Found Objects

There's magic in boxes and frames, those defined spaces that seem to say "just this and nothing more." In the right hands, they can transform the everyday into the exquisite - just look at Andrea Haffner's amazing wall hangings. In her pigmented resin compositions, natural objects become extraordinary still life subjects. The light catches the resin from both sides, giving each piece a rich, almost-living glow.

Boris Bally's sophisticated reinvention of reclaimed street signs and found objects will rattle your mind. Bally transforms traffic signs into everything from entirely modern furniture to sleek jewelry and home decor items -- and even flatware! My favorite piece is a necklace created with 100 handgun triggers from Pittsburgh's "Goods for Guns" program. It's Bally's spin on the talismanic charms of aboriginal cultures, and he says, "this urban 'mojo' protects the wearer from the gun violence so prevalent in today's culture."

Previously, we recounted the winners of the Awards of Excellence at the 2011 American Craft Council show in St. Paul. Juror Mark Pharis did the honors this year. Pharis is a former student of Warren MacKenzie, and he teaches ceramics at the University of Minnesota, where he's been an instructor since 1985. Susan Mahlstedt, Lynn Joris Reintsema and K. Meta Reintsema, and B.J. Christofferson were all honored for outstanding work, and Ikuzi Teraki and Jeanne Bisson of Romulus Craft were honored for exceptional booth design.

A number of artists at this year's St. Paul show are applying their skills - with ceramics, glass, fiber, metal, and wood - to beautiful lighting. Here's a quick list of some that caught my eye. There's still time to see this fantastic work in person, too: The show is open today until 5 o'clock. If you're not in the area (and even if you are), click on the artists' bolded names to visit their websites.

You take a risk when you run a big cover story about big jewelry, as we did in the December/January issue of American Craft.

You run the risk that somebody will say, you want big jewelry? I'll show you big jewelry.