80th American Crafts & Historic Homes Tour
Master wood carver Adam Willie has been practicing the trade since 1990 and specializes in hard-carved wood signs and customized horse (tack) trunks and stable products. Adam works with each client to ensure a unique and distinctive design and uses only the finest materials to create a one-of-a-kind product that will leave a lasting impression.
Our products are handmade from start to finish using original recipes. The soaps contain no animal fats and are scented with plant essential oils or cosmetic grade fragrances. Each hand cut bar weighs at least 3.5 ounces and is wrapped in cotton fabric with a recycled paper wrapper. Our vegetable oils are non-GMO certified, our fragrances are phthalate free, and our palm oil is RSPO sustainable.
I have a creative background earning a BFA in graphic design, working as a graphic artist and photographer before beginning my work with polymer clay. I love the creativity that this medium allows and the surprise each new piece brings. I love color and whimsical designs and strive to bring that out in my work.
I create my designs using various techniques to combine the different colors of clay into the patterns and designs that you see on my work. Nothing is painted on. Sometimes only the clay is used to design my piece and sometimes it is created over an existing object made of glass or ceramic.
I hope you enjoy my work and that it can add an element of whimsical delight to your life and your home.
The founder of Kirk Ceramics, Roger Kirk, makes functional and decorative ceramics in his studio in Washington, D.C. He also teaches high school and adult ceramics classes in Montgomery County, MD.
Roger has been making ceramics since 2009, when he took his first ceramics class at UCLA. Many failed and successful pots later, he sells his work at markets and through his website.
Roger’s style is inspired by traditional English and Japanese pottery, but with a contemporary twist. He hopes the handmade feel, functionality, and professional finish of his ceramics will help to make people’s homes happier places to live.
A mixture of traditional goldsmith, silversmith and blacksmith techniques are used to create gold & silver jewelry, predominantly through a modified repousse technique I developed in 2002. Other techniques include hand forged gold & sterling silver; 14K, 18K gold & sterling silver sand and lost wax casting, and hand made/hand soldered bracelets & chains in sterling silver & 14K gold. Most of my tools date from the 18th and 19th C. With respect to style, my knowledge base is heavily influenced by historic texts, paintings, etchings, and probate inventories while many of the techniques used have been reverse engineered using methods learned as a historic archaeologist. The modified repousse’ technique I developed arose from this type of work.
Born the oldest of five into a modest family, I learned early on that to have the material things I fancied I would need to make them myself. I soon became adept at seeing a piece of clothing or an accessory and reproducing it using the materials at hand. This ability to thrift and fabricate came in useful in my early career where I not only wrote and acted but designed sets and costumes for the theatre. Later, on a whim, I took a workshop in metalsmithing, and my love of sterling silver was born.
In learning to manipulate hot metal; bending and diminishing, piercing, adding granulation, fusing, and soldering, I soon realized my uncanny talent at reproduction had found an artistic home. I love to see something that piques my interest and then figure out, first, how it is made and second, how to make it my own using mixed metals and unusual components like glass, leather, and metal clay. Often working in a series or with a particular design element, each of my creations is one of a kind. My customers enjoy choosing from the different looks that spring from the same design family. Together in our studio my husband and I produce sterling silver jewelry with pearl, gemstone, 14K gold, and bronze accents.
I am truly inspired by other jewelers, art deco architecture, and kinetic sculpture.
I weave rugs in a range of designs that evolve to reflect the changing tastes and moods of our society. I adapt simple weave structures to become devices for showcasing color, enlarging the scale and using nature for color inspiration. Because my rugs are often ordered on a custom basis, I also work with my customers’ palettes as well. The interplay of design, color, and woven structure gives each rug its integrity and individuality.
I am moving in a direction of greater sophistication in weave structure. Twills, Swedish Ripsmatta, and multi-harness block designs are finding their way into my repertoire. These offer more depth, texture, and intrigue without becoming too complex visually for a large item that will be integrated into a unique interior space.
Materials include cotton, wool, linen, and strips of cotton and wool fabric recycled from industry wastage when possible.
Wood
All pieces began as deadfall, firewood or bonfire remains. Each one emerges from the will of the wood and the whim of the turner. Grains and colors are natural. Highly figured and colored woods are spalted, in the early stages of decay. Knots, cracks, and wormholes are highlighted and stabilized with epoxy or CA glue. All are finished with a food-safe mix of beeswax and mineral oil.