Rebecca and Gary Stevens are partners in life and in the arts. These high-school sweethearts have been friends for sixty plus years. They have shared interests in many things including contemporary and ethnic crafts and have both been members of the same organizations for decades. Although they each have their own individual hobbies, their joint interest in collecting art, which was initially started by Rebecca, has resulted in an extensive collection. I had tons of questions about their collection and they had answers for me. Let’s meet The Stevens. 

CN: Can you give us a little background about who you are?
The Stevens: Gary and I [Rebecca] are high school sweethearts from Oklahoma. We met in ninth grade Latin class in 1961 in Tulsa. We have been married for 54 years. The Latin has faded but not our relationship. We are still best friends.  
​

JRACraft thanks J.G. Harrington for his service as Board President and welcomes Rebecca Ravenal! 

"As President for the last two years, I am very proud of the commitment that our members and friends made to helping build the Renwick Gallery's collection for the 21st century through our acquisitions fund and of how well JRACraft responded to the pandemic, bringing programs online and reaching audiences around the country and the world. I'm excited by the possibilities for JRACraft to match the evolution and innovation of the world of craft going forward." says J.G.

During his time as President, J.G. led JRACraft's efforts to provide over $157,000 in contributions and direct donations to the Renwick Gallery to purchase works primarily from women artists and artists of color. He also led the organization through a transition to online programs during the pandemic and oversaw new efforts for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. 

"I’m thrilled to be the new President of JRACraft. Thanks to the efforts of the outgoing President, the Executive Director and other hard-working members, we’ve maintained a high level of engagement in our wonderful programs over the past few years, despite having to pivot to mostly online events. I hope to continue growing our national presence in that virtual sphere while also reviving the valuable in-person community that is the heart of JRACraft. I look forward to seeing many of you at a JRACraft event soon!" says Rebecca.

Rebecca Ravenal is an artist, businessperson and long-time member of JRACraft. As a studio artist, Rebecca works in ceramics and mixed media. She has exhibited in galleries and shows across the country and has taught in several schools and art centers in the DC area. She splits her time between the studio and running her family’s commercial real estate business. Rebecca is a longtime resident of the DC area and supporter of many art organizations, most significantly JRACraft.

Welcome Rebecca at President@jra.org.

JRACraft welcomes new full-time staff member, Lila Stone as Programs and Operations Coordinator. 

Lila holds a master's degree in Art History and her research focuses on Modern & Contemporary fiber arts practices. In addition to her position at the Alliance, she also is an Adjunct Professor of Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). "I am thrilled to be joining the Alliance at this very exciting time in the craft world" says Lila "and I am very much looking forward to connecting with you all."

As part of her position at the Alliance, members will be able to rely on Lila as a source of help with membership and information about upcoming events. Her interest in craft and strong nonprofit skills makes her a welcome addition to JRACraft.

​Question and warm welcomes for Lila can be sent to Lila@jra.org.

Thank you to all of those who joined us for our JRACraft Open Studio Block Party + Annual Meeting in honor of our 40th anniversary. Over 100 guests enjoyed 7 open studios, demonstrations by the Mobile Woodshop, live mural painting by Muoro and nourishment from Luv Plates. Special thanks to Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers and Christina Helowicz at the Washington Glass School and Nobody who made the event possible. 

Architect, master jeweler, art dealer, and collector, Sloan Schaffer, started collecting art as a young boy at the age of 15 years. His emotional connection with objects first manifested itself in music. As a way to extend the memories and experiences he had at musical concerts, he started collecting music posters. Over the years, he’s come to center his love for collecting more around 3D objects rather than wall-hung art. He ONLY collects what he loves and loves what he collects. Art has always been a part of Sloan’s life. It’s influenced his life and career in many ways, taking him from Miami to New York, and to Los Angeles and now back to New York again.

