New Members 2020

Renee Calder “Portrait Tower”

mixed media $ 231.00

My work is a reflection of the diversity of the world around us. I strive to bring personality into each piece- to engage the viewer with the unexpected. I focus mostly on the combination of materials, where the mundane becomes something more, engaging the viewer to take a second look and see things in a different way. I want to challenge our notions of the use of materials and prompt a new perception of ordinary things that surround us. Using metal, clay, wood, fabric and found objects, I act as a sort of a visual alchemist. There is a simple pleasure that we get from seeing and touching the objects we love. We are perceptive creatures, and aesthetics can touch us in some powerful ways. So whether you respond to form, color, craftsmanship, or the design, my goal- is to make you smile.

- Renee Calder

Cindy Miller “Stick and Pearl Collar Necklace�

metal-carved bronze, pearl $787.50

I study ancient pieces for inspiration and I'm always captivated by the ingenuity, creativity, and artistry I find.

I sculpt metal clay wet to achieve fluid designs and then dry them flat or on curved surfaces to create a variety of forms. Once dry, I use wood carving tools and craft knives to refine the shape or carve designs on the pieces. I also create textures by carving, or embossing a variety of materials that can be used to impress textures into the metal clay. Hollow forms are assembled from several pieces using slip made from the metal clay. I sand the dried clay to a smooth surface and place in the kiln to fire. Once the pieces are fired, I add color with colored pencils on the rough unpolished surface of the bronze or silver clay then seal the surface with acrylic. I then polish the areas of the metal that I want to highlight. I sand by hand and use magnetic and rotary tumblers depending on the finish I want to achieve.

Sometimes I use traditional metal working techniques to attach found objects and I cut and polish many of the stones I use in my designs.

- Cindy Miller

Ayla Mullen “Wine Set for 3”

clay $ 210.00

I grew up in a tight knit community of farmers and environmental activists in Olympia, Washington. Formative experiences exploring the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, and growing food plants on our family farm, molded my aesthetic sensibilities and became the source of my inspiration. I have always loved the long, organic lines of grass stalks and leaf venation; the sense of both groundedness and upward movement in plant forms. For me, clay is a medium to capture these feelings, to tell the stories of the plants and landscapes around me as I perceive them, in line and form and image.

- Ayla Mullen

Christina Bendo “Fern Nesting Dishes”

clay $176.40

Christina Bendo grew up helping her parents grow food in the red clay rich soil of Virginia. It seems a natural progression that she now works in a craft that uses the same raw materials needed to grow food to make objects used to serve it. After earning her B.A. at the University of Mary Washington, she went on to complete a three year assistantship with Trista Chapman. She has been a resident at Liberty Town Arts Workshop, the International Ceramics Studio in Hungary, STARworks Ceramics, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. Her current body of work uses local clay slips collected from her ramblings to add another physical and symbolic layer to her pots.

Ian Herdell “English Mulberry & Mussel Shell Wall Piece”

wood $ 3150.00

Cambrian Co. is a custom furniture and art studio located in Durham, NC. Each piece is designed, and hand built by me, Ian Herdell, the artist and craftsman behind Cambrian Co. I specialize in residential and commercial furniture, built-ins, butsudans and artwork.

Because my studio is small, I am able to give each piece the care and attention to detail that heirloom quality woodwork deserves. Most of my work is made from solid North American hardwoods, although I also use shop cut veneers on some projects. I love to create furniture and art with tangible functionality and down to earth beauty. I am inspired by the beauty and structure of forms found in nature and I try to bring some small piece of that into my designs. I find that each tree has a story to tell, a snapshot into its unique life. My designs incorporate and harness the knots, splits, rot, spalting, special grain and sculpting done by insects, wind and weather. At times I also highlight these “imperfections� with inlaid shells and stone to bring more attention to them. This approach combined with exceptional craftsmanship allows me to create timeless, beautiful work for any space.

- Ian Herdell

Douglas Bringle “Spinosaurus”

clay $ 189.00

My dad was a navigator in the Air Force, so my brother, sister and I grew up on Air Force bases. I was born on Terceira, a small volcanic island in the Azores, far out in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Being born on an exotic island made me feel special. Reading books was a passion in my family. Mythology, lost civilizations, science fiction and the classics fascinated me. I would become lost in maps and detailed illustrations‌pouring over them in a kind of trance-like state. In fourth grade I received a book on archaeology for Christmas from my parents and for a long time I thought that would be my profession. The art of the pre-Columbian cultures, ancient Egypt and bronze age China especially appealed to me.

Douglas Bringle

Rob Herion Japanese Elm Burl Box 5” wide x 3.75” deep x 5.25” tall with lid on $346.50

Ron runs his hands along wood the way your Aunt Doris pets cats. "When I pick up a piece of wood and look closely at its grain, I can go into a trance," he admits. "My eyes are wide open and yet suddenly I see the lid of a new box. I pick up another board and, hey, there are the sides." Rob crafts wood with the precision he mastered in his 40+ years as an oldschool printer. He also loves fossils and rocks, magic and antique cards, and stuff from abandoned buildings.

