FOR 6/6

HARRISON GALLERY ADDS AMERICAN CRAFTS

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WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. — The art form known as “crafts” — having shed its image as a poor cousin to the fine arts — is now being displayed alongside traditional paintings and sculpture at the Harrison Gallery.

“The very best of craft art — in fabrics, wood, glass and ceramics — adds diversity and creative energy to our collection,” says gallery owner Jo Ellen Harrison. “We’ve chosen to exhibit eight exceptional craft artists who work with materials that allow their imaginations to run free…to create objects of spectacular beauty and originality.”

Mary Angus, an established artist from Readsboro, Vt., is represented with blown glass vases and perfume bottles with hand-fit, teardrop shaped, clear glass stoppers. Angus makes her Venetian glass artworks in the studio she shares with her husband, fellow glass artist K. William LeQuier, in a 100-year-old mill building.

David Lory, of Platteville, Wis., considers himself both a craftsman and an artist. His turned wooden bowls of black walnut, white ash and cherry burls — thin as a dime, light as papier mache and satiny smooth — are useful as well as works of art.

Dona Dalton, Philadelphia, turns pine and poplar wood blocks into “toys as sculpture” — carved and painted wooden figures (not the kind you throw in a toy box) that combine her love of mythology with a playful spirit.

Phil and Gail Sellers of River Hill Pottery in North Adams, Mass., make woven ceramic baskets, hand built with strips of clay, fired and glazed.

From Kinderhook, N.Y., Adrienne Rogers makes hand-knit textiles — that are feather light, sensuous to the touch and sculptural in design.

Natalie Blake of Brattleboro, Vt., uses her fluid carving style and strong sense of color to cut lushly verdant designs in still-damp porcelain before finished in the kiln.

Aysha Peltz, Whitingham, Vt., creates bud vases in soft, undulating forms of porcelain.

Beverly Carter, South Dartmouth, Mass., makes handcrafted stoneware vases, bowls and plates of classic shapes with adventurous glazes.

The Harrison Gallery is at 39 Spring Street. For more information, 413-458-1700 or www.theharrisongallery.com.