Joshua Enck is a sculp­tor, designer, drafts­man, and illus­tra­tor who teaches and main­tains an active studio prac­tice in Rochester, New York. He trained as an archi­tect and a furni­ture designer, receiv­ing his MFA in furni­ture design from the Rhode Island School of Design and his BSAS from the School of Archi­tec­ture at the Univer­sity of Illi­nois. He taught for ten years at RISD: drawing, three-dimen­sional design, tech­ni­cal drawing, wood­work­ing, and metal­work­ing. He has also taught wood­work­ing at the Ander­son Ranch Arts Center and drawing at the Univer­sity of Illi­nois, Williams College, and the Univer­sity of Rochester. Joshua has exhib­ited his work in solo shows at Simon Gallery, the Univer­sity of Maine Museum of Art, and Space Gallery. The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, and the Center for Art in Wood in Philadel­phia have honored his work. Joshua recently returned from five months in India as a Fulbright Nehru Scholar, research­ing tradi­tional metal­smithing and teach­ing at the Sushant School of Design.

Follow Joshua on Insta­gram
Visit Joshua’s website

Karen Ernst is a Profes­sor in the Art Depart­ment at PennWest/​Edinboro Univer­sity of Penn­syl­va­nia, teach­ing Woodworking/​Furniture Design. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has over twenty years of wood­work­ing and design expe­ri­ence. Her work has been exhib­ited across the US and is included in many private collec­tions. Karen is currently the Pres­i­dent of the Board of Trustees of The Furniture Society. 

Follow Karen on Insta­gram
Visit Karen’s website

Deirdre Visser is Curator of The Arts at CIIS and publisher of CHROMA books. As an inde­pen­dent curator, educa­tor, and publisher, she strives to promote plural­ism in the arts, to support artists in the creation of new work, and to foster dynamic and crit­i­cal dialogues within and across commu­ni­ties that propose inte­gra­tive approaches to the urgent ques­tions we collec­tively face. Her exhi­bi­tions, publi­ca­tions, and public program­ming with The Arts at CIIS have connected history to the present, ethi­cally and strate­gi­cally, to look for common themes and deepen our under­stand­ing of both past and present as we move into the future.

In addi­tion, Deirdre harbors a not-so-secret love of the banjo, wood­work­ing, and attended the College of the Redwoods Fine Furni­ture program in Fort Bragg, CA.

Follow Deirdre on Insta­gram and Face­book
Visit Deirdre’s website