Artist Talk: Martin Alexander and Lauren Verdugo

On the occasion of the exhibition, Building Blocks: Process & Wood, Los Angeles-based artists Martin Alexander and Lauren Verdugo will talk about their work and their shared interests in materiality, reconceptions of functionality, and expressions of identity. Both artists were filmed for the Craft Video Dictionary.

To join the Webinar, please register.

Martin Alexander Hernandez is a multidisciplinary sculptor and woodworker. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BFA in Woodworking in 2018. Shortly after this, he opened his studio practice, Martin Alexander Studio, in Los Angeles, California. Since then, he has produced sculptural work and designed furniture utilizing both his personal studio and wood shops throughout the Los Angeles area. He has also honed his skills by apprenticing under a variety of artists and furniture studios.   

Hernandez’s work fuses traditional craft techniques with a conceptual design approach. He is interested in material sustainability, often producing sculptural work with found materials. He currently serves as the shop tech at Allied Woodshop in Los Angeles.

Lauren Verdugo is a Southern California-based artist, woodworker, and furniture designer. Verdugo began their formal training in 2016 by apprenticing with master woodworker Larry White, whom they met through an internship at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof foundation. They went on to complete their BA in Applied Design at San Diego State University in 2021, and are currently enrolled in the Wood MFA program at California State University, Long Beach.

Verdugo’s designs emphasize the unique attributes of their source material, including history, meaning, and physical features. Minimalist forms are punctuated by playful decorative elements. Verdugo rhythmically juxtaposes hard and soft lines, heavy and light features, resulting in works which appear sturdy, yet distinctly energetic. In addition to their multimedia arts practice, they teach wood workshops at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation in Alta Loma, California and at Allied Woodshop in Los Angeles.

Artist Talk: Larry White

Join woodworking artist Larry White for a talk on his development with Sam Maloof and his ensuing decades-long practice. Learn about his stream-of-consciousness creative process and how his inspiration comes from a wide range of sources.

Please email rsvp@craftinamerica.org to attend in person.

To join via Zoom please register.

Artist Talk: Reuben Foat and Ryan Taber

On the occasion of the exhibition, Building Blocks: Process & Wood, Los Angeles-based artists Reuben Foat and Ryan Taber will talk about their shared interest in reconsidering historic furniture processes and their perspectives on furniture education approaches and opportunities. Both artists were consulted for the Craft Video Dictionary.

Reuben Foat is a furniture designer and sculptor who is recognized for his traditional and technological approach to furniture. Finding inspiration in both old and new approaches to making, Foat creates much of his work using technologies like computer-aided-design and computer-aided-manufacturing.

Foat was raised in Mukwonago, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin where he received a BS in Art and learned furniture design. Foat then took on several positions as a cabinet maker, furniture restorer, and furniture designer before attending San Diego State University where he received his MFA with a concentration in furniture design and digital fabrication. Foat currently works out of his studio in Long Beach, California, while serving as a professor and chair of the Woodworking Department at Cerritos College.

Ryan Taber is an artist, woodworker, and educator. Since 2015, he has served as head of the Wood program at the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach. The program has continued to evolve under Taber’s leadership, emphasizing sustainability and critical thinking at every step in the creative process. 

Taber’s art practice is discursive, drawing on painting, photography, sculpture and furniture making. Each piece utilizes an intricate web of historical references to interrogate notions of art and visual culture. The work considers historical shifts in social perspectives on objecthood and materiality, which is reflected in the CSULB Wood program’s initiative to up cycle wood from nearby dead trees in order to reduce the industrially produced materials used by students. The challenges inherent in working with imperfect, recycled wood encourage Taber’s students to continuously problem solve and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their materials.

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Artist Talk: John Luebtow and Stephen Edwards

On the occasion of the exhibition, Between the Lines, John Luebtow and Stephen Edwards talk about their overlapping early development in Los Angeles, careers as teaching artists, and how they used their experience to build state-of-the-art shops for glassmaking on the West and East coasts.

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Professional Practices Talk with Roberto Benavidez and Calder Kamin

Join artists Roberto Benavidez and Calder Kamin, who were recently featured in Craft in America’s Play episode, as they discuss their respective strategies to promote and build a successful art practice. Their work is also featured in Spirit of Play; Craft and Imagination on view at the Center through March 2, 2024.

This is a perfect opportunity for emerging or mid-career artists to get some tips and inspiration. They will speak about how they built their careers and continue to create opportunities, as well as the pitfalls along the way, and what they learned from hindsight.

