Jeweler, Glass & Furniture Makers at American Fine Craft Show

Linda May, jeweler, Skitch Manion, glass maker and Peter Handler, furniture maker, whose studios are in Philadelphia, join 87 other artisans and artists at the fifth American Fine Craft Show at the Brooklyn Museum November 18-19, 2017.

Linda May refers to her work as “exuberant textile jewelry,” hand sewn in her Philadelphia studio in bright silks, bold wools, and fancy beaded felt. She wrote:

“As an anthropologist working in India, I saw strange bright colors combined in ways that surprised me. To quote legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, ‘Hot pink is the navy blue of India.’”

Skitch Manion owns and operates Working Man Hand Made, a glass and design company. On his website he wrote that “at the start of his career he was instantly drawn to the significant history and technical challenge of the craft. He believes glassblowing requires a specific lifestyle, centered around dedication to the craft. He has always sought perfection in craftsmanship in glassblowing, studying under some of the industry's most highly regarded makers. During his 20 years of experience, he has had the opportunity to work with maestros, Pino Signoretto and Lino Tagliapietra, who he has long admired for their devotion and discipline in glassblowing. He aspires to be a resource as a skilled maker and upholds the tradition of refined skill in glassblowing.

When an interior designer asked then jewelry designer Peter Handler, Handler Studio, Philadelphia, to make a table in the same materials he was using--aluminium with epoxy resin inlays in color—he soon branched out to chairs and sofas. He earned an MFA at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he discovered aluminium and metal machining. “My goal is to have people look at my furniture 20 or 30 years from now, still love it, and see it as good furniture, and of an earlier time.”

Visitors to the show can take in the magnificent exhibitions at the Museum. Concurrent ones include “Rodin at the Brooklyn Museum: The Body in Bronze,” that opens November 17; “Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt;” “Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo,” and “Arts of Korea.”

For more information visit www.brooklyncraftshow.com.

Where: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238.

Directions: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org...

Hours: Saturday Nov. 19: 11 am – 6 pm. Sunday, Nov. 20: 11 am-6 pm