Finding Some Time to Think About the Future
Andrew Wagner
My life has been sufficiently hectic the past month-and-a-half but unfortunately not with things necessarily blog worthy. However, June is shaping up to be different with some interesting things coming down the pike. On the not-too-distant horizon is my first visit to the Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee, Tennessee. A while back Claire Reishman, the director, invited me to come and talk about my various experiences in and out of the worlds of craft, architecture and design as part of their “Artist’s Life” series (other speakers have included the likes of Paulus Berensohn, above). Seeing that they offer the following description about Shakerag Hollow where the workshops are held, how could I resist:
“Shakerag Hollow is named for an old Sewanee custom whereby residents could procure moonshine before the advent of liquor stores. A customer wanting moonshine would come to the bluff at Beckweth Point, near what is now the fourth hole of the Sewanee golf course, shake a rag at the moonshiner who lived down in the hollow, and leave money for a purchase in a tree stump. Then, as the song about Uncle Bill puts it, ‘you go 'round the bend, and when you come back, then, there's a jug full o' good ole mountain dew.’ When he returned, the customer would find a jar of moonshine left in the stump, and the money removed.”
Ok, so much is amazing about that paragraph (that’s where Mountain Dew got its name eh?) but shaking “a rag at a moonshiner” is far from the only reason I jumped at the chance to visit. Shakerag opened in 2004 to offer classes in clay, digital arts and book arts and since that time has grown at an impressive clip and now offers over 12 classes to 50-60 students each week. They have expanded their courses as well to cover paper-making, felting and watercolor (and apparently on-site installations like the one below created by Linda Rogersin as part of Warren Seelig's workshop in 2006).
Shakerag is for the experienced professional or the interested beginner, offering both serious studio immersion and a respite from the concerns of the usual day-to-day. It looks and sounds like an incredible experience, whether you come for a whole week or just to the free “Artist’s Life” lectures (followed by a reception) that happen each week. I’ll be there on the 24th of June, so if you can make it out, be sure to say hello!
(Note to past RM commenter Belinda Gomez, I think you might really be interested in Shakerag and their classes. Penland School of Crafts is another place you might want to look into.)
And if you don’t catch me in Tennessee, maybe I'll see you in New York over the weekend of June 26th during the first ever “Makers Market” being held at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York (for those that don’t know, LIC is part of Queens and is about a 10 minute subway ride on the N or the W lines).
Last fall, when I was the editor of American Craft magazine I had the opportunity to hang out with Alyson Baker, the director of Socrates, and she told me about a vision she had. Since Socrates’ big summer show was going to be themed around the idea of state fairs (it is, in fact, called “State Fair”) she wanted to organize a craft show. But not a Renegade Fair type craft show and not a SOFA type event but something different. Something outdoors amongst other art work. Something low-fi and fun but at the same time hi-fi and serious.
I loved the idea. Alyson and I enlisted the help of R 20th Century Gallery (an amazing gallery in Tribeca), the Noguchi Museum (an unbelievable museum dedicated to the work of Isamu Noguchi in LIC) and St-Germain (excellent liqueur and key ingredient to the tasty St-Germain Cocktail) and now, unbelievably, the time is upon us (or almost anyway).
There’s going to be some amazing makers like jeweler Jane D'Arensbourg, ceramist Sanam Emami, the furniture makers from Atlas Industries and jeweler Eric Silva, all there to sell their wares all weekend long in the amazing outdoor space right on the East River over-looking Manhattan that is Socrates (seen below). Get your tickets for the opening night festivities here and get first dibs on the one-of-kind work. And if you haven't been to Socrates before, this is a perfect excuse to get out and visit—it's a perfect reminder that summer is finally here! Phew…
