Christmas lights and trees along with holiday refreshments and how-to tutorial stations galore at this year’s 32nd annual Holiday Crafts Fair. Pottery, handmade jewelry, paintings, woodworking, fiber arts and more were displayed by local artists ranging from new students to experienced crafters. All local artists, regardless of experience, were given the chance to show off their hard work in a warm, inviting environment filled with people who appreciate their craft.
Jo Westmoreland, assistant director of the Crafts Center, helped make the event, which promoted artists in the Raleigh area, possible.
“There’s something to be said about people that are local,” Westmoreland said. “The arts in North Carolina are doing pretty well now. It’s becoming more popular and the amount of crafts fairs that exist now are proof of that.”
The event featured 45 artists, which received a place at the show based on a lottery-style raffle. The Crafts Center does not judge work and then decided if an artist can participate. All artists are given a chance to show their work in the show, whether they are a new student artist or a crafts connoisseur.
“We want to provide a venue where our craftspeople to show and sell their work, and where students to have their first show,” Westmoreland said. “We have people that can help them through it, and who are willing to help. It’s a great place for a student to have their first show.”
Among the students participating in the show was Nathaniel Rohrbaugh, a graduate student studying material science and engineering, who took a woodturning class last spring which sparked his interested in being a part of the Holiday Crafts Fair. Rohrbaugh’s handcrafted wooden pieces were almost sold out after the first day of the two-day event.
“It’s fun to make things with a purpose,” Rohrbaugh said. “It’s a hobby, but it’s nice to turn it into something more. The Crafts Center is really affordable to students at NC State. Woodturning is really affordable too. It’s an awesome hobby.”
In addition to crafts fair newbies, the fair boasted some artists who had been involved with the event from the beginning. One of these artists is Gary McCutchen, who has been showing his handmade silver jewelry since the very first show, and all 31 years since.
“I enjoy doing my silver jewelry work,” McCutchen said. “I go out to Nevada in the summer and find local and other different minerals and bring it back and work it to make jewelry out of it.”
McCutchen teaches a one-day course in basic silversmithing under the Jewelry and Metals branch of the Crafts Center. He comes prepared with stones to sell at the course for students to use to make pendants, rings, bracelets and more.
McCutchen notes that the Holiday Crafts Fair is unique in that it possesses a variety of different artists and talents, who come together to put on a show highlighting creativity and individuality.
“The nice thing about the crafts fair is that it’s open to students, instructors and people associated with the guilds,” McCutchen said. “There’s a pottery guild that meets here, a photography guild and an astronomy club that comes to the Crafts Center to build their telescopes.”
The Crafts Center began preparing for the event by putting out an announcement to local artists, telling them to sign up for the fair. They gave the artists a little over a month to sign up, and then went through the lottery process. This year more artists signed up than there were spaces, as the event has boomed in recent years.
“Lots of people have been coming to the show for years and years and years,” Westmoreland said. “It’s a little reunion almost. When people come for the first time it’s more intimate, we feel like a little family. It’s something people should come to at least once.”
Students are now able to apply for a variety of courses offered in spring 2017, including digital photography, clay, fiber and more. These can be found on the Craft Center’s website.
