Published: May 28, 2008 04:56 pm            

ART: 'American Craftsmen' return to Lockport

The 100 American Craftsmen Show will be back in Lockport on Friday.

The 38th annual edition of the show is three days long and showcases contemporary craft art. The show has many categories including clay, leather, glass, metal, wood and others. Artisans in the show will be there to showcase and sell their work, according to Elaine Harrigan, Marketing Director for the Kenan Center.

Harrigan described the criteria and guidelines for artisans who wish to participate in the show as very strict, as the 100 American Craftsmen Show is dedicated to contemporary and fine craft. Applicants have to submit their work to a panel to be graded. The top 100 grades are enrolled in the show and 10 to 12 alternate artisans are selected in case an artisan has to withdraw. There are usually 28 new artisans per year, making up a third of the show, while the rest of the craftsmen are returning artisans. Harrigan said although an artisan might have made the cut a year ago, that doesn’t guarantee a spot in the show this year, as all artisans need to go through the work grading process.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have been selected for the past five years,” said JoAnn Vanderheite, a gourds artisan from Grand Island. “It’s a large honor to be selected, you have to submit your work and it’s a couple of months before you know.”

Although Vanderheite has been a part of the show for half a decade, she continues to learn more skills and try new things. This is the first year she will be using an airbrush, a skill she describes as very difficult. She says she will have approximately 85 to 90 pieces including what she calls her show stopper, a Japanese geisha girl that is about the size of an 8-year-old girl.

Harrigan says it is quite difficult to get a high volume of artisans to the show and this year is even harder than recent years.

“It’s always a challenge every year to get a large amount of applicants, especially this year with gas prices,” she said.

Harrigan describes craft art as art that is functional and stands a purpose. An example she used was a tea kettle, as opposed to a picture on the wall. The picture is meant to be hung up on the wall for decoration, but the tea kettle is meant to be used.

As the show expands with categories and artisan styles, the variety of the works attracts large crowds.

“What is fascinating about the show is we’ll have 20-something clay artists and every one has their own style, its a huge variety,” Harrigan said. “We have people who come out to the show and do all their Christmas shopping and you can do that because of the variety.”

The 100 American Craftsmen Show is not a show for those who want to display crafts they made as a hobby, as the artisans in the show are professional. Harrigan says a lot of the artisans in the show are teachers at the high school and college levels.

The Kenan Center has been the venue of the show for its entirety, in large part because the show was created by volunteers of the Kenan Center. Vanderheite says the venue and the show are a perfect match.

“It’s a terrific venue. There is plenty of space for people in a group to walk around,” she said.

Not only do the venue and the artisans give the show a positive vibe, but those who attend the show leave a good impression as well.

“I think it’s a terrific show, the staff is helpful and the customers are great,” said Casey Thomas, a clay artisan from Niagara Falls.

Thomas uses both ceramic and wheel thrown techniques and says that no possibilities are off limits when she’s creating.

“If it can be made out of clay, I’ll make it and try to sell it,” he said.

The show continues to grow every year, as people come from all over to participate. Visitors of the show come from all over New York and Canada, leaving Harrigan happy with the results.

“It’s not quite categorized as a big show, but it’s a good level for this area,” she said.



Anthony Custode is a Night & Day intern.



IF YOU GO

* WHAT: 100 American Craftsmen show

* WHEN: Friday-Sunday.

* WHERE: Kenan Center arena, 195 Beattie Ave., Lockport

* MORE INFORMATION: Call 433-2617 or visit www.kenancenter.org

        

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