I caught up with Sloan to learn more about his passion as an art collector.
​

CN: Sloan, can you give us a little background about who you are and how you got started in collecting?
SS: I’m an architect by training. Before that I was a master jeweler. I’ve always been drawn to the arts in many different ways. My love for art and collecting began at a very early age with exposure to great collections that I was lucky enough to be around and to spend intimate time with. After graduating with my masters in Architecture, I practiced as an architect in Florida for about a dozen years and began to hone in on my love for ceramics, sculpture and design and more specifically figural and narrative painting. And that’s when I really started to collect extensively. 
​

CN: So, was art something your parents encouraged growing up?
SS: Both of my parents were collectors. My stepfather was a significant collector in ceramics and had a pretty notable collection in the metro Detroit area. So, I was privileged enough to grow up living and surrounded by a world-class collection such as the one he had built.
​

CN: How long then have you been building your own personal collection and what specifically do you collect?
​

CN: That’s really nice to hear. As an artist, I love to meet collectors who collect art based on the work itself and not simply on the perceived value of the art.
SS: Never have I done that. It’s not how I’m wired. It’s not how I want art to be in my life. We are stewards for these objects. We are the caretaker or the lucky person who gets to live with this thing and I think there’s a responsibility to connect to that object and connect to that thing in a really intimate way, same way we would form a bond or connection to another human being. I think that art is in a lot of ways synonymous with that kind of connection. At least for me it is. So, I’ve never been interested in something for its value, or for its potential for it to be some sort of commodity or in any form of speculation.

CN: Since this is how you feel about art, will you ever consider exhibiting your collection?
SS: Absolutely. The mindset that I have as a collector is these things are meant to be seen, to be enjoyed, and to be experienced. It’ll be selfish for me to think that these things are just meant for me. Or are just meant for my eyes only.  I think that we are meant to hold on to these things for a moment. I’m all for showing the collection, letting people see the collection, bringing people into my home and showing folks work that they might not have seen or a side of me as a collector that they may not have seen.
​

CN: Do you have any favorites in your collection?
SS: No. I don’t. Everything that I have is meaningful and significant in some way. And so the only thing that I could potentially say is what’s made it the newest thing that’s come into my collection. But even then, that is unfair. Because that will give priority or importance to something based on a timeline and that’s really not how it works.

​No. I don’t really have a favorite. Everything that I own or is exhibited in my home is done so because it has its own inherent qualities and special characteristics to me, that’s why it’s there. And I also move things around. I’m constantly changing paintings and bringing sculptures in and out. I want it to be fluid and dynamic. I don’t want things to be stiff and stale. So I’m always trying to adjust and modify my environment so I’m stimulated in new ways.
​

CN: So, do you have room for all your collection to be on display in your home or do you store some of them and does that affect your purchase decisions?
SS: No. I don’t even have close to room for everything. I would say maybe 10% of my collection is currently on view and the remaining 90% is in a warehouse where I keep the rest of my collection.
​
But that doesn’t affect my purchase decisions. I don’t buy works because I have a place to put them or because I’m decorating a room and something is going to go with something. I buy work based on … almost like a carnal desire to have something. 
​
The only thing I can liken it to is … if you were hunting and you saw a prey and you had to have it. Whether you had a stockpile of meat in the freezer or your den was filled with food to get you through the winter, it’s a carnal desire, it’s instinctual. It can’t really be explained in practical terms. It’s just innate as to who we are. It’s this one-on-one interaction between me and that object. The only thing that I’m paying attention to is … what is this thing doing for me and simply can I afford it. That’s the only real criteria. If I can, then everything else will figure itself out.

CN: Do you then miss the works that you have in storage? Is that why you re-arrange or decorate?
SS: No. When I do miss them, then I go and get them and bring them into my home or go look at them. I make sure that dialogue is always available and present. When I feel like I want to see something or hey that sculpture I’ve been thinking about I just go and get it. And that’s sort of the beauty of having this additional space to keep things safe and protected but also have access in a relatively convenient way to my collection
​

​CN: Where do you see your collection in say 10 years from now.
SS: Lately, I’ve been focused on large-scale exterior work. It’s something that I’ve never had the room for in my life. I’ve always lived in places that were sort of cities or places that not a lot of land is available. So, one of the things I’ve loved about being where I am now is having land to not only experiment with sculpture and large-scale sculpture but simply have space for works that I never could have considered in my collection before. And so I’ve been focused on large-scale objects of all mediums that can live outside. So right now that’s where I’m focusing my energy and attention in terms of my collection.

Large scale objects command space, volume, and your attention in a different way than small scale objects in that their relationship to the human form and human body is so much more powerful and impactful. Because you can walk up to something and you experience not only  its presence and volume but your own. For me I’ve never experienced that in an intimate way and so that’s super exciting for me.

