In Their Own Words: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft

Artists featured in the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition describe their work on display at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte through November 30, 2008.

Vivian Beer, a Penland artist in residence, works in rolled, formed and fabricated steel, accentuated with glossy, colorful automotive finishes. Much of her work takes the form of seating. She discusses her work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Devin Burgess, a Penland artist in residence, works with hand-blown and surface-treated glass in delicate shapes and subtle colors. He discusses his work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition  at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Cristina Cordóva, a Penland artist in residence, is a ceramist whose delicate, whimsical human and animal forms spark our imagination and curiosity. She discusses her work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Robin Dreyer, Communications Director, Penland School of Crafts, comments on the significance of the Possibilities exhibition and describes the artists featured at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Anne Lemanski, a Penland artist in residence, creates armatures of copper wire which she covers with stitched-together "skins" crafted from original or vintage materials. Her work frequently carries a political message. She discusses her work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Brent Skidmore, an artist living in Asheville and a former teacher at Penland, works in wood. He fashions this humble material into decidedly un-woodlike shapes like boulders, and colors them with acrylic paint to complete the illusion. He discusses his work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.

Ceramist Jerilyn Virden, a former Penland artist in residence who lives in Bakersville, North Carolina, draws many of her abstract shapes from "metates," ancient Mesoamerican flat stones which became bowls as a result of grinding grain and seeds. She discusses her work on display at the Possibilities: Rising Stars of Contemporary Craft exhibition at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte.