This year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of JRACraft and the 25th anniversary of the Center for Craft, we combine our most well-known programs for one celebratory season. Four JRACraft Distinguished Artist Series encore artists will be paired with four emerging artists recognized by the Center for Craft's Windgate-Lamar Fellowship to present a collaborative weekend exploring commonality and materiality. Each weekend will be hosted online and include a virtual Saturday demonstration/studio visit and free Sunday lecture.

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​ARTIST DEMONSTRATION / STUDIO VISIT
Saturday, March 26 | 1 - 2:30pm
Virtual Zoom event
$25 members | $30 non-members
$85 for all 4 workshops, members only

FREE PUBLIC LECTURE
Sunday, March 27 | 2 - 3:30pm
Virtual Zoom event



MICHAEL PURYEAR
Michael Puryear is a nationally recognized designer and furniture maker. He is self-taught, learning his craft through reading and experimentation, and has been practicing his craft for more than 40 years. His work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries around the country, including the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY; The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; and the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA. His work has been featured in many publications including Makers: A History of American Studio Craft published by the University of North Carolina Press and Furniture with Soul: Master Woodworkers and Their Craft published by Kodansha. His work is found in the collections of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Rockefeller University Collection, The Newark Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.

NATHANIEL ATKINSON 
​Nathaniel Atkinson, a recent graduate of Alfred University’s School of Art and Design, and has been awarded a 2020 Center for Craft Windgate-Lamar Fellowship. He is recognized by the Center for Craft, in Ashville, NC, as one of the top emerging craft artists in the United States.

Atkinson uses materials derived from landscapes in which he immerses himself, and will work with local boat-builders who create historically and regionally accurate watercraft. As a Windgate-Lamar Fellow, he plans to study the spaces that foster development of the watercraft, teasing out the relationship between place and identity.

This year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of JRACraft and the 25th anniversary of the Center for Craft, we combine our most well-known programs for one celebratory season. Four JRACraft Distinguished Artist Series encore artists will be paired with four emerging artists recognized by the Center for Craft's Windgate-Lamar Fellowship to present a collaborative weekend exploring commonality and materiality. Each weekend will be hosted online and include a virtual Saturday demonstration/studio visit and free Sunday lecture.



ARTIST DEMONSTRATION / STUDIO VISIT
Saturday, January 22 | 1 - 2:30pm
Virtual Zoom event
$25 members | $30 non-members
$85 for all 4 workshops, members only

FREE LECTURE
Sunday, January 23 | 2 - 3:30pm
Virtual Zoom event

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MARY BARRINGER
Mary Barringer received a BA in art from Bennington College, apprenticed with Michael Frimkess, and has been a studio artist since 1973, making both sculpture and functional pottery. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she has taught widely at universities, art schools, and craft centers and including Ohio University, Hartford Art School, and Anderson Ranch. In addition to her studio work she has written and lectured on the history of ceramics, and from 2004 until 2014 she served as editor of The Studio Potter journal. She lives in western Massachusetts.

DANI BURKE
​Danielle Burke’s current work focuses on weaving histories, processes, and ephemera. Through her studio practice and archival research she hopes to better understand the boundaries of authenticity, the role of craft within a traditional practice, the influence of landscapes on material culture, and the ways that textiles can be read as texts.

Save the date! Last year's virtual JRA Day was such a great success that the 2021 show will take place both in person and online. 
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JRA Day Online
November 20 to 28, 2021  
Shop dozens of artists online working in glass, ceramic, metal, fiber, wood and more. Become a sponsor and receive access to shop early on Friday, November 19! See sponsorship form below.

​JRA Day In-person
December 4, 2021 | Woman's Club of Chevy Chase
Join us at the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase ​for a holiday favorite for local members. 

Splash Vessel by Margaret Halpin

The James Renwick Alliance for Craft invites you to the 2021 virtual JRACraft Annual Meeting. Preview our 2021 Distinguished Artist Series, hear about our new initiatives, and meet fellow craft enthusiasts and our board of Directors in our intimate break out rooms. 

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J.G. Harrington, President
Tim Tate, Vice President for Programs
Barbara Wolanin, Secretary
Diane Charnov
Elizabeth Doyle 
Marilyn Falik
Caroline Kipp
Mallory Lawson  
Anne Mehringer
Ann Miller 
Sandy Mitchell
Amanda Phillips
Rebecca Ravenal
Lynda Slayen
Anne Swanson
Andrea Uravitch
​Jacqueline Urow
​Judy Weisman

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"Our collection is a mix of works that has first been influenced by my mother Carolyn Alper, taking me for years to art shows and introducing me to my own tastes. " - Patty Alper

Patty and David's collection features Washington artists from her mother's collection, including Morris Louis, Gene Davis, Sam Gilliam. After years of influence from Carolyn, the couple branched out to expand their collection to include well-known artists like David Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg, Sean Scully, Chuck Close, William Christenberry and a large collection of their friend Enrique Martinez Celaya. Their collection is informed by gallery and museum visits, and attending arts programs like the one at Anderson Ranch in Colorado.

