Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Annie Evelyn’s ‘Multiple Impressions’ at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

BLOUIN ARTINFOPosted July 5, 2017 in In The News

“Multiple Impressions” by furniture maker Annie Evelyn will run through September 2, 2017, at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

The display features furniture that Evelyn has created or in the process of creating. Her installations let the visitors experience her craftsmanship firsthand by taking a seat. Using alternative materials to upholster her chairs, she manipulates tessellations of cement and aluminum to create comfortable, squishy seat cushions. These works seem hard but are relaxing to sit on and changes the perception of the user. Evelyn continues to explore new ideas through her experimental methods. She tips traditional furniture making on its head.

Annie Evelyn received her BFA (1999) and MFA (2007) in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. Evelyn has taught at Penland School of Crafts, RISD, Anderson Ranch, Parsons-The New School, and other institutions. She is the 2016 recipient of The John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship, and, in 2011, Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Turning and Furniture Design awarded her a Windgate Furniture Residency. Annie Evelyn currently lives in Penland, North Carolina, where she is an artist-in-residence at the Penland School of Crafts.

Texas Masters Series: Sandie Zilker
Essay by Elizabeth Kozlowski

Posted July 24, 2014 in Blog

Sandie Zilker, "Armored Car Elbow Ornament," 1975. Sterling silver, plastic tubing, moonstone. Collection of Richard and Carol Hutchens. Photo by Logan Beck.

(Fig. 1) Sandie Zilker, “Armored Car Elbow Ornament,” 1975. Sterling silver, plastic tubing, moonstone. Collection of Richard and Carol Hutchens. Photo by Logan Beck.

Nominated by her peers and celebrated by the Houston community, Sandie Zilker was named the 2014 Texas Master by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). As a result, she received the opportunity to show her work in a brilliant solo exhibition and now joins an elite roster of former Texas Masters, all of whom were recognized for their roles as career artists in Texas who have made a significant impact on the field of craft.

Zilker’s solo exhibition serves as a retrospective of her jewelry work over the past four decades. Using the body as a frame of reference, she pulls from elements of illusion and surprise to elevate adornment to its fullest potential. Each of her pieces is packed with personality, increasing the wearer’s senses and creating a unique relationship between wearer and object.

After graduate school, Zilker began experimenting with very large, hollow layered pieces. Armoured Car Elbow Ornament, 1975 (fig. 1), demonstrates the artist’s ability to manipulate metal into numerous folds and incorporate both the precious (moonstone) and the discarded (plastic tubing) into wearable form. Within a few years, her work shifted towards the more formal elements of design. The Zig Zag brooch series, 1989 (fig. 2), which is more structured in terms of composition, is an example of this deviation from her earlier work. In her most recent piece in the exhibition, Long Dangling Points, 2014 (fig. 3), she applied line drawings to the Styrofoam surface, adding yet another rich visual layer to the work. Continue Reading »

Interview with Former Resident Artist,
Christina Carfora

Posted February 25, 2014 in Blog

The Grass is Always Greener

Christina Carfora, “The Grass is Always Greener.” Stoneware. 2013. Life size, 36″ x 24″ x 24″ each. Photo courtesy of Christina Carfora.

Ashley Powell, HCCC Curatorial Assistant, and Kathryn Hall, HCCC Curatorial Fellow, recently interviewed former resident artist, Christina Carfora, at the end of her residency.  Christina is currently living in Denton, Texas, teaching ceramics at Texas Women’s University, working in her studio, and taking graduate classes.

Ashley Powell: We’ve noticed a relationship between your drawings and your ceramic sculptures. Can you tell us how they work together and inform each other?

