As students at Franklin Pierce College in the late eighties Alex and Trish began blowing glass while working for another glassblower. Soon they began developing their own designs and in 1995, in a studio of their own, North Country Glass was born.

     Because each piece is hand blown without the use of a mold, no two pieces are exactly the same. The swirled color throughout their functional stemware and tumblers creates a visual elegance in it's intracacy. Blue and purple iris adorn graceful vases. Their petals and leaves are like gentle swishes of color. North Country Glass produces a varied selection of both decorative and functional pieces all of which can be seen at the Meredith League Gallery throughout the month of May.

     A collection of fine jewelry by Paulette Werger is on display June 1 through 30.

     "I have an interest in the abstracted patterns commonly found in plant life. Form, texture and pattern borrowed from my garden are the basis for the collage-like surfaces and simple volumes in my metalwork. "Beyond the Garden Gate" is a collection of work inspired by quiet observation, interpretation and abstraction of a small space of great importance. My attempt is to capture the tenuous bits and pieces of the garden and translate them into objects for the table and the body. Playing with the metaphor of cycles of life and growth allows me to work within a simple visual narrative. The collection is intentionally pared-down, simple and spare as the first forms of spring or the last of winter."

     "My neckpieces, rings, earrings and beads combine a variety of materials including, fresh water pearls, precious and semi precious stones, high karat gold, and pewter. Vessels and spoons allow me to explore both the scale and function of table service. Keum-Boo, the traditional Korean technique of fusing 24KT gold and silver is combined with roller embossing, stamping, etching, solder inlay, and stone setting to produce intentionally subtle and elegant pieces of jewelry and table wear."

      Steven Zoldak has been the potter at Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth since 1987. His work reflects his love of history and Old World traditional knowledge while embracing contemporary form and design.

     Using a glazing process known as slip trailing, Zoldak places liquefied Porcelain clay colored with metal oxide to the surface of a wet pot. The lines are performed through a trailing bottle to draw patterns that are raised on the surface of the body of the pottery. The slips are then fused to the surface through the firing process of 2350 degrees Fahrenheit. The glaze coating that covers the surface of the pottery transforms the slip giving the pattern various shades of color. This process gives each ceramic ware a unique characteristic.

     Inspiration comes from various cultures. Mediterranean to Northern European. "Over time, I have come to love the earlier works of Stoke-On-Trent and the French Faiance pottery," said Steven. More recently there has been an influx of Asian inspiration into his decorative patterns. Combining all these together creates a unique and contemporary interpretation that maintains a feeling of old world traditions.

     The managers of the League of NH Craftsmen Retail Galleries have selected juried member Kerstin Nichols as the featured craftsperson for the 2008 Traveling Exhibition. Kerstin, who is juried in metal, creates unique jewelry and sculptures that reflect her passion for nature and natural processes. Her exhibition, entitled Intimate Details and Continuing Conversations, will be on display at the League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Retail Gallery for the month of September.

     Kerstin’s jewelry and sculpture is in the permanent collections of the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Glass at Wheaton Village in Millville, NJ, and in other public and private collections throughout the United States. "My work is an ongoing dialogue with what I see and find in nature," said Kerstin. "It focuses on the underlying beauty in the ordinary ‘stuff’ of life... like a beach stone tumbled smooth, or light washing across the surface of a landscape. I translate these subtle qualities into sculpture and jewelry."

     Kerstin’s work is based on lifelong interests in art and science. Growing up in New York City, she attended a progressive elementary school that cultivated her interest in art and in learning, which continued through high school where she attended one of NYC’s specialized public high schools, Music and Art. "Even back then, I gravitated towards working on three-dimensional pieces, particularly jewelry," she said. She decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology/ geology at New York University, but still found time for her art. In fact, her study of molecular structures and historical geology still plays a pivotal role in her approach to her creative work, as well as her teaching.

     After graduating from NYU, she decided to take a break from science and was invited to work in a two-year apprentice program at the Kulicke-Stark Academy (currently, the Jewelry Arts Institute), where the focus was on ancient jewelry making techniques.

     After her apprenticeship, she became a faculty member at the Institute, where she taught for seven years. She also started a small fashion jewelry and accessories business, working almost exclusively in colored pencils as her raw materials. "I was getting frustrated working with gold and silver, which require labor-intensive techniques and costly materials, so I experimented with other materials. Making an Egyptian styled collar necklace out of gold and silver pencils was my way of poking fun at the more traditional materials of jewelry," said Kerstin. One of her pencil necklaces made during this period is now part of the Cooper Hewitt Museum’s permanent collection.

     Kerstin left New York City in 1988 to attend graduate school at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where she received a master’s degree in fine arts in sculpture. (Concurrent with her life as a jeweler she had begun to work in glass and move more in a direction of sculpture, and graduate school gave her the opportunity to explore both more thoroughly.) After graduation in 1990 she moved to the Upper Valley of Vermont, which borders New Hampshire, to be close to her father. She soon became associated with the League of NH Craftsmen’s education department, Craftstudies in Hanover, and has run its metals program and studio since 1991. In the late 1990s Kerstin began to miss her connection to jewelry and began to focus her personal work again in this direction starting with a small collection of custom jewelry she sold privately. She became a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen in 2000. "It was a great opportunity to show my work, but I was also drawn to the importance of the League and its mission," she said.

     With her background in science, metals, and glass, Kerstin makes jewelry using a variety of materials and technical processes. "No matter what direction I have taken as an artist I find myself continually drawn back to the many challenges of making jewelry. My work uses simple shapes, subtle textures, balance and rhythms that are pulled together to respond to the movement of the body who wears them," she said.

     She has taught metalsmithing and sculpture to all ages and experience levels for close to three decades. Kerstin’s goal is to instill an excitement in what her students are learning that goes deeper than the mere making of beautiful objects and the mastery of techniques. "I love the dialogue and the creative dance I have with my students... they really inspire me," said Kerstin. "We make marvelous discoveries together. I am proud of the fact that I have never had a student copy my style or work... each has found his/her own inspiration."

     The Meredith Retail Gallery will have a collection of Kerstin’s work, including earrings, bracelets, pendants, even a tiara, as well as special pieces made for this exhibition. "I have produced custom pieces that are meant to be displayed as sculpture and worn as jewelry," said Kerstin.

     My work is inspired by the land of Prince Edward Island, Canada. The colors and the rock formations are stunning. As a result, I have developed a process and color palette which interprets what I have seen in the forms of my pots.

     To begin, I have made clay impressions of rock formations and then made plaster castings of them. The plaster cast is then used to create the textures in clay slabs which are used to form the texture of the pot. Using a tarpaper pattern applied to impressed slab, the form is cut and attached to complete the body of the form to which detail is then added to finalize the piece.

     Designs for the patterns are based upon a general idea for a form, again inspired by things observed. The possibilities are endless as witnessed by some examples of finished pots. (see recent work images)

     I create forms that carry on this Old World traditional knowledge while embracing contemporary form and design, embarking on the beginnings of a new tradition. I continue to merge my traditional ideals of work produced by the mind and hand, maintaining evidence of the human element in a world of technological tools.

 

     For more information about these exhibits, call the Meredith Retail Gallery at 603-279-7920, or email nhcraft@worldpath.net.