- Ron Herion

Anne McLean “Chained Library”

mixed media $ 220.50

My designs emerge from my surroundings and I’m often using nature’s architecture, textures, and colors to develop patterns that are incorporated into designs. Always dabbling with new art forms and media, I bring a fresh approach to bookbinding via integration of techniques and methods across media. This experimentation often takes form as captivating designs along the spine and cover – making these journals unique in the world of books. While open spines are a trademark feature of Coptic stitching, my distinctive spine patterns are of my own creation, integrating my interest in math and science to vary the original form into a functional aesthetic piece. " Anne teaches bookbinding and jewelry techniques at The NC State Crafts Center and in the studio. Currently, she works at Organic Dyes and Pigments as a Business Development Representative.

- Anne McLean

Eric Moore “The Kraken�

mixed mediadogwood, copper, steel, uranium glass $ 2934.75

Moore is a mixed media artist with years of experience working with a combination of stone, wood, and metals to craft and sculpt remarkable art pieces. His work is a reflection of life, nature, and all living things that depict our surroundings. At the beginning of his sculpting trajectory, he began by mainly carving stone, but he developed a desire to create larger pieces, which led him to experiment with other materials such as wood and by incorporating metalwork. Everything evolved from there from sculpting sea creatures to different classes of birds, beehives, tables, galactic space items, and the list is endless.

Moore’s decorative artwork brings life to any space. As you view his pieces, you’ll notice that the combination of stone, wood, and copper is aesthetically extraordinary. His inspiration derives from anywhere and anything. From staring at the sky and admiring nature to coming across an object in the kitchen drawer.

Anything that he imagines he brings to life with acute precision.

- Eric Moore

Wendy Wrenn Werstlein “Baker w/Ridgeline Pattern”

clay $ 147.00

I am affected by the flow and line patterns in nature and I explore these patterns and forms in my pots. My work is moving towards a more organic appearance, often altered away from the perfect circle of the wheel. Through these forms and patterns emerge lines of communication. I am learning that the communication of pottery happens most often in the absence of language. I seek to infuse my work with a sense of movement; the soft stroke of the hand giving comfort and thanks through use. As a social species we communicate, exchange information, through touch, visual expressions, body language – all these voices are present in handmade objects. You hear the voices through your eyes, your touch, your emotional response to shape and size, color and feel.

- Wendy Wrenn Werstlein

Hsiang-Ting Yen “Reveal: Bolo Bracelet�

metal-sterling, electro-formed copper, enamel $ 141.75

In 2012 I received my M.A. and M.F.A. degrees in Metals and Jewelry from Savannah College of Art and Design. During the three and half year of my graduate school training I created one of kind jewelry not only for my loved ones but also for clients that I met at the Philadelphia Museum of Art craft shows. I truly enjoy the sense of achievement that comes from knowing how much joy my jewelry brings to my clients. I became absorbed with the challenge of problemsolving and brainstorming designs and making the jewelry. I didn’t want to stop. In order to continuously share my passion with the world I founded HTY Jewelry in 2013 in Raleigh, NC. - Hsiang-Ting Yen

Margaret Luttrell “Once Bitten (Io)”

mixed media $ 367.50

Working with the medium of encaustic, wax becomes a figurative container for these memories and stories. Wax has several inherent qualities that allow it to withstand the test of time. Encaustic art dates back to the 4th century BC in Ancient Greece and is known for its capability of preserving works for over 2000 years without cracking. By encasing these objects within this material, memories have the ability to persist and remain, revealing layers of time as their own brand of relic.

- Margaret Luttrell

Due to the pandemic, the gallery closed its doors in mid-March and our talented new members deserved another viewing online.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork or want additional information – direct all inquiries to

craftshop@piedmontcraftsmen.org or call the gallery at

336.725.1516

The gallery & shop hours are limited, however, we are committed to remain open for sales to support our craftsmen and the guild.

All photos by: Gretchen Siebert 601 S. TRADE STREET

WINSTON-SALEM. NC. 27101

PIEDMONTCRAFTSMEN.ORG

__________________________________________________

Our New Members Show opened on March 6, 2020

CLAY Christina Bendo Douglas Bringle Ayla Mullen Wendy Wrenn Werstlein

Waynesville NC Winter Park FL Floyd VA Floyd VA

JEWELRY Debra Adelson Hannah Long Cindy Miller Hsiang Ting Yen

Collingswood VA* Boynton Beach FL* Athens AL Raleigh NC

MIXED MEDIA Renee Calder Marge Luttrell Anne McLean Eric Moore

Huntersville NC Knoxville TN High Point NC Pomaria SC

WOOD Ian Herdell Rob Herion

Durham NC Newtown PA *not showing