And the new Artisans and Fellow members are….
A 1:48 scale house in the Frank Lloyd Wright style by new Artisan Carol Silberman.
Congratulations go to France Cabana, Leigh Herrick-Hallowell, Carolyn Mohler-Kraft, Bear Limvere, Greg Matusovsky, Patrizia Santi, Alison Shibata, Carol Silberman, Anne Snodgrass, Kim Stewart and Kellie Wachter who may now call themselves Artisan members of IGMA; and to Elizabeth Gazmuri, Sara Alvarez, Linda Master and Nancy Simpson who are the newest Fellow members of the Guild.
1:12 scale silver by new Artisan Greg Matusovsky.
We are just back from a very long weekend of evaluations-it does take a very long time to thoroughly examine each submission to see that it meets or exceeds the standards set for each level of membership. Each submission is judged individually on its own merit, with all accompanying documentation and without the benefit or distraction of knowing who the artist is. We are very happy and proud to welcome this newest group of Artisan and Fellow members and hope they will continue on the path towards excellence that they have begun so well.
And Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel Goes to Kansas City!
I don’t know how Kansas City compares with Norway, but I do know that I’d love to be there towards the end of June when Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel will be the featured artist in the new Artist-in-Residence program at the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City.
The 1/12 scale Botticelli painting by Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel that will be the subject of the Artist-in-Residence program.
The program will kick off on June 1st when the museum opens a special exhibit of Lee-Ann’s work featuring some never before seen pieces from their collection as well as paintings from Lee-Ann’s personal collection. Lee-Ann will be present from the 24th to the 30th of June, teaching a master class in egg tempera at the Kansas City Art Institute as well as demonstrating the process on a miniature Renaissance portrait in a temporary studio at the Toy and Miniature Museum. Lectures and a reception will round out the week’s events.
Lee-Ann is very well known and avidly collected in the miniatures community for her stunning work in 1/12 scale ceramics. Over the last few years, she is becoming equally well known for painting wonderful miniature interpretations of Renaissance masterpieces. In 2004, Lee-Ann was awarded an Independent Study Program grant by IGMA to study Italian Majolica pottery in Italy. She made excellent use of her time then, as well as on subsequent trips, and amazing pieces of miniature Italian Majolica continue to emerge from her studio along with wonderful Arts and Crafts and Delft ware inspired pieces.
Bonni Backe Goes to Norway
The year I finally got up the nerve to go to Guild School, I was part of the small percentage that did not get into my first choice classes. From what I remember, I didn’t get my second choices either, but the fact that I loved the classes I did get so much that I haven’t missed a year since, goes to show you just how strong the entire roster of classes is.
Two double coverlets in 1/12 scale by Bonni Backe, Weevings.
One of the classes I found myself in that year was a weaving class with Bonni Backe. I walked into the library of the Maine Maritime Academy to find 10 or 12 interesting looking table-top looms set up for us to use and by the end of the week, I was completely fascinated and had produced three pretty decent looking rugs.
Bonni is the artist behind Weevings the business she operates making and selling miniature woven rugs, bedspreads, towels and so many other items, most of them based in weaving, but not all of them strictly in the realm of textiles…snowshoes and wicker? Bonni is a Fellow member of the Guild, a position that made her eligible to apply for a grant from the Independent Study Program. IGMA established this program a decade or more ago in order to enable Fellow members to pursue a research project consistent with the Guild’s mission of promoting miniatures as an art form.
Bonni applied for and was awarded a study grant which she used to research Norwegian textiles-in Norway, spending three weeks in museums and thrift shops across the country, studying, photographing-and as I hear, buying textiles. She will be hosting a show and tell at Guild School this summer, sharing the knowledge she gained and displaying some of the pieces she found so inspiring. And, I expect that before long, we will see the inspiration reflected in some new pieces for sale.
