The Foundry

Jasmine Keane

My pal Brenda of Jasmine Keane Jewelry and Accessories turned me on to The Foundry Show in Pawtucket Rhode Island, a relatively (for me) short drive from Valhalla.

I’m totally in love with Brenda’s lampworked glass beads. They're fun, colorful, lyric and flat out stunning.

Naturally, at the show, there were more than a few potters—can't have a craft extravaganza without a glut of ceramic types. Only a couple of them really stood out for me though.

Sheilagh Flynn is the first one. Her pitchers, tiles, bowls and cups were distinctive and just plain exquisite. I’m kicking myself now for not buying at least one tile and a bowl.

James Polisky

The second clay stand out was Belinda Gabryl whose work is SO much damn fun!

Lynne Lovely

Sadly, neither Ms. Flynn's or Ms. Gabryl's work seems to be available for purchase online. Looks like I've a good excuse to return to Pawtucket, eh?

As for the rest of the ceramicists, there were a lot of nice, pretty pots but nothing terribly distinctive. On the whole, the others were pretty tame—pallid even. For me that is.

There were eight different glass artists in residence, most of whom had at least a few swoon worthy pieces. Keeping myself from putting giant skid marks on the old credit card was hard fucking work. There were zillions of amazing light-catchers, tumblers, ornaments, tiles and window sized stained glass pieces.

Jen and I were very, very good but we had no choice but to indulge in Neil Drobnis' ornaments and Lynne Lovely’s brill, funky stars.

Stephanie Mason

Meanwhile, in 2D-Ville, James Polisky's prints knocked my socks off and clean into the next county. Hells, his images rocked me down to the atomic level. In addition to work on paper, you can get his work on Tees, cans and hang ready, varnished wood (which were wickedly cool). You can see more of his work (and buy!) at his website.

Stephanie Mason’s beautifully ethereal fish prints are like music—Debussy. Her octopus drawings (pen and ink?) are Bashō-esque haikus. These gorgeous sea creatures are also available at her online store.

I bought small card versions of some of their prints. I plan to frame them. Yes, they’re small but that’s perfect for our wee cottage (especially since my own paintings take up entire walls or ARE the whole wall).

There were children’s book!

OK, I guess Greg Stones’ stories are appropriate for any age. Sock Monkeys Have Issues, Goodbye Penguins and Ninjas Have Issues looked fab. I would have picked one up but, christ, I’d just snagged six of James Politsky’s cards and another half dozen of Stephanie Mason’s.

Eric Sturtevant, an illustrator and animator, had some sweet Growth Charts in addition to his books and prints. Yes, there's one particular young Grand who will be receiving one of those soon.

part of my kitchen doodling

Mixed Media artist, Deborah Kracht of Arthead Studios, has some wild gems. Specifically, I was drawn to her series entitled reTweets. She’s constructed stunningly cool, funky, tiny boxes which showcase these 140 word or less beats.

You can shop for these as well as her other hip work on her website.

Just FYI, there are also fiber artists, leather artisans, furniture and wood crafters, photographers and more at this show.

It seems clear that I’ll need to return to the Foundry. They're open on just four more dates:

Sunday, December 6th, 10-6pm
Friday, December 11th, 12-8pm
Saturday, December 12th, 10-6pm
Sunday, December 13th, 10-6pm

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
~Thomas Merton