Makers + Matters

Category: Makers + Matters

Interview with Furniture Maker Craig Thibodeau Artist polishing a chair he crafted in a woodworking shop.

Interview with Furniture Maker Craig Thibodeau

San Diego based furniture maker, CERF+ beneficiary and Get Ready Grantee Craig Thibodeau has a lot to be thankful for. He just released his book, The Craft of Veneering, and is working on building one-of-a-kind, commissioned and speculation furniture pieces that feature his masterful skills in marquetry, parquetry, and mechanical/puzzle making.  Craig has also been able to count on […]

CERF+ Holds Planning Your Artistic Legacy Panel Discussion (left to right) CERF+ Director of Special Projects Meg Ostrum, Peter Held, and Jean Reed Roberts

CERF+ Holds Planning Your Artistic Legacy Panel Discussion

(Left to right) CERF+ Director of Special Projects Meg Ostrum, Peter Held, and Jean Reed Roberts What steps do you need to take to ensure the preservation of your artistic legacy? If your kids don’t want “your stuff,” what are your options?  The City of Tempe Arts & Culture partnered with CERF+ to host a […]

From Houston to New York: Helping Artists Be More Prepared for Disasters

From Houston to New York: Helping Artists Be More Prepared for Disasters

As we mark the first-year anniversaries of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, CERF+ is training artists to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. In October, at the request of the Houston Arts Alliance, CERF+ staff members Carrie Cleveland and Jenifer Simon, along with disaster management and arts consultant, Amy Schwartzman, presented two CERF+ Ready + Resilient Workshops to Houston area artists and performers.

Artists Respond to Climate Change

Artists Respond to Climate Change

by Fran Dubrowski, Director of Honoring the Future. We all know the power of art to move hearts as well as minds. Several years ago, when craft artist Peter Handler and I set out to spark public engagement on climate change, we recognized true progress would not occur until the public could “see” climate change – viscerally as well as visually. As we wrestled with how to make climate change visible, we naturally found an answer in art. 

Celebrating and Preserving the Island’s Craft Traditions: Puerto Rico’s Month of the Artisan Artwork by Edwin Báez Carrasquillo

Celebrating and Preserving the Island’s Craft Traditions: Puerto Rico’s Month of the Artisan

Since the mid-1950s, the work of Puerto Rico’s folk + traditional artists (whose population is estimated to be close to 20,000) has been a central feature of the island’s active local, regional, and national fairs and festivals. Woodcarvers, mask makers, leatherworkers, instrument makers and other tradition bearers to the island’s history, culture, and economy are […]

From Survival to Growth: A Story of Resilience in Puerto Rico Diana Dávila working in her studio.

From Survival to Growth: A Story of Resilience in Puerto Rico

“When I awoke at 5am on September 20, the sound of the wind, water and things flying around changed all that. Windows and doors were shaking and water was filtrating through any tiny slit between windows. It was a long, scary day. I was concerned about my family and friends. I spent 110 days without electrical power and 45 days without water. Today, many people still have neither.”

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