Come early to connect with other attendees, meet and greet the artists, and view the exhibition from 6pm on.

Fee: $25

Roberto Benavidez is a figurative sculptor originally from South Texas specializing in the piñata form. After moving to Los Angeles, he rediscovered his passion for the visual arts and studied figure sculpting and bronze casting at Pasadena City College. Benavidez later switched to paper, a more accessible material than bronze, deciding to focus on the piñata technique, a familiar form from childhood. Benavidez plays with underlying themes of race, ephemerality, beauty and sin, layered with his identity as a mixed-race queer artist, with a focus on impeccable craftsmanship.

Calder Kamin, artist, educator and advocate, transforms trash into beautifully crafted creatures and opportunities to inspire others to be creative and courageous about the future. Nature’s endless ability to reuse and adapt motivates her to eliminate waste and reimagine it as art. Kamin’s creative reuse art projects and public workshops have traveled to museums across the states including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art American, the American Museum of Natural History, the Contemporary Austin, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. She was the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art’s Art Truck Artist, and artist-in-residence at BreckCreate, Landmark Apartments, the Currier Museum of Art, SiNaCa Studios, Camp Stomping Ground, and the DoSeum, San Antonio’s Children’s Museum. Kamin is a board member of Austin Creative Reuse, a non-profit that diverts community waste to artists, crafters, and educators as resources.

Before committing to her art full-time, Kamin advised artists on career development through positions at the Kansas City Art Institute, City of Austin, and the University of Texas. The City of Austin continues to offer a 6-week course that builds local artists’ knowledge of City resources, networking and business skills that was created by Kamin. 

Influences/Influencers Artist Walkthrough Dec. 2

Artist members of California Fibers will be in attendance to discuss their work and process with visitors. This is a chance for a one-on-one or small group conversation to gain insights into an artist’s thinking and technique.

Artists present will include:

• Marty Ornish 
• Polly Jacobs Giacchina 
• Peggy Wiedemann 
• Sandy Abrams 
• Olivia Batchelder 
• Carrie Burckle 
• Ben Cuevas 

Textile Arts LA Artist Talk: Ben Cuevas

The Craft in America Center hosted this talk for Textile Arts Los Angeles.

A Deep Dive into My Body of Work and Artistic Practice

Ben works most notably in the art of hand knitting that transcends across platforms of performance, video, sculpture, and installation. His work seeks to defy the distinctions of art and craft, digital and handmade, male and female binaries.

“I am an artist whose work is rooted in concepts of otherness, inspired by my queer, non-binary, HIV-positive, Latinx identity. As intersectionality informs my practice, my work is naturally interdisciplinary — involving textiles, photography, sculpture, installation, and more.  A central part of my artwork is based in fiber, underscoring queer/feminist ideologies within the gendered history of women’s work.”

Photo by Stacey Meineke

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Influences/Influencers Artist Walkthrough Nov. 25

Artist members of California Fibers will be in attendance to discuss their work and process with visitors. This is a chance for a one-on-one or small group conversation to gain insights into an artist’s thinking and technique.

Artists present will be:

• Debby Weiss 
• Cameron Taylor-Brown
• Michael F. Rohde
• Elise Vazelakis 
• Anifaye Korngute

Textile Arts LA Talk: Leigh Wishner on Dorothy Liebes

The Craft in America Center hosted this talk for Textile Arts Los Angeles.

Celebrate the birthday of the legendary weaver and designer Dorothy Liebes, with a talk about her career and aesthetic by textile historian Leigh Wishner. Wishner is among the contributors to the recent monograph on Liebes, A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, which was published in conjunction with the current exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Free for TALA members; $10 for nonmembers.

Tea Time with Potter Jeff Oestreich: Artist Talk & Trunk Show 

Jeff Oestreich was trained in the austere simplicity of traditional Asian pottery while serving as an apprentice to Bernard Leach in England in the 1960s–70s. He will talk about his time at Leach Pottery in St. Ives and how its legacy continues to influence and resonate with contemporary artists. He will discuss and show his own work and the work of three potters who also apprenticed with Leach:  Kat Wheeler, John Beddings, Roelof Ulys.

In the British tradition, after the talk, tea and scones will be served while attendees can meet the artist.

Libby Buckley, current director of Leach Pottery, will begin the presentation with a brief Zoom conversation about recent developments at the studio, including new buildings and exciting programs. 

Let us know if you plan to attend: rsvp@craftinamerica.org

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