News

2010

• September 24, 2010 – The long awaited exhibition A Revolution in Wood: the Bresler Collection will open at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. In addition there is a book with the same title published by the Smithsonian which includes images of the 66 works of Wood Art donated by the Breslers to the Renwick. I have several spoons in this exhibition and book. http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/bresler/ This show will travel to several museums in the United States starting in 2012. Click here and scroll down  to see my spoons in the collection. On the opening day of this show I will be a panelist for a roundtable discussion of the Bresler’s collection. Curator Nicholas Bell, collector Fleur Bresler, and wood artists Michelle Holzapfel and Mark Lindquist will also be on the panel. 

• July 31, 2010 – Diane and I visited Steve Keeble and Karen Depew in Chevy Chase, MD where they invited local fans of wood art to a couple hours of conversation about spoon carving and collecting. You can see some images of this event at: http://cwasplinters.blogspot.com/2010/08/norm-sartorius-visits-dc-cwa.html

• June 2010 – the small book A Gathering of Spoons, Selections from the Collection of Norman Stevens, becomes available from the AAW Gallery of Wood Art, http://www.galleryofwoodart.org , you may view the book here.

• June 2010 – I spent a wonderful day researching the exhibit history of Emil Milan at the Newark Museum of Art in the 1950’s and 1960s. He was the leading seller of craft over this period of time at the museum’s annual Christmas crafts show.

• June 2010 – I attended one day of the AAW Symposium in Hartford, CT primarily supporting Norman Steven’s spoon exhibit there. I was there long enough to understand that these are wonderful events and I should make an effort to attend future symposia where possible.

• May 2010 - I have 3 pages of text and photos in the new book Wood Art Today 2 by Jeffery Snyder, from Schiffer Publishing. This is an opulent coffee table book profiling the work of many of today’s leading wood artists. Click here to view the cover and my contribution.

• I have 3 spoons in the show Contemporary Wood Art: Collectors’ Selections presently on exhibit at the Wood Turning Center in Philadelphia, PA. Two are from the permanent collection of the WTC and one is for sale (Twig Spoon, 2007, Available Work) - this show will close on March 20, 2010.  Click here for more information.

• I have one spoon in the new exhibition A Gathering of Spoons at the Gallery of Wood Art operated by the AAW in St. Paul, MN -  - this same exhibition will be part of the Annual AAW Symposium in Harford, CT in June. There will also be a small book/catalog available in Hartford to accompany this exhibit. Both of these shows reveal part of collector, Norman Stevens, vast collection of 9 inch wooded spoons from in excess of 175 makers around the globe.

2009

• December 7, 2009 - We stopped at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh to see the newly re-opened decorative arts area; the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries of Decorative Arts and Design. The entrance takes you past some very ornate French furniture then around a U shaped space where the display transitions to more contemporary work. At the end just before you pass through the exit doors are two wall cases with glass fronts. The one on the right has 4 of my spoons. The spoons are in with two Ellsworths, the 3 generations of Moulthrup, and two Hunters. The second case, even closer to the exit door, has Harvey Fein on the wall, Ron Kent and Rude Osolnik on upper shelves and Liam Flynn, Virginia Dotson, Ron Layport, Bin Pho, John Jordon, and Michelle Holzapfel going left to right. You can see images here. This decorative arts room of the Carnegie has been closed for a long time for renovation and restoration. More here.
• November 11, 2009 – Awarded Best in Show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Click here to see a very surprised and happy spoon carver.
• October 1, 2009 – Awarded $14,000 Craft Research Fund Grant from the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design. For 15 months I have (along with friends and research partners Phil Jurus and Barry Gordon) been researching the life and work of deceased woodworker Emil Milan (1922-1985). Phil Jurus was my first woodworking teacher in Baltimore in the mid 1970s. He studied under Emil Milan. We wanted to learn more about this undocumented carver and teacher and we wanted to make our findings available to museums and universities with an interest in Milan. This is an ongoing project which will end in early 2011. An article written by team member Barry Gordon recently appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Woodwork magazine profiling Emil Milan’s life and work. You can read that article here. 
• June 3rd – June 6th, 2009 - Echo Lake – Buck County Community College - I was invited to participate in this wonderful annual collaborative event modeled on the Emma Lake International Collaborative in Canada. It was a fantastic event shared with imaginative and talented artists including Betty Scarpino, Malcolm Zander, Mark Sfirri, Michael Mocho, Bill Smith, and Derek Weidman. Click here to see images of the pieces to which I contributed.
• May 2 – June 6, 2009 – Turned Wood –Small Treasures – del Mano Gallery - This annual exhibition of small work included 3 of my spoons. You can see these spoons and the rest of this wonderful show here. 
• March 6 – April 11, 2009 – Selections From the Collection: Donations by Bruce Kaiser and Joe Seltzer - One spoon from the permanent collection (Amboyna Burl Spoon – Donated by Bruce Kaiser) and one new spoon which is for sale ( Mystery Spoon) are part of this exhibition. You may view the show online here. 
• January 2009 – John & Robyn Horn donated two of my spoons to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  To view the spoons, click here.
• January 2009 – Bruce Kaiser donated my 1995 large Amboyna Burl Spoon to the permanent collection of the Wood Turning Center.  Click here to see it.

