ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – A journey through time through craftwork is on display at Florida CraftArt’s “The Makers Who Made Us.”
“Florida CraftArt was invited to be part of this larger initiative,” Florida CraftArt Executive Director Jorge Vidal said. “When they asked me what I wanted to do to be a part of this, I had to align it with our 75th anniversary celebration.”
The backstory:
The organization, first known as Florida Craftsmen, was founded in 1951. Elsa and Louise Freund gathered artists with the goal of elevating craft work and giving it a collective voice. They first had a centralized building in 1986 and moved into its current headquarters in 1995.
Dig deeper:
Professional artist Mary Klein joined in 1981. She focuses on jewelry and enamel work. She has a piece in the show featuring two people interacting outside the headquarters.
“I did a show of my work here in the gallery several years ago when my studio was upstairs. This was actually the street corner out here at 5th and Central from my windows upstairs,” Klein said. “The enamel itself is actually powdered glass silica, and it’s very meditative. I find that inlaying, doing all this fine little work really kind of sets my mind free.”
Florida CraftArt in downtown St. Petersburg
Klein was first introduced to the organization through Michele Tuegel, the organization’s first executive director. She co-curated the current exhibition with Vidal. “To me, what you’re seeing is the best work in all craft media. Clay, glass, wood, fiber, jewelry, these are, to me, the top-of-the-line artists throughout the state and can compete on a national level with anything else,” Tuegel said.
The exhibition is sorted by time periods. Many of the pieces are from Florida CraftArt’s permanent collection.
What they’re saying:
“I hope they experience a sense of joy, a sense of belonging, a sense of euphoria, and a sense of awe that these came from hands, by makers that really know their medium, that have an understanding of the material that they’re working with and their level of creativity to be able to produce such beautiful objects,” Tuegel said.
What’s next:
The exhibition will be on display in Pinellas County until April 22.
The Source: Information gathered for this story came from interviews with key people at Florida CraftArt.