Five Questions with Colin Nelson-Dusek

Today's interview is with Colin Nelson-Dusek, education coordinator for the American Craft Council.

What is your favorite/most-read art or craft book in your personal collection?
It is probably Deborah Silverman’s Art Nouveau in Fin-de-Siècle France. Silverman does an extraordinary job of explaining how changes in society, technology, and medicine altered the way that people conceived of art and its relationship to public life and the home. It is one of the books that inspired me to study decorative arts and the history of collecting in late-19th century France.

What book or magazine would you like to sneak out of the ACC Library?
It would be between the Victoria and Albert Museum Pattern books and the catalogue for the Frank Gehry: On Line exhibition held at the Princeton University Art Museum. Although they represent a fraction of the V & A’s holdings, each of their pattern books focuses on a part of the greater collections and includes a nice overview, excellent illustrations, and a CD that has JPEGs of all the patterns included in the text. The Frank Gehry catalogue, which fittingly comes with a special stacked-cardboard sleeve, not only emphasizes the importance of Gehry’s sketches and skills as a draftsman, but also addresses the purpose that handmade architectural drawings have in the time of computer-aided design. It is a handsome book and thoughtful look on the presence of the architect in his or her work.   

What book(s) are you currently reading? Any kind of book is fine!
I recently got on the Game of Thrones bandwagon and just started the third book in the series: A Storm of Swords. It’s a lot of fun to see a fantasy series that focuses on issues beyond normal expectations for the genre, such as political intrigue and the horrors of war. I am also re-reading Thornton Wilder’s The Ides of March. I have always been enchanted with the classical world and the ways in which we attempt to draw parallels between antiquity and the contemporary era. Even though it can be classified as historical fiction, Wilder’s writing shows that he shares the same sentiments as I do.

What hooked you on craft? What's the first craft you remember seriously catching your eye?
I think it was in my first undergraduate art history course, looking at the work done by ancient Mesopotamian and Persian cultures. Up to that point, I wanted to major in psychology, but looking at artifacts like the Uruk Vase (Iraq Museum), Standard of Ur (British Museum), and the Bull’s Head Lyre (Penn Museum) fascinated me to no end. It was incredible to think about societies that were removed from our own by millennia, and how the material culture they produced revealed their understanding of the world around them. Also, the fact that all of these artifacts were produced by highly skilled artisans and craftspeople shows the value of the arts throughout history and helps to reveal the humanity and intimacy involved in making those objects. Taking that class inspired me to become an archaeology student. Although I eventually moved from away from archaeology to art history, I still love seeing the personal connection between the object and its maker, and how a work reflects the values and beliefs of the society in which it was created.

If you could master a new craft, what would it be?
It would definitely be woodworking. Ever since I learned about William Morris and the efforts of the Arts and Crafts movement to protest the rise of mass production and create handmade functional objects that show the joy and skill of the maker, I have wanted to make furniture for my interior that would speak to me on a personal level.

Five Questions is a brief Q&A about books and craft, with people who love and use the American Craft Council Library.