| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
May Issue 2006
Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville, NC, Features Works by Haywood Community College Art Faculty Members
Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville,
NC, is presenting the exhibit, Haywood Community College Professional
Crafts Faculty Show, on view through May 22, 2006, in Gallery
86. The exhibit includes works by faculty members: Gary Clontz;
clay, Robert Blanton; jewelry and metal, David Burnette; blacksmithing,
Catharine Ellis; fiber, Robert Gibson; design and photography,
Wayne Raab; woodworking and staff members: Caryl Brt and Journel
Thomas. All artwork is available for purchase.
Each member of the faculty and staff has made a commitment to
teaching students but also continues to develop personal work
for exhibition. Faculty members often exhibit independently but
rarely exhibit as a group.
The Professional Crafts Program is designed to give students a well-rounded base for becoming a recognized craft designer or producer of craft objects. The faculty has been very successful in responding to student needs by working as a team, with each member of the faculty accessible to all students, regardless of media. Because of its success, HCC's Professional Crafts Program has become a model for other schools across the nation.
Faculty members included are Gary Clontz; clay, Robert Blanton; jewelry and metal, David Burnette; blacksmithing, Catharine Ellis; fiber, Robert Gibson; design and photography, Wayne Raab; woodworking. Staff members include Caryl Brt and Journel Thomas, woodworking.
Gary Clontz, the head of department, was the first instructor in Professional Crafts, 32 years ago. He has been a devoted and beloved teacher whose own work includes both raku and functional stoneware. He has also become a regional expert in kiln building. Clontz will retire at the end of May, 2006.
Robert Blanton joined the faculty three years ago after teaching for a number of years at Central Piedmont Community College and UNC-Charlotte. Blanton's metal work focuses on tools and utensils.
David Burnette, the only faculty member originally from Haywood County, is a self-taught blacksmith. He is renowned for the depth of his knowledge and understanding of material. Blacksmithing is the newest addition to Professional Crafts Program.
Catharine Ellis has been teaching the fiber program at HCC for 28 years. Her personal work currently focuses on woven shibori, a technique that she developed about which she has published a book, Woven Shibori (Interweave Press, 2005). Her research continues to expand the scope of the fiber program to include the newest of textile developments.
Robert Gibson is responsible for teaching the development and awareness of design concepts and skills. These are tools that are needed by students in all studios. His own work spans several media including painting, jewelry, and wood.
Wayne Raab created the woodworking program in 1978. His success as a teacher is reflected in the recent national Niche Awards won by several current students and graduates. His studio work includes both functional and decorative objects and furniture.
Caryl Brt and Journel Thomas, a husband and wife team, are the Professional Crafts technicians. They play an important role in supporting students and classroom teaching. Their work includes furniture and turned objects. Brt is a graduate of the HCC Professional Crafts Woodworking program.
Clontz, Ellis, Gibson and Raab have all been awarded the HCC's Master Teacher award. Brt was the 2005 recipient of the HCC Outstanding Staff Award.
For more information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Arts Council at 828/452-0593 or at (www.haywoodarts.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.