What does craft mean to you, and how do you connect with it? Do you make? Do you buy? Do you advocate? Is contemporary art included in your definition? How do you see yourself as part of the broader craft community?

The American Craft Council and Northern Clay Center are proud to bring two perspectives on these questions and more to the table. On July 13, Cynthia Bringle and Jason Busch will explore the ways ceramics, craft, contemporary art, and the act of making intersect with our everyday lives.

Bringle has been deemed by North Carolina as a living treasure, and she has received countless honors and awards – including induction into ACC’s College of Fellows. While living and working in Penland, North Carolina, for almost 50 years, Bringle has been and continues to be a pillar in the national ceramics community both as a professional potter – a lifelong passion and pleasure – and a teacher.

Busch is the director of the Jason Jacques Gallery in New York City. It specializes in contemporary ceramics. He developed his love of ceramics while working as the curator of decorative design at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and as the chief curator at Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in forming relationships and advancing the craft collections at both as well as other institutions, which ultimately paved the way for his path to Sotheby’s and Jason Jacques Gallery.

We hope you’ll join us at the American Craft Council Library for a rousing craft conversation filled with good food for thought (and a little for your belly).