, she is reminded that, "people really appreciate something made by hand, something with a personal story to tell."
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