An artist and crafter from early childhood, learning crocheting from her grandmother and sewing from her mother, Libby set out to create many practical and whimsical doll clothes and accessories with little concern for the actual outcome. The fun of the creating was what kept her coming back to learn as many arts and crafts as she could.

Love of design has been a common theme throughout her life. Most of her career has been in Graphic Design and Marketing after studying art and botany at Duke University. Following a move to New Hampshire, Libby decided to delve deeper into creative life. Her small needle felted animal sculptures have wire armatures to make them poseable. She uses beeswax for the feet and fingers, using accessories that add a touch of whimsy and personality to each creature. Libby’s fabric collage fits well with her interest in color and texture, using thread painting and free motion quilting in each composition.

In addition to teaching part-time at EFC, Libby also teached fabric collage classes at the Portsmouth Fabric Company. She is also a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen. You can find her delightful felted animals in League galleries throughout the state.

With an eye for the designs of the Victorian era, Michelle’s work is evocative of those classic styles with a modern twist. Using silver, precious and semi-precious stones, pearls and resin, Michelle creates a variety of jewelry from earrings and pendants, to rings, bracelets and special collaborative pieces.

Much of Michelle’s work highlights the wonderful variety of shapes, colors and textures found in precious and semi-precious stones. Michelle enjoys incorporating the unique characteristics of each stone into her designs. Without any formal training, Michelle taught herself beadwork. Having always been fascinated with jewelry, her focus soon turned to metalsmithing and under the tutelage of jeweler, Karen Mitchell, Michelle added to and further refined her jewelry making skills. Now a full time metalsmith, Michelle is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and an active member of the Mont Vernon Artisans. Her work can be found in galleries throughout New Hampshire.

Doug studied sculpture, which has had a profound impact in his approach to jewelry design. His work can be described as “organic” with textures and shapes derived from, or inspired by, stones, plants, fossils and other natural sources. Working with both fine silver and precious metal clay, Doug’s work is a three-dimensional exploration of contrasting shapes and textures; symmetry and asymmetry; organic and inorganic; geometric and random. His work also incorporates traditional silversmithing, fold forming and cold forged Sterling, Copper and Bronze. A juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Doug’s work can be found in galleries and shows throughout New Hampshire.

His designs are snapshots of nature, and Tim prides himself on capturing scenes that would otherwise go unnoticed. Whether it is the crows that follow the potter during his walks in the woods or the fish swimming in the river by his home, Tim's work is an evolving narrative of the world around him.

Working in sgraffito, a method not unlike scratchboard, where the top layer of colored slip is removed to reveal the bare clay beneath, Tim begins- each piece as if he were illustrating a dream. This approach allows him to capture subject matter his conscious mind might not otherwise be able to express. Throwing on his pottery wheel, Tim lets the clay air-dry before sanding, painting, and carving each piece with a dry post stylus.

Creating work he hopes will resonate with future generations, Tim's pots do not just reflect nature, but the time in which we live and the challenges we face. Tim graduated from Colby College with a degree in poetry and then occupied himself with many different jobs before stumbling onto pottery once again. Tim lives near the coast in eastern Maine and is a member of the Maine Crafts Association. He has received many awards for his pottery and sculpture, including those from the Society of Arts and Crafts: CraftBoston, the Thorne-Sagendorf Museum and the National Prize Show at the Cambridge Art Association. Tim's work has been shown around the country and can also be found in galleries and fine craft shows throughout New England.

Quilling, a paper art that dates back hundreds of years, involves taking thin strips of paper and rolling, gluing and shaping them into different shapes. Sandra combines this traditional technique under hand cut designs, which often include birds, ducks, flowers and other wildlife. Sandra discovered the medium accidentally after experimenting with combining quilling with cut lampshades. Sandra begins each piece by designing the cut out, then transfers the outline onto a background mat. Using an Exacto knife, Sandra has to change the blade frequently, to keep each cut precise. She then frames each piece, individually cutting the glass and putting everything together for a finished work of art. Having discovered quilling back in 1975, what began as a hobby has turned into Sandra’s main focus. A juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Sandra’s work can be found in galleries and shows throughout the state.

If you are interested in becoming a juried artist, visit HERE to learn more about this process. Perhaps we may be able to feature your work someday!

Exeter Fine Crafts is pleased to present Kathleen Buchanan of Grey Seal Press as our April Artist of the Month. Fascinated by relationships and our connection to the natural world, Kathleen creates collagraph prints that evoke a strong sense of place and memory. For Kathleen, the local landscape and its ¬ inhabitants are not only appealing, compositional elements, but metaphors for the human experience. Collagraph printing, with all its intricacy and subtlety, fascinates Kathleen. A collagraph is a handmade print created by rubbing ink on a collage printing plate and applying pressure to transfer the ink to paper. Kathleen uses Bristol paper and acrylic medium to build up the collage plates. Once the plates are made, she inks them with an oil based etching ink. Excess pigment is wiped away using a tarlatan (starched cheesecloth.) Kathleen then uses an etching press to individually print each plate, working from light to dark, until the final image is created.

Initially employed as a biologist, Kathleen’s creative urges led her into a full-time printmaking career in 1999. Although biology and printmaking appear vastly different, for Kathleen, she sees both disciplines as two dialects in the same language. Each require skill at observing the environment, but differ in how that observation is communicated. Living on the coast of Maine, Kathleen is constantly inspired by her surroundings. Seeking to capture this essence, Kathleen’s prints not only illustrate the bond between mankind and nature, but our place within it.

If you are interested in becoming a juried artist, visit HERE to learn more about this process. Perhaps we may be able to feature your work someday!

Starting with wood in its most natural state, Ron envisions how it can be transformed into something beautiful as well as functional. Root systems, severed branches, reclaimed stumps - all can be rearranged and refinished to create tables and lamps that echo nature's beauty. Often working with river stones as well as the most interesting wooden forms, these pieces may seem to be emerging from a local riverbank. A meandering stone inlay mimicking a stream may divide tabletop slabs. Each piece has its own story to tell and would be an incredible accent piece in the home.

Working in a hot and cold working glass studio in Canaan that has been operating since 1975, Michael studied glass with Harvey Littleton at the University of Wisconsin and received his graduate degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He, along with his partner, Susan Russell, design and fabricate architectural glasswork using their own blown and cast glass. Each piece is conceived with artful consideration of its place in the environment and with the unique vision of the designer and client. Michael also teaches at AVA Gallery and Arts Center in Lebanon. A juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Micheal’s work can be found in galleries and private collections throughout New England.

Using a white charcoal pencil to draw his designs into the slate, Michael etches each line with a chisel and wooden mallet. After scouring the initial outline, Michael adds further details with his chisel adding depth and form. Though Michael enjoys carving into an old piece of slate to reveal fresh stone, he appreciates the unique characteristics of each that have come from their former utilitarian life. Paint, tar, nail holes, fractures, chips or flaking become design elements Michael can incorporate into each piece.

Graduating from the Massachusetts College of Art, Michael received his MFA from Vermont College. Trained as a sculptor, he honed his carving skills on old slate roof shingles, which then became his primary medium. His work can be found throughout New England.

If you are interested in becoming a juried artist, visit HERE to learn more about this process. Perhaps we may be able to feature your work someday!