News, Views and Fond Farewells from Baltimore

"Wow, it's just one thing after another-it's just amazing," a passerby enthused at the American Craft Council Baltimore Show and as the event draws to a close I can think of no better way to sum up the experience. Except to say what a total pleasure it was to meet the artists, see their work up close and in many cases put a face to the names I often heard and somehow felt I already knew. Spending time with all the artists I hoped to proved impossible but nevertheless, here's a final nod to a few more remarkable talents, in my humble view. Once again, give a shout out to your favorites at the show.

Marc Maiorana and his Iron Design Company promote stylish designs in an elegance not often associated with this material. As beautiful as they are unlikely, it's hard to believe that Maiorana's graceful candlesticks are the result of processing such an industrial substance. His intriguing wine sconces in white aluminum add punch to any space and all have non-toxic finishes. I can't pass up this opportunity to also mention the simple, small cylindrical steel bottle openers that can double as an art installation of the owner's making.

Speaking of installations, Jamie Harris recently added a "mod" one to his repertoire of beautiful, translucent glass vessels. Blown pieces, layered with loud colors and carved for line and form, clip easily to the wall forming a fresh and lighthearted canvas.

Jeweler and sculptor Talya Baharal, who works totally with metals, showcased her new body of wearable work, the Aura collection of brooches and necklaces. Entrancing and resembling abstract paintings, light seems to bounce from their surfaces like rays from the sun. Inspired by the streets of Pittsburgh, Baharal's "Urban Landscape" pieces-the "aesthetics of road decay" as she puts it-are both conceptually brilliant and physically gorgeous with remnants of iron and steel integrated into sterling silver.

Conveying the qualities of light and shadow, Jennifer McCurdy's exquisite porcelains hypnotically capture movements of nature. Her wheel thrown forms are altered while wet, achieving a sense of softness and motion. Once a piece is leather hard, McCurdy carves design into the clay, adding energy and counterpoint. Just breathtaking.

Visiting again with more Searchlight Artists, I spoke with Nanda Soderberg who, with his wife Rebecca Saunders, formed Solos Glass in 2007. Sizzling with compelling colors and patterns, Soderberg's distinctive hand-blown designs for the home, including vintage clocks from recycled glass, are the results of applying Italian techniques with modern flair.

Sylvie Rosenthal likes the beasts and birdies and invokes them with humor and playfulness as metaphors of daily life in her wood sculptures. Conceptually driven, her provocative furniture sparks conversation about the human condition. Rosenthal created her animated dressing table and chair with "birdie" perched near the mirror because "it's so intimate-one piece for one person." Ah, if only "birdie" could speak. Humor aside, Rosenthal's work is crafted with innovation, skill and enormous attention to detail. Or as she says, "it takes a lot of technicalities to make pieces look so simple."

Integrating personal experiences into her sculpture, Eun-Suh Choi utilizes glass to portray narratives of human aspirations. Through a process of flame working with extremely thin borosilicate glass, Choi creates contemplative pieces in a delicacy that is undeniably stunning.

Kai Wolter's awesome designs are inspired by natural history and the sciences, especially biology and its influences on technology and culture. He makes large, biomorphic metal sculpture by impressively hammering on one individual sheet of copper he fold forms and works to create hollows, then stretches and reworks before anchoring on a steel base.

Drawing upon growth patterns, cycles and transitions in nature, Jessica Benzaquen's intriguing metal jewelry and sculpture reflects her reverence for the delicate relationships between all forms of life.

Tactile necklaces of laser cut paper and Tyvek rings by Jennaca Leigh Davies have all the personality of a French bulldog as they perkily move and strut their stuff in tune with the wearer's rhythms, guaranteeing notice wherever one might stroll. Davies also creates more traditional jewelry of sterling silver and enamel.

More jewelry please! Amy Tavern doesn't disappoint with her oxidized sterling silver pieces, many designed more through hand manipulation than tools to realize her goal of producing jewelry resembling drawings. Obsessed with the recent presidential campaign and the divisiveness of blue and red states, Tavern worked with sheet metal for her "State Borders" line.

Matt Hutton named his body of woodworks "Core Samples" to reflect characteristics inherent in his primary medium as well as his product-layers, history and time. Each piece takes on the form of a table with his most recent work referencing the transformation of the Midwest landscape, particularly the deteriorating farmlands.

All the exhibiting artists were more than eager to describe anything and everything about their work if only time afforded me that luxury. Winter's last hurrah also interrupted my plans to stay longer. Early this morning I witnessed signs of an overnight snow and though the air was thick it seemed like just another overcast day. But as often as not, old man winter refused to release his tenacious grip and let out a loud roar-March 1, right on schedule. In stark contrast to the bustle on the show floor, outside, fertile skies were preparing to blanket the entire East Coast Megalopolis with-in some places-more than a foot of snow, instilling that peaceful feeling that precedes most storms. The proverbial "calm before" made me recall all the many artists who take inspiration from nature to release their own creative energies. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.