Nancy Nicholson in her studio. Image courtesy of Craft Nouveau.
The two artists take a traditional craft medium and approach it with a contemporary eye to make work that is relevant to today’s art scene. Nancy Nicholson has been working in stained glass for over twenty five years. She has studied under some of the fields greatest restoration professionals and traditional stained glass artists, but she busted out of conformity to pay homage to the urban landscape in glass. “I look for both beauty and humor in the urban landscape,” says Nicholson. “Stained glass is often viewed narrowly as a religious or decorative art form, or merely relegated to the realm of craft. I challenge these notions by using glass as a means to create work that communicates on multiple levels, encompassing formal conceptual and narrative elements.” Nicholson has new work for sale in the BCC Holiday Sale, and is constantly working in her Park Slope studio on commissioned stained glass panels. Watch a video about Nancy Nicholson on brookfieldcraft.org.
Presence, a stained glass piece by Nancy Nicholson available for sale at Brookfield Craft Center. Image courtesy of the artist.
Copper Turret, a stained glass piece by Nancy Nicholson. Image courtesy of the artist.
Stained Glass 101 is a two-weekend workshop (Dec. 3-4 and 10-11) for artists at any skill level. Students can expect to complete a small stained glass panel of their own design. Give the panel as a gift for the holidays, or keep it as your first stained glass project of many to come. Details can be found on BCC’s online catalog under glass.
Rebecca Ringquist in her studio. Image courtesy of the artist.
Rebecca Ringquist takes the notion of prim and proper embroidery samplers of a bygone era and ignites them with a sort of innocent rebellion. “I tell love stories and create veiled fractured narratives full of double entendre,” states Ringquist. “My work has been inspired of late by the fictional relocation story of the Swiss Family Robinson and my own cross-country move to Brooklyn. I alternate between hand embroidery and machine stitching. The harsh difference between the rates of speed with which I work conveys a complicated message.” Ringquist will begin a residency at the Museum of Art and Design in New York later this month, and is an avid blogger. Check out her mention of her workshop at BCC at drop-cloth.blogspot.com.
Garden Gate, a fiber piece by Rebecca Rinquist. Image courtesy of the artist.
Detail of Garden Gate by Rebecca Ringquist. Image courtesy of the artist.
Drawing into Cloth is a one-weekend workshop (Dec. 3-4), also for artists of any skill level. Bring your own sewing machine, and consider drawing in a new light as you stitch a likeness or scene. Create a present for someone you love, or just experiment with this excellent cold-weather craft. Details can be found on BCC’s online catalog under fiber.
Find more December 2011 workshops and classes on the BCC education calendar.
