2021 Arrowmont AAW Roundtable: PENTACULUM WOOD COORDINATORS

ARROWMONT CRAFT CONVERSATIONS is a video series that highlights artists in the Arrowmont community. Our partnership with Arrowmont faculty and community members has contributed to Arrowmont’s longevity, growth as a school of arts and crafts, and our reputation as an institution that welcomes everyone. The artists who appear in this series exemplify the characteristics that represent the School — they span generations and are among the most experienced, capable, and innovative in the arts and crafts world.

For the 2021 AAW Conference, Arrowmont brought together the three artists who have served as wood studio coordinators in the signature program, Pentaculum: Nick Flaherty, Jason Schneider, Kimberly Winkle. Program Director Nick DeFord moderates a discussion about their artwork, initial experiences in Pentaculum and the impact of this program on the woodworking and woodturning community.

Nicholas Flaherty is a woodworker, furniture maker, wood turner and contractor living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an Artist-in-Residence at University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he received his BFA and has taught and demonstrated stool construction at local schools and at the Wharton Esherick Museum. Flaherty’s work has been exhibited and displayed at the American Craft Council Conference, American Association of Woodturners Symposium and the Center for Art in Wood. nicholasflaherty.com

Jason Schnei­der is an artist and furni­ture maker from Marquette, Michi­gan. He received his M.F.A. in Furni­ture Design from San Diego State Univer­sity. For 10 years, Jason was the Studio Coor­di­na­tor of the Furni­ture Design and Wood­work­ing program at the Ander­son Ranch Arts Center. He has exhib­ited his work exten­sively through­out the United States, includ­ing SOFA Chicago, the Museum of Craft and Design in San Fran­cisco, ICFF in New York, and the Center for Art and Wood in Philadel­phia, PA. Jason currently teaches Wood­work­ing and Furni­ture Design at North­ern Michigan University. www.jasonschneiderfurniture.com

Kimberly Winkle is a maker who creates furniture and objects using wood and paint; her work displays a balance of form, color and surface pattern. Winkle is a Professor of Art and Director of the School of Art, Craft & Design at Tennessee Technological University. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Ceramics from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Fine Art in Furniture Design from San Diego State University. Her workshop teaching experience includes, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Anderson Ranch Art Center, The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, John C. Campbell Folk School and the Appalachian Center for Craft. kimberlywinkle.com

Pentaculum is an invitational short-term residency at Arrowmont that provides artists unfettered time and space to work alongside peers, friends and colleagues. Held annually in early January and mid-May, working artists in a ceramics, fibers, metals, 2D, wood & sculpture, and writing spend a week at Arrowmont to work on independent projects. Pentaculum offers an intimate atmosphere for personal artistic growth and the opportunity to strengthen and build meaningful relationships within the art and craft field. Participants experience a retreat at Arrowmont to invigorate their studio practice and deepen their connections to the craft community.