State of Craft is a multi-year collaborative initiative of the Vermont Crafts Council, Bennington Museum and Vermont Folklife Center to document, preserve, and interpret the history of the contemporary crafts movement in Vermont, 1960 to the present.  Additional information can be obtained at www.stateofcraft.org.

As part of the celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Vermont Crafts Council selected a mix of Vermont craft galleries, schools, organizations and businesses, museums and historical societies as satellite sites for the flagship exhibition at the Bennington Museum.  Like the major show, the showcase offers an opportunity to learn about the careers of individual artists, as well as the story of the organizations that have nurtured them.  This diverse roster of activities provides a rich, kaleidoscopic view of the historic traditions of craft production in the state, the story of the modern studio craft movement, and their interconnections.  We hope you will take the opportunity to explore Vermont's living legacy as an 'artisanal state'!

Martha Fitch                                                  Meg Ostrum
Executive Director                                           Project Director
Vermont Crafts Council                                   State of Craft

 

2010 Statewide Showcase Events


May 2-30: Celebration of Handmade Books, Creative Space Gallery, Vergennes.
Exhibit featuring unique artists’ books, plus hands-on workshops and lectures organized by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont.
(802) 388-2117 www.creativespacegallery.org

May 6 – October 23: The Nature of Wood:  Vermont Furniture and Woodware, 1790-Present, Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury.  Exhibit tracing the heritage of woodworking in the lower Champlain Valley, through generations and families, and changing displays of six contemporary furniture makers.  (802) 388-2117  www.henrysheldonmuseum.org

May 22:  Hammer-In, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Basin Harbor
Workshop for professional and amateur blacksmiths; ongoing exhibits about the historic importance of blacksmiths in Vermont’s agricultural and maritime communities.  (802) 475-2022   www.lcmm.org

June 5 - October 11: What the Rocker Knows, Black River Academy Museum, Ludlow.
Exhibit featuring an historic Fullam rocker paired with a modern reproduction by local furniture maker Brent Karner (ClearLake Furniture); do-it-yourself rocker workshop with ClearLake artisans (July 10-12).  (802) 228-5050  www.bramvt.org

June 5 - Oct. 31:  Colonial Craft/Contemporary Creations, Danforth Pewter, Middlebury.  Exhibit highlighting the Danforth family’s 18th -19th history of pewter making and the 35-year evolution of a modern artisanal business, plus ongoing technical demonstrations.   (802) 388-8666 www.danforthpewter.com

June 11: The New Legacy of Aileen Osborn Webb: Tradition and Innovation of Craft in Vermont, Aileen Osborn Webb will come to life in a multi-media presentation by Julie Edwards. Learn about her unpublished memoir, “Almost a Century”, that chronicles the growth of craft in America and how she founded the American Crafts Council and established the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. This celebration of Aileen’s legacy is the annual benefit for the Shelburne Craft School. (802) 985-3648   www.shelburneartcenter.org

June 19-20:  Native American Encampment, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Basin Harbor.  Discussion and demonstrations by members of the El-nu and Mississiquoi Abenaki of craft traditions of the region’s indigenous people, from 11,000 years ago to the present.  (802) 475-2022  www.lcmm.org

June 26 – August 29: Vermont's Oldest Residential Arts and Crafts School. Fletcher Farm School, Ludlow. Instructors will be offering lectures on elements of the history of Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts celebrating 63 years. (802) 228-8770 www.fletcherfarm.org

July 3:  Northeast Kingdom Art & Crafts Showcase, Miller’s Thumb, Greensboro.  Special display and artist-led discussions organized by the Kingdom Craft Alliance of the living heritage of rural traditional crafts and the growth of the studio craft movement in Northeast Kingdom towns and communities since the 1960s. (802) 533-2647

July 9-18:  A Step Beyond:  Collaboration and Innovation—New Works from the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers, Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts, Burlington.  Gallery exhibit of innovative works by master level furniture makers, including pieces that incorporate elements, such as forged steel and stained glass, made by other craft artists. (802) 387-4416 www.vermontfurnituremakers.com

