Craft is often grounded in functionality, utility, and tradition. But some artists use craft to reveal something mystical and otherworldly. On March 19, 2021, three 2021 Arrowmont Instructors gathered for a Roundtable discussion: CRAFT + SPIRIT.
Featuring:
- Rachel K. Garceau, ceramicist and installation artist
- Maria Sarmiento, sculptor
- Dietlind Vander Schaaf, encaustic painter
Some technical difficulties resulted in the original recording missing the first half hour of introductions and discussion. The artists reunited on March 22, 2021 to record their self-introductions, and continue the discussion. The full recordings are combined in this video. Click the image below or go to https://youtu.be/EvFr-0xj8H4 to watch.
RACHEL K. GARCEAU is a studio artist living and working in Atlanta, Georgia who was recognized as a 2015 Emerging Artist by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. She has been a resident artist at Arrowmont, the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, and at the Vendsyssel Kuntsmuseum in Denmark. Garceau utilizes large slip-cast porcelain forms to construct site-specific installations.
MARIA SARMIENTO lives in Atlanta, Georgia and teaches art workshops. She received her BFA from the Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogota, Colombia, and an MFA in Sculpture from Georgia State University. Her sculptural art includes different methods such as cast metals, cement, Paltiya, steel, paper, and recycled materials. Sarmiento’s past teaching assignments include Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, The Art Institute of Atlanta, Metro Academic Studies, and Sarmiento Studio LLC.
DIETLIND VANDER SCHAAF lives in Portland, Maine and is a core instructor for R&F Handmade Paints and the former president of New England Wax. She holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Southern Maine. She has exhibited nationally and been featured in Maine Home Design, Décor Maine, and Downeast magazines. Vander Schaaf has taught at Haystack, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, Penland, New Hampshire Institute of Art, The Encaustic Center, R&F, Maine College of Art, and internationally at Zijdelings in The Netherlands.
For more information on this series visit https://www.arrowmont.org/craft-conversations/.
