Seeing and the Relevance of the Smallest Things, Solo Exhibition

This exhibition is 1 year in the making, with over 70 individual pieces on display. The show consists of 8 vignettes, each of which are centered around a single photograph taken while I was in the canyon. I hope to upload images of the individual works in the weeks to come.

Image left- reception, image right "Boulder" vignette

I am going back!!!!!!

One week from today I am heading out west- back to the Grand Canyon! WOO HOO!!!! It has been over a year since I left Arizona and I am so eager to get back. My experience there had such a profound effect on me and my work, I just can't wait to be flooded with the overwhelming magnificence of that place again. I will be spending 5 nights in the hole, just enough time to reconnect before returning home to put the finishing touches on a solo show of my Canyon inspired work in Fayetteville, NC.

Show at Emerge

If you are near Greenville, NC please stop by Emerge Gallery to view an exhibition of my Grand Canyon works through November 2010. Also in this show are the amazing works of ceramic artist Gillian Parke and the mixed media works of Will Goodyear .

Exhibition of Work

My Grand Canyon works will be on exhibit at Pullen Art Center in Raleigh, North Carolina during October, 2010 and at Emerge Gallery in Greenville, North Carolina during November, 2010.

Grand Canyon Studies

I have been working for some time now on pieces inspired by my artist residency at the Grand Canyon earlier this year. It has been an interesting journey trying to decipher all of the phenomenal imagery that I witnessed at the canyon. I realized quickly that I would not be able to create one object that defined my experience so I decided to do studies. These individual objects may represent a single object or a significant event experienced while there. Below are just a few of my canyon studies...

This piece represents the human hand in the canyon. People have called the grand canyon home for a very long time and it was absolutely amazing to see evidence of some of those original dwellings.

This piece is a part of the modern petroglyph series. Throughout time native cultures have left thier stories all over the canyon walls. I was not bale to leave a permanent record of my time there but saw these silhoette/shadows as my temporary petroglyphs.

Walking on the canyon floor I discovered some of the most amazing textures, this piece is inspired by the remains of a decaying cactus.

This is one of many pieces that I will do about my hike into and out of the "big hole". The rock formations are examples from the beginning and end of my hike and the silhoette in the center represents that moment that I was the farthest from my life and it's normalities than I have ever been.

Grand Canyon Jeweler's Bench Time Lapse Video

I did do some metalwork while in Grand Canyon with I very limited set of tools, it was definitely a challenge. I think of the work that I did as preliminary objects, sketches to help my hands have a memory of my thoughts and inspirations.

Buyers Market of American Craft Merit Award Winner

I am delighted to announce that I was selected as a Merit Award winner for the Buyers Market of American Craft, August 2009.

Below is the press release from BMAC:

PRIZE GIVES 8 ARTISTS a BIG BREAK in the WHOLESALE TRADE
Merit Award Helps Young and Emerging Artists Learn the Business
BALTIMORE, Md., June 5, 2009 -- Eight promising artists, including jewelry designer Erica Stankwytch Bailey of Fayetteville, N.C., have won a prize that enables them to introduce their work to the nation’s gift and art retailers this summer.
Ms. Bailey is a contemporary metalsmith whose textured sterling silver jewelry has been shown in museums and at retail shows. She is dedicated to her craftsmanship: “My hands touch every piece that I sell,” she explained in her application for the annual Merit Award given by the Buyers Market of American Craft.
Ms. Bailey’s chance at national exposure will come August 1-3, 2009, when the Buyers Market opens in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center . As one of eight Merit Award winners announced this week, she will show her earrings and necklaces to hundreds of professional buyers from museum gift stores, art and craft galleries, home décor boutiques and jewelry stores. Ms. Bailey can be found in booth #409. The Buyers Market is the nation’s largest wholesale tradeshow of fine craft by U.S. and Canadian artists.
“Our goal is to help emerging artists bring their creations to market successfully,” said Christine Kloostra , director of the Buyers Market, which is produced by The Rosen Group, based in Baltimore. “Many artists have fresh ideas and unique products, but lack the capital to attend shows where they can sell their creations to the nation’s galleries and gift shops. Our Merit Award program helps beginners make their tradeshow debut.”
Winners receive tradeshow exhibit space at a fraction of cost, plus assistance with marketing their designs to handcraft retailers.
The 2009 Merit Award winners of the Buyers Market of American Craft are:
· Curviture, the handcrafted furniture studio of Jason Green, Boone , N.C.
· Delias Thompson, jewelry designer, Atlanta , Ga.
· Dovetail, the printed ceramics studio of Josh and Margaret Smith, Lexington , Ky.
· Erica Stankwytch Bailey, contemporary metalsmith and jewelry designer, Fayetteville , N.C.
· Jon Goldberg, East Falls Glassworks, Philadelphia , Pa.
· Gallery Blue/Michelle Mardis, original paintings, Tarpon Springs , Fla.
· Nora Dougherty, jewelry designer, Santa Cruz , Calif.
· Pamela Lauz Jewellery, jewelry designer, Ontario , Canada