All of New England is known for its crafts, but with the latest round of crafts fellowships from the New England Foundation for the Arts, One Cottage Street in Easthampton is Number One.
Three furniture makers and one sculptor working in the studios of One Cottage Street won NEFA fellowships in Massachusetts.
Furniture makers Stephen Daniell of Easthampton, Silas Kopf of Northampton and Kristina Madsen of Southampton, captured 3 of the 5 NEFA fellowships offered in the Crafts category, each winning $7500. Rosalyn Driscoll of Haydenville won a fellowship in the Sculpture category.
Two of the three statewide Crafts finalists were local residents. Judith Inglese of Amherst, who makes ceramic murals, and potter Mark Shapiro of Worthington each won $1000 as finalists.
"Western Massachusetts has a reputation of being very kind to artists, and this proves it," said Sharon Panitch, spokeswoman for the Boston-based NEFA.
NEFA selected 28 artists from Massachusetts and New Hampshire from more than 400 applicants in Photography, Sculpture and Crafts. The awards, totaling $136,500, were funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
One Cottage Street: a community of artisans
Local furniture makers were each surprised by their fellowships but not surprised that One Cottage Street was so well represented in the competition.
"There has been a wonderful sense of camaraderie at One Cottage," Madsen said. "It's nice to be in an environment where a lot of other interesting work is going on. That influences, either subtly or actively, the work you do."
Since 1977, the former mill complex at One Cottage Street has hosted a variety of artists. More than 50, including makers of glassware, prints, furniture and ceramics, now work in the building. The One Cottage Street School of Fine Woodworking (update: Now known as NESAW, New England School of Architectural Woodworking) also offers classes in furniture making.
The fellowships were the first NEFA grants for the furniture makers, but each has won other awards.
Daniell's exotic furniture, often featuring flashing lights, can be seen in galleries in Aspen, Washington DC, and at the Don Muller Gallery in Northampton. Daniell said he will use the $7500 fellowship prize to buy new machinery for his work.
Madsen's furniture, featuring intaglio carving, is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Yale Museum of Art, among others.
Kopf's intricate furniture and inlay have earned him a nation-wide reputation. His work has been featured in The New York Times Magazine. Kopf, who previously won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, is a master of marquetry, the delicate inlaying of wood.
Driscoll specializes in sculptures designed to be touched. Working with blind artist Deidre Muccio, Driscoll has designed several touchable sculptures made of various materials. In museums, including the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, visitors donned blindfolds and explored Driscoll's sculptures with their hands only.
Driscoll's tactile sculptures have also been on display at the University of Michigan and Middlebury College in Vermont.
