EDUCATOR SYMPOSIUM

2020 distinguished educators
awarded at JRA CRAFT WEEKEND

On Saturday, October 24 at 1pm ET the James Renwick Alliance hosted a symposium and award ceremony for the four 2020 JRA Distinguished Educators Syd Carpenter, Warren Seelig, Sondra Sherman and Craft in America. Leila Cartier, Executive Director of CraftNOW Philadelphia, a nonprofit that unites the leading institutions and artists of Philadelphia’s craft community, will serve as the symposium’s moderator.

The Distinguished Educator award recognizes the career impact of educators who have achieved excellence and innovation in education, have impacted and guided future artists, and whose body of work has made a significant contribution to education in the American Craft field. The JRA bestows the award biannually, and the artist/educators are at the center of an awards weekend known this year as JRA Craft Weekend. To learn more about the JRA Craft Weekend visit: www.jra.org/craft-weekend

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DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR SYMPOSIUM

Watch the symposium below as the 2020 Distinguished educators talk about their career and influence on the field. The symposium also covered the importance of craft education in relation to our current times and the importance of craft as a sense of personal identity.

"I was practically in tears hearing everyone talk about the role of Craft as a 'life force'. Lots of us know the enjoyment craft can bring, but it's paramount to hear such testament to the fact that craft making is a vital way of  developing our own identity and extending that out into the world. Consuelo's story and her advice to those students was amazing!" - Rebecca Ravenal

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the 2020 distinguished educator awardees:

Syd Carpenter, ceramic artist and professor of studio art at Swarthmore College.
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Syd Carpenter was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1953 and earned an MFA from Tyler School of Art. Over the course of her career, she has been a guest artist at Anderson Ranch, Haystack Mountain School, Penland School, Chicago Art Institute, Hollins University, Dickinson College, Millersville University,  Howard University, and the University of Delaware, among others. She has received awards from the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, the National Endowment for the arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Leeway Fellowships in the Arts. Carpenter is currently a professor at Swarthmore College.Carpenter’s work can be found in a number of collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the University of Illinois, Philadelphia Convention Center, Canton Ohio Museum of Art, Erie Museum of Art, and Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute.

"The enthusiasm and commitment I bring to my teaching is an outcome of the level to which I am engaged in my art while community involvement allows me to share the value I place on the visual." - Syd Carpenter

Warren Seelig, distinguished visiting professor in Craft/Material Studies program at University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a sculptor.

Warren Seeling lives and works in Rockland, ME. He is a distinguished visiting professor in the Fibers/Mixed Media program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he teaches, curates and writes on various subjects related to textile, fiber and material studies. He received a B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science and an M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Seelig has twice received individual fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and three fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His work has been included in over 30 major museum exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea with many solo and group exhibitions. He has lectured internationally and has written extensively for various magazines and journals including American Craft, Fiber Arts, Surface Design Journal, Textilforum, and Nouvel Objet. His work is in the collections of museums, colleges and in private and corporate collections world wide. Warren is a regular visiting critic at Rhode Island School of Design and is a mentor in the graduate program at Maine College of Art. Warren was he elected Fellow of the American Crafts Council in 2001 and a member of its board.

Sondra Sherman, associate professor of jewelry and metalsmithing at San Diego State University.

Sondra Sherman is Head of Jewelry + Metalwork program at San Diego State University. She has previously held teaching positions at Rhode Island School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, SUNY- New Paltz, and Rhode Island College. Sherman’s work is exhibited and published in Europe as well as the U.S. She has been the recipient of various awards including a Tiffany Foundation Emerging Artists Award, two RI Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowships, PA Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship, NEA Regional Artists Fellowship, and a Fulbright Scholarship for study abroad. Sondra received her Diplom Degree (MFA equivalent) from the Academy of Fine Art, Munich, Germany. Her work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Arts and Design – New York, Smithsonian American Art Museum D.C.

Craft in America, the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning PBS television documentary series and Los Angeles based nonprofit.

Craft in America is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to promote and advance original handcrafted work, through programs in all media.  Craft in America includes the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning PBS television documentary series, website, and Craft in America Center. As a part of their educational outreach, the center provides artist-led workshops to underserved school children, and provide educational guides to accompany the recorded series. 

Carol Sauvion is the founder, Executive Producer, and Director of the PBS documentary series Craft in America who will be accepting the award on behalf of Craft in America.