Furniture Society awards five education grants

The Furniture Society recently announced the recipients of its 2022 Educational Grants Program which provides financial assistance to attend classes at five partnering institutions.

There were over 50 applicants, according to Karen Ernst, a woodworking and furniture design instructor at Edinboro University of Edinboro, Pa., one of the three jurors. She says the turnout, and the submissions themselves, surpassed all expectations.

“The other two jurors and I were pleased to see an increase in the overall number of applicants to our Educational Grants program. I think word has spread about what a great opportunity they are. Not only does the grant cover tuition but also meals and housing, with an additional stipend that can be used for travel or material expenses,” says Ernst.

“It was also great to see the increased diversity of applicants. While they tend to generally be dominated by applicants coming from the academic world, this year we had several that are self-taught/DIY, as well as several that were later in career or looking to change careers.”

The other jurors were Joshua Enck, a sculptor, designer and teacher with a studio practice in Rochester, N.Y., and Katherine Lam, a designer/builder and chair of the furniture design program at California College of the Arts in San Francisco.

The 2022 winners, and the partnering institutions they will attend, are:

Patterson O’Sullivan of Asheville, N.C. - Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colo.

Teresa Audet of Minneapolis - Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Kailee Bosch of Fort Collins, Colo. - Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine

Anna Hitchcock of Little Compton, R.I. - John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.

Rebecca Juliette-Deux of Asheville, N.C. - Peters Valley School of Craft in Layton, N.J.

Monica C. Hampton, executive director of the Society, says the program was revamped in 2018 and has since garnered an increased interest from both Society members and partnering institutions.

“What’s interesting about this is it enables us to highlight programs that aren’t about just the academic side - you’re not walking out of any of those programs with a degree. It’s a way to extend your professional practice, but it’s a way to also highlight these schools that are offering an absolutely incredible way to become makers without having to go through a graduate-level program,” she says.

Hampton explains there were four criteria the jury was asked to consider with each applicant, which included their written statement having articulated goals in a passionate and clear way, images of their work indicating a reasonable level of ability and desire to pursue serious artistic practice, their resumes and artists’ statements, and anything else that made their applications stand out.

For more, visit furnsoc.org.

This article was originally published in the May 2022 issue.