CN: What’s your advice to someone who’s starting or wanting to start their own art collection.
SS: Buy what you love. It’s as simple as that. Buy what makes you feel something. We’re emotional creatures and we’re on this planet to feel things. Art is a soulful, intimate, special practice that allows people inside other people and inside their genius, and inside their gifts. And that’s what makes it so special and makes it so powerful, and makes it a tool to do so many different things.
​

For the first time in the history of JRACraft, we will honor Masters of the Medium and Distinguished Educators in the same year! To encourage dynamic conversation and recognize the blurring of medium-based boundaries, we will highlight a mix of 3-5 Masters of the Medium and Distinguished Educators each year, starting with the 2023 Spring Craft Weekend titled "On View / What's New."

JRACraft has been recognizing excellence at Spring Craft Weekend since 1997, when the Master of the Medium award was founded. Since then, some of the most significant American Craft artists and educators have been honored including Harvey Littleton, Arline Fisch, Peter Voulkous, Wendy Maruyama, Lenore Tawney, Albert Paley and Joyce Scott.
​

The JRACraft Master of the Medium Award is demonstrated by excellence in craftsmanship, influence on a craft medium and overall contribution to the craft field.

The JRACraft Distinguished Craft Educator Award is based on the recipient’s reputation for excellence and innovation in education, influence on future and significant contributions to American education in the craft field.​

Nominations are due Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
​There is no limit on how many nominations you submit and nominations will be kept for consideration in future years. 
​

​​In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the James Renwick Alliance for Craft renewed its commitment to expanding the museum’s collection with the Renwick Gallery 50th Anniversary Acquisitions Fund. The fund was part of JRACraft’s long history of supporting acquisitions, including iconic pieces like Karen LaMonte’s Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery, Judy McKie’s Monkey Settee, and Game Fish by Larry Fuentes. 
 
Thanks to the generosity of the donors listed on this page and others, the Fund raised more than $157,000 in contributions and direct donations to the museum to purchase works identified by the Renwick Gallery curators as part of the campaign.  This was the second-largest fundraising campaign in JRACraft’s history, exceeded only by the campaign to support the renovation of the Renwick Gallery.
 
In the end, the fund supported the acquisition of seven new works, including four by BIPOC artists and three by women.  Pieces by David Harper Clemons, Susie Ganch, Mariko Kusumoto, Roberto Lugo, and Paul Scott are the first pieces by these artists to enter the museum’s permanent collection, and the seventh piece, by Rachel David is her first work to join any major collection.  The campaign also facilitated direct donations to the museum for the acquisitions of four other works. We are delighted to be able to support this original and exciting art. The pieces JRACraft supported are:
 
David Harper Clemons, The Weight of Deferred Gratification. Clemons was a 2021 JRACraft Master of the Medium.
 
Susie Ganch, Drag. This piece was donated in honor of Robyn Kennedy, former head administrator of the Renwick Gallery.
 
Mariko Kusomoto, Seascape 1.
 
Roberto Lugo, Juicy.
 
Preston Singletary, Safe Journey. Singletary was a 2021 JRACraft Master of the Medium.
 
Paul Scott, Cumbrian Blue(s), from the New America series.
 
Rachel David, new commissioned work. David was the winner of the JRACraft 2021 Chrysalis Award for emerging artists.
 
The works by Roberto Lugo, Preston Singletary, Susie Ganch, and David Harper Clemons are on view now at the Renwick Gallery as part of its 50th anniversary exhibition, This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, running through April 2, 2023, along with many other works donated by JRACraft and its members.

We thank the donors listed below for being a part of this historic and unprecedented moment in craft history.
​

​DIAMOND ($10,000 or more)
Nedra & Peter Agnew
Fleur Bresler
Michele Manatt & Wolfram Anders
Gwen & Jerry Paulson
​
GOLD ($5,000 to $7,499)
Janice & Harvey Berger
Jere Gibber & J.G. Harrington
Sharon Karmazin
Chris Rifkin
Irene & Bob Sinclair

