Natalie received a 2010 Award of Excellence from the American Craft Council at The American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, February 25-28. Eight talented artists were selected from more than 700 of the nation’s leading contemporary craft artists to receive this honor. Six awards were presented to artists whose overall body of exhibited work demonstrated the best understanding or interpretation of the elements of art and design, a mastery of materials and techniques, imagination, inventiveness and individuality, and aesthetic consistency. Additionally, two awards were bestowed for “Best Booth Design,” which emphasized excellence in the relationship between the artist’s work and their booth designs and displays.
Here’s what the ACC had to say: “Our second Award of Excellence was given to Natalie Blake, a ceramic artist who creates beautifully embellished vessel forms and sculptural wall tiles. Josephine and Jane both appreciated the cohesive nature of Natalie’s designs, in which she carves the sinuous lines of trees and underwater plants into the clay and highlights them in black on brightly colored vessels and 3-D wall works. The jurors also appreciated the modular nature of Natalie’s wall tiles, which can be purchased individually or as groups, allowing a collector to build up a substantial installation over time.”
Jane Milosch, curator for contemporary craft and decorative arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Renwick Gallery); and Josephine Shea, curator of the Edsel & Eleanor Ford Hours, a historic house museum outside of Detroit, served as jurors for the 2009 Awards of Excellence at the 33rd annual Baltimore show.
