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Print33rd Annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase
Necklace by Leigh Abernathy
Photography courtesy of the artists
The 33rd Annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase (ACGCS) is the perfect place to find a unique holiday gift for friends and family. Take advantage of the great deals and fill your home with handmade art, crafts, jewelry, sculptures and more made by some of the state’s most talented artisans. The ACGCS will feature the juried work of more than 90 members of the Arkansas Craft Guild — an artists’ cooperative formed in 1962 to promote, preserve and develop a market for the traditional crafts of Arkansas — with creations at various price points and styles. Here is a preview of work by four talented members of the Arkansas Craft Guild:
Leigh Abernathy, a native Arkansan and a graduate of Hendrix College, lives and works on the shores of Greers Ferry Lake in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She transforms metal into art you can wear and use. She begins with an idea, and then takes sterling silver or solid copper wire and sheets and handcuts, forms, shapes, forges, fuses and polishes or patinas each piece as its design directs. See more of Abernathy’s work at twiningvinedesigns.etsy.com.
Daniel Adams is a professor in the Department of Art and Design at Harding University where he teaches printmaking, graphic design and a variety of art history and visual aesthetic courses. His work is exhibited and collected regionally and internationally; he is represented by galleries in Arkansas and Texas. Adams has extensively used printmaking, and woodcut in particular, in his art. See more of Adams’ work at danieladamsink.com.
Sharon Barber of Benton, Ark., became tired of the tedious task of switching purses to match outfits and occasions, so she invented and patented the perfect purse. The colors and textures of fabrics on her box-shaped purse design can be easily switched out from casual to evening, from basic black to leopard. Barber sews, paints, glues, hammers, cuts, drills, sands and finishes the purses herself to ensure that they are like no others. Look for women’s and girl’s lines at sharonbarber.com.
Jared Kauffman’s woodwork designs are signified by his trademark curvilinear designs. His sweeping lines appear in pieces large and small — from mantels and tables, to lamps and delicate specialty boxes — and combine a variety of fine woods and other materials. Kauffman is known for functional and aesthetically-pleasing furniture designs. His careful selection of woods for their texture and color, and use of contrasting materials, gives each piece unique characteristics that underscore simplicity and sophistication. To see more of Kauffman’s work, log onto jkfurnituredesigns.com.
Visit the Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase Dec. 2 through 4 at the Statehouse Convention Center. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. For more information log onto arkansascraftguild.org or call (870) 269-4120.