July 10 – 17: Artists with Tools Revitalize a Small Vermont Town, Brandon Town Hall, Brandon. Exhibit documenting how the interaction between a group of energized artists and the community at large sparked the revitalization of a small Vermont village. (802) 247-5343 www.brandonartistsguild.org

July 16-Oct. 17:  Celebrating Lake Champlain’s Small Watercraft, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Basin Harbor.  Small watercraft festival (July 17-18) and new permanent exhibit featuring the legacy of hand-crafted wooden boats, from indigenous canoes to the work of contemporary boat-builders.  (802) 475-2022 www.lcmm.org

July 17-18: State of Craft Community Weekend, Bennington Museum.  State of Craft and other craft artist demonstrations, market, and craft sale.  (802)447-1571 www.benningtonmuseum.org

July 31-September 26:  Finding Common Threads:  Historical Inspiration and Modern Interpretations, Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock.  24th annual regional quilt exhibit with a special display featuring “challenge quilts” inspired by historic quilts from the museum’s collection and made by members of the Heart of the Land Quilt Guild.  (802) 457-2355  www.billingsfarm.org
 
August 6:  Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers—the Early Years, Vermont Artisan Designs & Gallery 2, Brattleboro.  Discussion program about history and standards of workmanship in conjunction with annual monthlong exhibit.  (802) 257-2044 www.BuyVermontArt.com

August 12:  The Crafting Life:  Discussion and Demonstration, Artisans’ Gallery, Waitsfield.  First of three (October 9, December 11) special programs examining the careers of  three generations of artists in rural Vermont, 1960-present, plus craft demonstrations.   (802) 496-6256 www.vtartisansgallery.com

September 1-30:  A History of Frog Hollow:  Forty Years of Vermont Craft, Burlington.

Exhibit chronicling both trends in Vermont’s contemporary studio craft movement and the evolution of a state craft center through representative artists’ work. (802) 863-6458 www.froghollow.org

September 1-30:  Pioneers of the Studio Craft Movement, Vermont Artisan Designs & Gallery 2, Brattleboro. Showcase of crafts by early exhibitors, including potters, weavers and glass artists plus special evening discussion program (September 3) (802) 257-2044   www.BuyVermontArt.com

*September 1 - October 31: The Land, The Art, The Artist, Gallery at the VAULT, Springfield. Exhibit exploring the continuum of inspiration and connection of the area's craftspeople to the unique geology and geography of the Connecticut River Valley. (802) 885-7111 www.galleryvault.org

September 12 - 26:  The Artisans Hand, Then and Now, Artisans Hand, Montpelier.
Retrospective exhibit of past and present members, featuring work produced over three+ decades of cooperative’s operation.  (802) 229-9492 www.artisanshand.com
 
October 1:  History and Future of Craft in Vermont, Vermont Artisan Designs & Gallery 2, Brattleboro. Evening discussion program to kick off local celebration of American Craft Week and monthlong historical gallery exhibit.  (802) 257-2044  www.BuyVermontArt.com

October 1 – December 31: Living Vermont Treasures: Danforth Pewter, Collective, The Art of Craft, Woodstock. An exhibit exploring and honoring the work of living older craft artisans who have excelled in their fields of work over several decades. 
(802)457-1298  www.collective-theartofcraft.com

October 2 –November 20:  Continuous Threads--Legacies of Creativity in the Northeast Kingdom, Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild, St. Johnsbury.  Exhibit featuring the work of 10 noted regional artisans and their place-based inspirations.  (802) 748-0158 www.nekartisansguild.com

November 17 – 21: Craft Vermont, South Burlington. One of Vermont's oldest craft organizations will exhibit photographs and objects chronicling its history during its annual holiday show. (800) 434-6165  www.vermonthandcrafters.com

November 26 - 28: 32nd Annual Putney Craft Tour, Putney.  26 craftspeople will show their evolution as artists through current and earlier work.  (802) 387-4032 www.Putneycrafts.com

* ongoing events