Peters Valley School of Craft announces juried show ‘Second Career Makers’

Peters Valley School of Craft announced its latest juried show, Second Career Makers. The exhibition will be in the Sally D. Francisco Gallery from March 15 through April 20, with an opening artist reception to be held in person from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 15.

Second Career Makers highlights the work of individuals who have either held a previous career before transitioning into a full-time maker or are balancing a career alongside their creative practices. The school said it aims to “highlight the deep and storied backgrounds that often contribute to an artists’ process as well as gain insights into the steps one may take if they are planning to transition into making full time.”

The guest juror for the exhibition, Lisa Lofdahl, is a prime example of this exhibition’s theme. After careers in engineering and law, Lofdahl has been smithing and forging knives full time since 2015. Since then, Lofdahl has founded LLMetalworks and designs and creates custom pieces by hand, focusing primarily on kitchen knives and functional and decorative household fixtures and furnishings. Whether hand-forging a chef’s knife or fabricating a table base, she endeavors to incorporate sound design with purpose and function.

Work submitted for the exhibition includes ceramics, woodworking, collage, textiles, jewelry, blacksmithing, glass, and more. There are 53 artists represented in this exhibition.

One artist, Christina Nations, was selected by Lofdahl to receive a special artist feature. A dedicated blog giving an in depth look at Nations’ body of work and the relationship to her career as a registered nurse will be posted at the start of the exhibition.

The Sally D. Francisco Gallery at Peters Valley School of Craft, located at 19 Kuhn Rd., Layton, NJ, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For those unable to visit in person, the exhibition will also be available online at PetersValleyGallery.org.