Pictured: Left Sam Gilliam, Dreyfus sculpture, Flanking the doors is David Hockney screens, Right Gene  Davis

Organized by JRACraft Member, Tina Heller.

Once every other year, the Masters of the Medium award recognizes artists for excellence in their body of work in the five craft mediums of ceramics, fiber, glass, metal and wood.​

Masters of the Medium

• Demonstrate excellence in craftsmanship
• Influence the designated medium
• Contribute to the craft field ​

Join us October 30 at 2pm eastern in this free online event to celebrate the lives, work, and influence of our 2021 Masters of the Medium: David Harper Clemons, Sergei Isupov, Wendy Maruyama, Preston Singletary, and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood. The awardees will discuss their inspirations, influences, and the artworks that have defined their careers in this engaging presentation.

Click below to register for the Symposium & Awards or to take out a congratulatory listing in honor of one or more of the Masters of the Medium.
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David was born in El Paso, Texas and spent much of his life in Austin, Texas.  Initially he began his undergraduate career attending Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, pursuing a degree program for Biology Art.  He attended the program for two years before returning to Austin to complete his BFA at the University of Texas in Austin, with a primary emphasis in painting. He earned his MFA in Metalsmithing in 2007 from San Diego State University. David taught in the art department at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas for 10 years. During 8 of those years he was responsible for creating and heading the Metalsmithing and Jewelry Department. In 2018 he relocated to Penland, North Carolina to dedicate his time to be an independent artist and workshop instructor.  Much of his work embraces the craft of Metalsmithing and it’s collected history of techniques and objects. The resulting works rendered in metal, mixed media, and hand made artist books are vehicles to communicate ideas surrounding identity, narrative, and forays into material and process-based work.  He has exhibited in numerous exhibitions including: Craft in America: Expanding Traditions, Different Tempers: Jewelry & Blacksmithing, RE/ACTIONS, and has work in the permanent collection of the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, National Ornamental Metal Museum. Yale Contemporary Craft Museum, Ollie Trout Collection at the University of Texas in Austin. ​

​Sergei Isupov is an Estonian-American sculptor internationally known for his highly detailed, narrative works. Isupov explores painterly figure-ground relationships, creating surreal sculptures with a complex artistic vocabulary that combines two- and three-dimensional narratives and animal/human hybrids. He works in ceramic using traditional hand building and sculpting techniques to combine surface and form with narrative painting using stains and clear glaze.  Isupov has a long international resume with work included in numerous collections and exhibitions, including the National Gallery of Australia, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (TX), Museum of Arts and Design (NY), Racine Art Museum (WI), Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MA), and the Erie Art Museum (PA), at which he presented selected works in a 20-year career survey Hidden Messages in 2017 and Surreal Promenade in 2019 at the Russian Museum of Art (MN). In addition to be being a working artist Isupov teaches workshops and lectures internationally at conferences, universities, museums and art centers. Important to his career have been the short and long-term artist residences at Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT), The International Ceramics Studio (Kecskemét, Hungary), and Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Skælskør, Denmark). ​

The art of Preston Singletary has become synonymous with the relationship between European glass blowing traditions and Northwest Native art. His artworks feature themes of transformation, animal spirits and shamanism through elegant blown glass forms and mystical sand carved Tlingit designs. Singletary learned the art of glass blowing by working with artists in the Seattle area including Benjamin Moore and Dante Marioni. As a student and assistant, he initially focused on mastering the techniques of the European tradition. His work took him to Kosta Boda (Sweden) where he studied Scandinavian design and met his future wife. Throughout his 30+ years of glass blowing experience, he has also had opportunities to learn the secrets of the Venetian glass masters by working with Italian legends Lino Tagliapietra, Cecco Ongaro, and Pino Signoretto. In 2010, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Puget Sound. Recognized internationally, Singletary’s artworks are included in museum collections such as The British Museum (London, UK), The Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), The Seattle Art Museum (Seattle WA), the Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY), the Mint Museum of Art and Design (Charlotte, NC), the Heard Museum (Phoenix,  AZ), and the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC).

Three local collectors open their homes across the DMV to host intimate cocktail parties. See wonderful craft art and enjoy the company of friends and fellow craft enthusiasts. The evening will end with a virtual “Toast of 100 Stars” with craft luminaries.

​Each home will be have limited guests. Proof of vaccination is required. We will follow up with you about your preference of home.
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The words quirky, fun and joyful come to mind when talking about the home of Barbara and Arnold Berlin. Enjoy their extensive collection of Staffordshire figurines and Arnold's collection of artist-made canes in addition to the other fun works in their home. 

In this beautifully curated home, the Mitchells have thoughtfully crafted a place for each piece in their collection to best show the artwork and their passion for craft art, and studio ceramics. 

As you walk up the outdoor stairs, past the outdoor sculptures, you will be greeted by the stunning glass collection and home of Gwen and Jerry Paulson.