Piedmont
Craftsmen Gallery & Shop
A non-profit organization
founded in 1963 by artists and art-lovers that
enjoys a national reputation for excellence. Its
mission is to educate the public to a keen appreciation
of fine traditional and contemporary craft. It
represents more than 340 of the finest contemporary
craft artisans working in the Southeast United
States. Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery & Shop is
located at Sixth and Trade Streets in the Downtown
Arts District.
Members' works can be found in numerous
private and corporate collections including the White House Collection
and many major museums including the Smithsonian
Institution and the Mint Museum. Artists have been
featured in American Crafts,
American Style, Southern Living, Home Magazine
and Country Living, among others.
Lin Barnhardt, a member of Piedmont
Craftsmen, Inc. (PCI), was featured in the Home & Garden Television
annual special on the White House Christmas Tree ornaments hosted
by Joy Philbin. Barnhardt's ornament is a recreation of the J.W.
Cannon house in Concord, North Carolina. Andrea and Chuck Kennington,
also PCI members, were asked to adorn the tree at 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue and chose Körner's Folly in Kernersville, North Carolina,
as the guide for their ornament.
Winston-Salem and Old Salem
Founded by professional Moravian craftsmen,
the initial wilderness settlement of Bethabara and the first town
of Old Salem are showcased as historic sites. Costumed interpreters
describe the daily lifestyle, activities and crafts of the Moravians
from 1760s to 1840s. Depending upon the building and family they
represent, the interpreters describe the usual activities of the
house and the people who lived there or are skilled in various
trades such as pewter, pottery, woodworking, shoemaking, tailoring
and riflesmithing.
Antique Malls and Shops
Two antique malls on Peters Creek Parkway,
as well as a small collection of shops near the intersection of
Northwest Boulevard and Reynolda Road in historic West End, offer
a traditional approach to antique shopping.
Sawtooth Center for Visual Art
A community art school providing high
quality art classes for children and adults is housed in this uniquely
designed former textile factory building located in downtown Winston-Salem.
Some instructors have taught multiple generations of Winston-Salem
families.
Fiber Company
Located in the Downtown Arts District,
this storefront features hand-woven products. As strong supporters
of the Downtown Arts District Association, this store was the second
business in the area. Watch members of the co-op weave on one of
more than a dozen looms or catch them winding a warp.
Modern Masters
Jane Peiser, ceramist, developed a
truly unique way of working with clay that has become the foundation
process used by all polymer clay artists since the invention of
that material 20 years ago. "The Penland School of Crafts Book
of Pottery," published in 1975, states that "Jane works
in clay in new ways…in technique and design she is an artist
doing totally unique work." Peiser's process begins with coloring
raw clay with oxides and building intricate millefiore scenes of
people and landscapes. Peiser is a quiet, reserved artist whose
work has had a significant impact in the field of ceramics in the
20th century.
Tom Suomalainen is a nationally known
ceramist and founding member of Piedmont Craftsmen Inc. He creates
large and small figurative sculptural pieces for home and garden.
A leader in the field of American craft, his work is found in major
collections across the country. In 1996, Suomalainen began serving
as the artist in residence at Bolton Elementary School, in Winston-Salem,
where he designed Niwa Sono, a Japanese-inspired garden project.
Every student and teacher at Bolton has been touched by their participation
in building this garden and interdisciplinary programs relating
the garden to art, math, science and language studies. This residency
has incorporated the best of interaction between artistic expression,
creativity and practical learning. Niwa Sono won Winston-Salem's
2000 Community Appearance Award.
George Servance is a 70 year-old master
carver who has been producing and marketing his small, wooden sculptures
for more than 35 years. Working with only knives and chisels, his
work is highly sought after by collectors across the Southeast.
His subject matter covers African American history of slavery,
biblical figures, animals and his beautifully painted dancing dolls.
Servance has inspired several generations of young carvers.
Cynthia Wynn was challenged by a college
art teacher to design a piece of furniture too heavy for one woman
to lift. This instance started her career of designing and building
furniture from scavenged old machine parts. Incredibly well designed
and crafted, the work is humorous, comfortable and modern. Don't
try to lift this by yourself.
Jon Kuhn left the hot glass studio
to begin creating cold-fused glass sculptures in the mid-1980s.
His technique allows him to control color and to capture and refract
light in complicated and unique patterns within each piece with
magnificent results. This Winston-Salem artist's work can be found
in The Smithsonian Institution, White House and Metropolitan Museum
of Art, among others.
Quiltmaker
Pat Taylor began her career in traditional quiltmaking and has
since evolved into pieced acoustical wall hangings, machine-stitched
fabric baskets and quilted clothing. Her garments consist of outerwear
attire, such as coats and jackets, as well as shirts and dresses.
The silk and/or cotton fabric is hand dyed, hand printed —
in some cases —
and pieced together.
Delta Fine Arts Center
Delta Fine Arts, Inc. provides quality
educational and cultural programming. Since its founding in 1972
by the Winston-Salem alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Inc., the organization's goal has been to stimulate community interest
and pride in American arts and humanities, emphasizing the contributions
of African-Americans. In 1982, the group opened the Delta Fine
Arts Center, where programs in the visual arts, music, literature,
drama, history and folk arts are offered.
Floor Cloths
Local author Kathy Cooper's "The
Complete Book of Floor Cloths" researches the challenges encountered
by early settlers in bringing the look and feel of their European
carpets to America with "shipping" constraints in transit.
Learn how sailcloth was often painted to reflect and replace European
carpets.
Jeweler
Susannah Ravenswing is a renowned
jeweler who works with precious stones and metals. She creates
unique and award-winning jewelry that is available locally
through The Craft Shop of Piedmont Craftsmen and GAIA.
Sam's Art Gallery
Sam McMillan began a career making
furniture in the early 1960s when he decided to make a table from
a wagon wheel. He started painting his furniture in the late 1980s
with bright, vibrantly colored polka dots and any scene that comes
to mind. "You just put what you have thinking right then."
McMillan says. "That's what sells it." Look for McMillan's
trademark signature, the letters SAM painted in black on just about
anything standing still. |