Yes, the two are definitely very integrally tied together, and, often, when I’m working on a piece, I’ll start with a sketch. However, I sort of vacillate back and forth, and, as I’m working on a drawing, it often inspires other concepts and other pieces. When I’m working on my sculptures, I think of other ideas for drawings. I like this aspect of the drawings because you don’t have to deal with gravity like you do in the very structural ways when making sculptural work. When working on the sculptures, I really like getting the clay in my hands and being able to feel the tactile-ness. I also like the way people emotionally interact with the sculptural work on a different level. Continue Reading »

Staff Picks for Holiday Gifts from Asher Gallery

Posted December 5, 2013 in Blog

The holidays have officially arrived, and that means the shopping season has begun! HCCC’s Asher Gallery has a wonderful selection of gifts for all the people in your life who appreciate the handmade. To give you an idea of the wide variety of beautifully crafted objects to choose from, we decided to ask the HCCC staff to share with readers what their favorite gift items are.

Executive Director, Julie Farr, chose Lisa Wilson’s brooch series and said, “Lisa Wilson has pushed her sculptural boundaries into exquisite, delicate glass-enamel work that enhances her metal skills in her Floral Brooch series.  And her enamel anvils, embellished with a flower, speak to the Southern women—delicate but, oh, so strong.”

Lisa Wilson Brooches 3_to post

Lisa Wilson, “Floral Brooch Series.” Sterling silver, enamel. Photo by HCCC

Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist,
Susannah Mira

Posted August 29, 2013 in Blog

Installation view

View of “Room Divider,″ Susannah Mira’s solo exhibition in the project Space at Lawndale Art Center. 2013. Photo by Ashley Powell.

This month, Ashley Powell, HCCC Curatorial Assistant, and Kathryn Hall, HCCC Curatorial Fellow, interviewed current resident artist, Susannah Mira, who finishes her residency at HCCC this week. Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist,
Tarina Frank

Posted May 22, 2013 in Blog

Tarina Frank in her studio at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Photo by Ron Scubadiver.

Tarina Frank in her studio at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Photo by Ron Scubadiver.

Briefly describe what you make.  What projects have you been working on recently?

I make wearable art objects from a variety of materials.  During my residency, I have been experimenting with the idea of wearable art.  My work ranges from the simple, tiny, more traditional idea of jewelry all the way to costumes and masks. My most recent works have been large, lightweight necklaces made from paper. Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist,
Jaydan Moore

Posted April 10, 2013 in Blog

Jaydan 2 with print

Jaydan Moore in his studio at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Photo by Kim Coffman.

This week, we interviewed HCCC current resident artist, Jaydan Moore, a metal and jewelry artist who fabricates new objects from historical wares, such as silver-plated tableware and family heirlooms.  Jaydan earned a BFA in jewelry and metal arts from California College of Arts, Oakland, and a MFA/MA in jewelry and metal arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist,
Chanda Glendinning

Posted March 20, 2013 in Blog

Chanda_CT opening

Chanda Glendinning in her studio at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Photo by Kim Coffman.

This week, we interviewed HCCC current resident artist, Chanda Glendinning, a ceramic sculptor whose work draws from her interest in the virtual communication networks that enable people to share and acquire information on a global level.  Chanda is from rural western New York, where she received her BFA from Buffalo State College. She received her MFA in ceramics from Kansas State University. Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist
Robert Thomas Mullen

Posted January 29, 2013 in Blog

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Robert Thomas Mullen in his studio at HCCC. Photo by Kim Coffman.

Tell us a little about what you are currently working on.

I’m currently working on a series of jewelry pieces that express my reactions to living in an urban environment.  I have never lived in a town bigger than 10,000 people before Houston.  My more current work focuses on urban settings, the Atlantic Ocean and cityscapes. Continue Reading »

Interview with Resident Artist
Susan Fletcher King

Posted December 18, 2012 in Blog

Fiber artist Susan Fletcher King in her studio at HCCC. Photo by Kim Coffman.

This week, we interviewed Susan Fletcher King, a Houston-based fiber artist who mixes quilted imagery with additional media, such as paint, dyes, specialty threads and embellishments.  Susan graduated from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and earned a BFA from the University of Houston.  She will be at HCCC through the end of December and will return to complete a second term of residency in the summer of 2013.  Continue Reading »