2008

• December 5, 2008 - February 13, 2009, In the Palm of Your Hand. I have 5 spoons in this show at the Messler Gallery which is part of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. Click here to see these spoons.
• November 2008 – Thanks to the generosity of longtime collector and friend, Pat McCauley, three of my spoons were acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
• October 3, 2008 – January 17, 2009, dysFUNctional, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA. I have one spoon in this show called “Old & in the Way”. There is a book of the show. The entire show will tour for 3 years after it closes at the Wood Turning Center. You can see much more about the show at www.woodturningcenter.org. To see “Old & in the Way”, click here.
• Early August – I attended the Emma International Collaborative for the second time – it was a fantastic week of work outside my usual parameters shared with 100 wonderful artists from North America, Australia, and New Zealand – pieces I worked on appear in both the Archives and Available work sections. To see these pieces click here.
• Summer 2008 – An article about my work is featured in the Summer 2008 issue of The Hill, the alumni magazine of McDaniel College.  It largely repeats Terry Martin’s article from Woodwork June 2006 with some new photos and text.  See the Biography for the full article.
• March 22 - July 20 - Masters of Design - Mint Museum of Craft and Design - My work entitled "Sperm Spoons" is a part of this exhibition.  http://www.mintmuseum.org
• January – Attended CWA Forum in Scottsdale, AZ and exhibited 5 spoons in the del Mano Gallery display.
• January – The Art of Wood Jewelry , Lark Books, is published.  One of my bracelets is featured on the book jacket and I have a how-to article inside about the making of one design along with a couple more photos.

2007

• Gregg Museum of Art & Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, January 2007, three spoons donated to the permanent collection by Robyn and John Horn.
• Woodwork Magazine, Issue 104, April 2007, Page 18, Craft in America article, “Bee the Spoon” photograph.
• Turned Wood Small Treasures, Del Mano Gallery, March 17 through April 14, 2007, three spoons exhibited.
• American Craft Show in Baltimore, February 2007.
• “Bee the Spoon”, Craft in America touring exhibition, Little Rock, Arkansas, Portland, Oregon and San Diego, California, 2007.
• Michael Hosaluk: Containment Exhibition, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, January 19 through April 2, 2007 - The exhibition was based on Michael Hosaluk providing a basic small wooden chair frame to 20 artists to change, enhance, adapt in any manner they wished. My chair sculpture reflected a health issue that became the dominant event in my life at the end of 2006.
• Regional 07, Parkersburg Art Center, May 6 through July 1, 2007, “Emma Perfect” from Emma Lake 2006 and a sculpture, “Spoon Dreams II” were exhibited. “Spoon Dreams II”, Second Place Award in the 3D category.
• Bethesda Public Library, Bethesda, MD, May 1 to June 3, 2007, a spoon exhibited from the collection of Arthur and Jane Mason.
• American Craft Exposition – August 2007
• American Craft Exposition, 2007 – Award of Excellence.
• WV Juried Exhibition 2007, “Spoon Dreams II” and “Pan’s Mandrake”.
• Merit Award for “Pan’s Mandrake” owned by Karen Depew and Steve Keeble.
• Parkersburg News and Sentinel, September 2, 2007, Article “Art Bias” – Photo with “Spoon Dreams II”.
• Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show – November, 2007.
• Washington Craft Show – December 2007.
• Nominated to the Board of Directors of the Collectors of Wood Art.