Unconventional Crafts
Inland Crafts, an autumn ritual in the Inland Northwest, opens today in the Spokane Convention Center for its three-day run.
Spread throughout Exhibit Hall C (just up the escalator in the main entry) are works by more than 90 of the Pacific Northwest’s leading contemporary crafters.
Organized by a group of local fine craft artists 24 years ago, Inland Crafts is known as the premier marketplace in the region where customers and artists meet.
“We have a greater variety of media this year then we have ever had before,” says Louise Kodis, president of the Inland Crafts board of directors.
“Items range from tiny, handmade paper boxes to large, metal and wood furniture,” she says. “There is just a vast range of scale and materials.”
Visitors will discover handcrafted woven garments, hats, jewelry and leather accessories; sculptural and functional objects in clay, wood, metal and stone; hand-blown and kiln-formed glass; abstract, scenic and still-life photography; and puzzles, toys and dolls for adults and children.
Prices range from $20 to several thousand.
“The vast majority remain between $35 and $175,” says Kodis.
About 60 of the artists are familiar faces. Many return because of the event’s reputation.
“Inland Crafts is the best show I do in terms of how artists and their products are treated,” says jeweler Carolanne Stalteri from the Flathead Valley in Montana.
“It is a quality show run by artists for artists,” says Stalteri, who is returning for her fourth year. “You truly feel special.”
This year she’s bringing her latest hand-fabricated “War Horse” pins. This series of 3-1/2-inch-square brooches features semi-precious stones placed in richly textured gold and silver designs.
“I seek to create in jewelry the images of nature that are not only sacred, but are part of life,” says Stalteri, who is part Cherokee.
Another returning artist is still-life color photographer Randy Dana of Mount Vernon, Wash.
“Flowers and fruit,” says Dana. “That’s what I do.”
Yes, but what sumptuous photographs. One can almost smell and taste the objects in images such as “Tangerine Tea.”
“I went through a lot of citrus until I landed on this organic Satsuma tangerine that I picked up at the local co-op,” says Dana. “Organic fruit has such wonderful character. It doesn’t have that uniform, factory-made look about it.”
Most recently Dana has been working with images composed on multiple levels. Subjects arranged on glass overlay and interact with other items below the reflective surface.
“I attempt to present my subjects in a way that encourages the viewer to take a fresh look at the familiar,” he says.
Another regular exhibitor, Chris Giffin of Jefferson, Ore., is returning for her ninth time.
Giffin haunts yard sales, flea markets and antique stores so that she can create one-of-a-kind functional, sculptural and wearable art from recycled materials and found objects.
“I keep coming back to Inland Crafts because I like the people and they like my whimsical and playful art,” she says.
“Besides, Spokane is an interesting town. It’s a cross between funky and cosmopolitan.”
Among the more than 30 first-time exhibitors is natural furniture maker Tom Jahns of Brinnon, Wash.
“I’ve heard really good things about the show through an informal artists’ network,” says Jahns, who lives in a mountain valley on the banks of Dosewallips River in the Olympic Mountains.
Surrounded by forests, Jahns constantly searches for unique pieces of wood for his sculptural furniture.
“I’ve thought about doing just sculpture,” he says, “but there is something in me that needs to do functional pieces. So I make chairs, benches and tables.”
Jahns is also one of the 15 crafters who will be demonstrating how they make their art. His presentation on Saturday morning will include a slide show and lecture.
“I documented two pieces of furniture from the time I set out to find the pieces through final production,” he says. “I will have the finished chairs there to look at.”
More traditional demonstrations include wheel-thrown pottery, jewelry fabrication and relief painting.
The show also includes live music, a 40-foot showcase with examples of all the crafters’ work, and $100 gift certificates awarded daily. Refreshments and light lunches are available.
Cost is a one-time admission of $6, good for all three days of the event (free admission Sunday after 3:30 p.m.).