I look forward to juried shows like this each year for a few reasons. It gives me incentive to try different ideas and a time contraint within which to get them done. It also gives me an opportunity to meet some of the best craftspeople in the state and to see some of their best work. I was especially excited about this year's show since my favorite local artist was one of the invited artists: Satoru Abe. Satoru is 88 and is internationally known for his sculptures in copper and bronze. The night of the show, I took an exhibition catalog of his work and asked him to sign it. He very graciously did and then asked me if I had any pieces in the show. "Sure," I said, "I have two pieces." "Where are they? he asked, "I want to see them." I felt more than a little sheepish showing him my stuff, especially since he couldn't move very quickly so it took some effort for him to walk around the room. I also felt funny since so many people were crowding around taking pictures of him looking at my pots. He seemed very humble and said some nice things about my pots. I then suggested that we go back and see his work. He slapped at the air as if pushing something aside. "No need," he laughed, "I've seen it already!"
Janet Koplos was the visiting juror. I was interested in hearing her lecture on Sunday night, October 5, because she's written so much about craft in America. When I went into the lecture, I didn't feel like I'd be disappointed if I didn't get into the show. I felt good about my pieces and had finished three out of the four designs I'd wanted to make for this show. After her lecture, however, I felt differently. She was so insightful, so smart, so savvy about the field, I knew I'd be disappointed if she didn't like any of my pieces. Made me sorry for a moment that I'd come! But only for a moment since I was able to get two pieces into the show. I felt pretty good about that and once again considered myself fortunate to have anything at all in the show.
The Hawaii Craftsmen show is typically the best display of craft in the State of Hawaii. The show this year, however, does not seem as strong in ceramics as in past years. I don't know what ceramicists submitted work, but many of the state's best artists were missing such as Esther Shimazu, Daven Hee, Shigeru Miyamoto, Russell Wee, Jon Vongvichai, Yoko Haar, Ken Kang, Kenny Kicklighter, Joey Chiarello, Clayton Amemiya and Licia McDonald. I know that some of the artists like Daven, Shigeru and Clayton are doing exhibits right now or have just finished ones, but I was surprised at how many of them were missing. Some familiar names were in the show like Jennifer Owen and Jerome Heck, but their pieces were certainly very simple and small scale compared to what they usually submit. I don't mean any disrespect to the ceramicists who were included in this year's show (including me), but I'm just wondering why so many of these other artists are not in this year's show. Still, there are some amazing things in all craft categories. Below are images of all the ceramics (I hope) that are in the show.
The 47th Annual Hawai'i Craftsmen Statewide Juried Exhibition began on October 10 and will run through November 1. The exhibit is open on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, and is closed on Mondays.
Janet Koplos was the visiting juror. I was interested in hearing her lecture on Sunday night, October 5, because she's written so much about craft in America. When I went into the lecture, I didn't feel like I'd be disappointed if I didn't get into the show. I felt good about my pieces and had finished three out of the four designs I'd wanted to make for this show. After her lecture, however, I felt differently. She was so insightful, so smart, so savvy about the field, I knew I'd be disappointed if she didn't like any of my pieces. Made me sorry for a moment that I'd come! But only for a moment since I was able to get two pieces into the show. I felt pretty good about that and once again considered myself fortunate to have anything at all in the show.
The Hawaii Craftsmen show is typically the best display of craft in the State of Hawaii. The show this year, however, does not seem as strong in ceramics as in past years. I don't know what ceramicists submitted work, but many of the state's best artists were missing such as Esther Shimazu, Daven Hee, Shigeru Miyamoto, Russell Wee, Jon Vongvichai, Yoko Haar, Ken Kang, Kenny Kicklighter, Joey Chiarello, Clayton Amemiya and Licia McDonald. I know that some of the artists like Daven, Shigeru and Clayton are doing exhibits right now or have just finished ones, but I was surprised at how many of them were missing. Some familiar names were in the show like Jennifer Owen and Jerome Heck, but their pieces were certainly very simple and small scale compared to what they usually submit. I don't mean any disrespect to the ceramicists who were included in this year's show (including me), but I'm just wondering why so many of these other artists are not in this year's show. Still, there are some amazing things in all craft categories. Below are images of all the ceramics (I hope) that are in the show.
The 47th Annual Hawai'i Craftsmen Statewide Juried Exhibition began on October 10 and will run through November 1. The exhibit is open on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, and is closed on Mondays.
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