Names of Artists

Names of Artists

Craft artists are highly dependent on their natural environment for both inspiration and art materials. In this PBS episode of Craft in America, several artists are interviewed on various processes through which natural materials become finished craft works and the hidden messages may be contained therein. Featured artists include David Gurney, Kit Carson, and Jan Yager. Others are George and Mira Nakashima, Timberline Lodge artists, and Richard Notkin (PBS).

Jan Yager is both a media jeweller and an artist. Her artistic work spans from a utilization of contemporary objects to close observation of nature and references to the history of American colonial times. Plants that penetrate cracks on chicory and purslane sidewalks in search of sunlight, for instance, inspire her art on City Flora. On the other Hand, David Gurney is a painter and a potter. Mexican folk art, food, childhood and nature inspire his artistry. He paints and decorates his functional pottery with mythical landscapes to reflect his sensibility, place, or time.

Kit Carson is a jeweller and an artist living and working in New River, Arizona. Mostly, his work is an homage to romanticism in America's West during 1950s because he is influenced by Crafts and Artists movement. Some of the themes of his work include Art Nouveau, cowboys, Day of the Dead and desert animals. Yixing pottery tradition influences Richard Notkin, hence his work mostly harbours political commentaries. His collections are available at Smithsonian design museum, the Copper-Hewitt, and the Metropolitan Art Museum. George and his daughter Mira operate Nakashima Art studio in Pennsylvania. The Second World War and Japanese carpentry inspire most of his work. Today, her daughter Mira continues his legacy by producing classic furniture designs (PBS).

Reference

PBS,. Crafts in America: Landscape Episode. 2016. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.