Dunes of Destin
Terry Allison

In the beginning, you fall in love. It starts in your feet and pretty soon it’s in your chest and then your throat and finally you’re thinking about it all the time.

That’s what happened to me when The Guild first posted the photography of Terry Allison on our website. This talented artist captures the cloud-laden skies in dramatic black-and-white imagery. And there is one piece, “Dunes of Destin,” that immediately stole my heart.

I grew up in a small town in South Alabama, only 90 miles from Destin, Florida. Allison’s photography captures the brilliant white sand and rolling sand dunes of my youth. Destin will always be my favorite beach, no matter how old I am and how far I travel.

The association with memories is a constant theme with so many of the things with which we surround ourselves, whether it’s treasured family silverware or a quilt passed down from generations past. Intuitively, we seek out objects and artwork that have meaning and connection for us. In the process of gathering, we re-connect with the people and times that have made us who we are today.

Baskets, Three Parts
Christian Burchard

One does not need to be an art critic to appreciate the beauty in the calm, gentle lines of a turned wood vessel. The wood offers a manuscript of its life, echoing its joys and hardships with every grain. Wood is a living material, and we can relate to its struggles — in a way it seems to mirror our lives. To a large extent it is the richness of the wood that has rocketed this relatively new medium to art stardom.

It is difficult to imagine a better object than the vessel to present the incomparable beauty of wood. It is a canvas uniquely suited to take advantage of the wood’s inherent organic traits. Bark inclusions and insect damage can be revealed on the open surface of an unadorned bowl.

As a counterpoint to the beauty of the wood, a graceful and elegant form can transcend the material from which it is made and speak directly to our sense of balance and design. We respond universally to the curves, angles, and clean smooth lines of a timeless form.

Christian Burchard, one of the leading artists in turned wood, celebrates the perfect union of wood and form through his delicate vessels. Marked by simplicity and clarity, his wood “baskets” find a very direct way of exposing and presenting nature’s beauty.

Turquoise Bouquet
David Van Noppen
Photo by James Beards

The signs of spring make me weak in the knees. The first sight of a robin, the first bud on a tree, the first thunderstorm that washes away the brown of winter – these are things that make my heart soar. But nothing compares to the happiness I get from the spring flowers that grow in my backyard.

The crocus is my earliest and most welcome visitor, peeking up out of leftover drifts of snow. Soon after come the daffodils, and then, the tulips. Ahhh, those tulips! They provide an ever-changing source of joy, turning my yard into a beautiful coat of many colors.

It is during this wonderful time of year that I have the luxury of bringing my own flowers indoors on a daily basis. In other seasons, the local florist helps me out. And then, of course, I often look to the many talented artists who appropriate their ideas from nature’s bounty, creating amazing flowers out of a variety of materials such as glass.

I wholeheartedly share the sentiments of Claude Monet, who wrote, “More than anything I must have flowers, always always.”

Miniature Form Study
New work by Nicholas Kekic

A few weeks ago I made the annual pilgrimage to the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore. This wholesale/retail show features over 850 leading craft artists working in every possible medium from all over the U.S. For years, it has been the premier show where artists display their newest work to gallery owners and collectors.

I have been working in this field for over 20 years, and yet this show never fails to amaze me. Artists I’ve known for a long time continue to delight with constantly evolving designs and materials. Even more exciting are the young artists who challenge us with completely new ways of thinking and seeing.

For me, the ACC Baltimore Show is a celebration of creativity, an affirmation of the inner strength of artists. For this, I am ever so grateful.