SILVER ($2,500 to $4,999)
Sharon & Bob Buchanan
Miriam & Leon Ellsworth
​Brenda Erickson
​Anne Mehringer
​& Terry Beaty
Bonnie & Gil Schwartz
Bobbie Van Haeften
Mikki Van Wyk
​
BRONZE ($1,000 to $2,499)
Char Beales
​Barbara & Arnold* Berlin
Susan & Steven Bralove
​Diane Charnov
Elizabeth Doyle
Marilyn Falik
Jan & Carl Fisher
Marsha Gold
Carol and Joe Green
Marsha Gold
Jaimianne Jacobin
Mickey & Stephen Kurzbard
Sandy & Norman Mitchell
Michael Monroe
Karen & Michael Rotenberg
Susan & Fred Sanders
​Jeffrey Spahn
Lenel Srochi-Meyerhoff & John Meyerhoff
​​Jackie Urow
Pati Young

PARTNER ($500 to $999)
Susan Buffone
Rebecca Cross
​Leslie Ferrin
​Betsy Holland
Randi Jacobs*
Clemmer Montague
Carol Terris
​​Andrea & Joe Uravitch
Barbara Wolanin​

​SUPPORTER ($250 to $499)
Eileen Doughty
​​Leslie & Bruce Lane
Nikki O'Neill
Lynda & Gary Slayen​
 
FRIEND ($100 to $249)
​Rody Baron
Paddy Benson
Lynn Chadwick
Christie Davis
Tina Heller
Michael Janis
Aletta Schaap
Anne Swanson
Tim Tate

Gail Tremblay (Mi’kmaq and Onondaga), When Will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th-Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think Are Sympathetic to American Indians, 2018, 35mm film from Windwalker (1981), red and white leader, and silver braid, overall: 15 1/2 x diam. 14 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ms. Brenda Erickson in honor of the James Renwick Alliance, 2021.11 © 2018, Gail E. Tremblay, Photo Courtesy of Froelick Gallery

​Susie Ganch, Drag, 2012–13, collected detritus and steel, 32 x 32 x 132 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Robyn Kennedy, 2021.81 © 2014, Susie Ganch, Photo by David Hale, Courtesy of Sienna Patti Contemporary

Roberto Lugo, Juicy, 2021, glazed stoneware with enamel paint and luster, 19 7/8 x 13 3/8 x 9 3/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the Alliance, 2021.68 ©2020, Roberto Lugo, Image by Dominic Episcopo courtesy of Wexler Gallery

Chawne Kimber, still not, 2019, machine-pieced, hand-quilted, hand-bound mid-century fabric, quilting cotton, and denim with cotton sashiko thread, 71 ¼ x 69 1/8 in., Museum purchase made possible by Nedra and Peter Agnew in honor of the James Renwick Alliance, 2021.83 ©2019, Chawne Kimber, Photo by Lee Stalsworth – Fine Art Through Photography

Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Safe Journey, 2021, cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal, chest: 14 7/8 x 27 1/8 x 16 3/8 in., lid: 3 7/8 x 27 1/2 x 16 7/8 in., pedestal: 45 5/8 x 28 3/8 x 17 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the Alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.82A-C © Preston Singletary Studio, photography by Russell Johnson

Aram Han Sifuentes, Otro Mundo Es Posible, 2017, felt and fusible web on cotton; checkout card, banner: 42 7/8 x 42 1/2 in., card: 4 x 6 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible through Jaimianne and Anthony Jacobin in honor of the James Renwick Alliance, 2021.36 © 2017, Aram Han Sifuentes, Photo by Lee Stalsworth – Fine Art Through Photography

​Learn about craft exhibitions and events by receiving the James Renwick Alliance eNewsletter or by visiting our Community Craft Calendar. 

​89th Annual NH Craftsmen’s Fair, August 6-14
Mount Suapee Resort, Newbury, NH, www.nhcrafts.org
 
Penland School of Craft 37th Annual Benefit Auction, August 26,27
Online Auction, August 28 – September 2
Mark Peiser, 2022 Honored Artist Educator
Penland NC, www.penland.org
 
American Pottery Festival, September 2-4
Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN, www.northernclaycenter.org
 
Mud Ball 2022, September 16
Sponsored by the Clay Studio
Philadelphia, PA, www.theclaystudio.org
 
Maine Craft Weekend, October 1,2
Maine Crafts Association, www.mainecrafts.org
 
Goldsmiths’ Fair 2022, September 27 – October 9
Sponsored by the Goldsmiths’ Company
Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, UK,