e-news | Feb. 2008

e-news | Feb. 2008

News from the CERF+ | February 2008
Jeanne Kirby, Communications and Events Coordinator
news@craftemergency.org
(802) 229-2306

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Program News

CERF+ Beneficiary on This Old House
Rashida Ferdinand, a ceramic artist and CERF+ beneficiary from New Orleans, LA had her newly rebuilt and improved home featured on This Old House on January 26th. Rashida rebuilt her home with contributions from many, including: CERF+, an federal Historic Building Recovery Grant and This Old House. Rashida is one of the more than one hundred craft artists CERF+ assisted after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. After two and a half years of temporary housing, Rashida was able to move back to her home this month. To learn more about Rashida’s story, visit the This Old House website.

Live from New Orleans, it’s The Insurance Show
CERF+’s live talk show devoted to business insurance will air in New Orleans, LA on March 1st at 11:00 am at the Contemporary Art Center. The presentation is being held in conjunction with the NOLA FiredUp! Ceramic Arts Conference, hosted by the South Coast Clay All-Stars. The Insurance Show is free to any artist who wishes to attend, regardless of whether or not they are registered for the conference.

Filling in for Dave Letterman will be CERF+’s Director of Programs, Craig Nutt. His guests will include Andrea Christie, a New Orleans ceramist who set up shop in Indianapolis after Hurricane Katrina, and Ohio insurance guru Dave Kotary. Craig describes Mr. Kotary as “the Carl Sagan of craft business insurance” for his ability to make a complex topic accessible.

CERF+ and Americans for the Arts Co-host Gathering
For the third year in a row, CERF+ along with Americans for the Arts will host a gathering on March 30th in Washington, DC of the Coalition for Artists’ Preparedness and Emergency Response, a national effort to improve the system of disaster readiness, response, and recovery for individual artists in the U.S. Like the previous two gatherings, this session will draw together distinguished leaders of artist organizations, arts agencies, and arts funders committed to developing a comprehensive, coordinated approach to reducing artists’ vulnerability in times of disaster.  

Craig Nutt’s One Person Retrospective
CERF+’s Director of Programs, Craig Nutt, has been honored with a retrospective now on exhibit at the Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, AL going on now through March 23rd. Certified Organic spans his 30-year career and includes over thirty pieces from both museum and private collections. Using vegetables as inspiration, Craig creates furniture and sculpture that is good enough to eat. “Much of my work is rooted in the garden,” states Nutt, “and the garden has provided me with a metaphorically rich and evocative vocabulary.” Images of Nutt’s work can be seen on his website.  

Fundraising News

CERF+ Event at American Craft Show a Success
Thanks to the help of forty-eight exhibitors at the wholesale portion of the American Craft Show in Baltimore, CERF+ raised a record $9,400 for its annual booth fee raffle. Jeweler Devta Doolan from Portland, ME garnered the title of Top Ticket Seller by selling 300 tickets. This year’s winners were furniture maker Richard Laufer from Bentley Springs, MD and jeweler Isabelle Posillico from Santa Rosa, CA. They each won a reimbursement from the American Craft Council of half their booth fee. Jeanne Kirby, CERF+’s Special Events Coordinator noted: “Our thanks go out to the many exhibitors who bought and sold tickets and to the American Craft Council for making this event possible.” 

Online Clay Auction to Benefit CERF+ April 5-20, 2008
An invitational exhibition and online auction entitled, Ahead of the Need, curated by clay artists Lana Wilson and Anthony Schaller will be held from April 5 – 20. The Charlie Cummings Gallery will host the online auction, which includes work by dozens of accomplished artists such as: Linda Christianson, Val Cushing, John Glick, Ron Myers Jeff Oestreich, Pete Pinnell, and Lana Wilson. 

Silent Auction to Benefit CERF+ at 2008 Kentucky Crafted
CERF+ will be the beneficiary of a silent auction hosted by the Kentucky Arts Council during their Kentucky Crafted show March 8 – 9 in Louisville, KY. CERF+ board member and Director of UNC Asheville Craft Campus Brent Skidmore will be on site to assist with the auction and serve as a booth judge for the show. Dozens of Kentucky Crafted exhibitors have already donated work to the event. 

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