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CHARLESTON - Five West Virginia artists were chosen from among nearly 2,000 entries as finalists for the prestigious 2015 NICHE Awards, which celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian fine craft.
It is the third consecutive year that West Virginia has been represented among the NICHE finalists. Three of the five selected have been honored by NICHE before.
The finalists are Peter Cornett of Hacker Valley; Joseph Elbert of Leon; and John Wesley Williams of Renick, all furniture craftsmen; Matt Thomas of Shock, a metalworks and wood worker; and Wendy Clark, of Belington, a weaver.
Four of the finalists - Cornett, Elbert, Thomas and Clark - are part of the Tamarack Artisan Foundation's Rural to Urban Markets Program, which is designed to provide opportunities for artisans in the state to expand their market to areas across the country in galleries, museum stores and other retail venues. The Tamarack Artisan Foundation provides business, marketing and sales strategies to support the artisans at national arts wholesale and retail shows.
NICHE magazine selects a prestigious panel of judges annually from among guild and museum directors, curators, craft industry experts and arts advocates nationwide. The top five creators in each of 14 categories are named finalists, which the top prizes announced at the American Made Show in Washington, D.C., in January.
The NICHE Awards program began in 1989 to celebrate the excellence and innovation in fine craft. West Virginia has had a continuing presence with the NICHE awards, beginning with Governor Gaston Caperton, who was recognized in 1997 when he received the magazine's Humanitarian of the Year award for his dream to create a showcase for West Virginia's best craft products in a unique shopping and cultural experience - Tamarack.
Williams won the NICHE Award for furniture in 1999; Thomas has been among the finalists for three years; and Clark was a finalist in 2014.
Wendy Clark, wenweave, Belington - Clark hand dyes natural yarns, then hand weaves the yarns into colorful and scrumptiously soft scarves, shawls and hand towels (see above.) Each step of the process uses time-honored traditions, from threading each piece of yarn into the floor loom to working the loom, thread by thread, into her creations. Clark supplies more than 35 outlets in 16 states, and is represented in more than a dozen shows this year.
Peter Cornett, Peter Cornett Fine Furniture, Hacker Valley - Organic form, structural integrity, and traditional joinery (see above) are the hallmarks of a Cornett piece. Inspired by the forest that surrounds his workshop, Cornett says his pieces are a reflection of his environment. It was only after he began creating furniture, however, that he began to understand the real beauty and complexity of wood. He currently sells his works at two outlets - Tamarack and The Buxton Landstreet Gallery in Thomas.
Joseph Elbert, Joseph Elbert Furniture, Leon, - Architecture such as the Empire State Building and Frank Lloyd Wright's blending of metal and wood are the influence and catalyst of Elbert's art furniture (see above) and lamps, which are assembled at his studio on Bug Run Road in Leon. An award-winning photojournalist, Elbert found a new niche in 2011 when he began designing furniture and lamps. He uses a solar kiln to dry the wood, which he harvested from hardwood trees downed by the 2012 derecho. He currently has an exhibit of more than 30 pieces at Tamarack.
Matt Thomas, Thomas/Work, Shock - Thomas/Work has been in the national spotlight for several years. Blending the timeless grain of wood (see above) with the permanence of hand-forged steel to render functional beauty, Thomas's creations are in demand from Maine to California, and his works are fixtures in galleries such as the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, UncommonGoods, Shaker Workshops, Appalachian Spring and the shop at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. He actively sells pieces to about 150 galleries nationwide. Thomas is a 2013 NICHE Award winner and a 2014 finalist.
John Wesley Williams, John Wesley Williams Furniture, Renick - Williams builds furniture pieces (see above) for those who he refers to as "lovers of wood." The curves and undulating edges of his creations do not "sit quietly against the wall," he says. Williams furniture has won dozens of "Best of Show" and "Best of Category" awards in the decades he has been creating. They also have been recognized at several regional shows. He currently supplies 25 galleries in 15 states.
Tamarack Artisan Foundation advocates and expands artisan entrepreneurship and stimulates West Virginia's rural economy by providing small business training and support services to artisans statewide.
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