Artist Talk and Chrysalis Award Presentation with Rachel David

The James Renwick Alliance for Craft part­ners with the Furni­ture Society and the Society of North Amer­i­can Gold­smiths for an artist talk by black­smith Rachel David. 

Rachel David is a black­smith, sculp­tor, designer and maker, whose work encom­passes art, furni­ture, archi­tec­tural elements, activism, and collab­o­ra­tions. Her work is inspired by her life, the body, land­scapes and the processes of metal­work­ing that she special­izes in. Her struc­tured, organic forms and textures refer­ence phys­i­cal restraints, shibari, cellulite, valleys, hills, and crevasses.

She received a Bach­e­lor of Arts from Ever­green State College in 2004 and has contin­ued her studies through work­shops at Penland School of Craft, John C. Camp­bell School of Craft, Nunez Commu­nity College and Haywood Commu­nity College where she currently is pursu­ing a machin­ing certi­fi­ca­tion. In 2019, she was featured in 40 Under 40: The Next Gener­a­tion of Amer­i­can Metal Artists at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN and received the Smith­son­ian Craft Show’s Best in Show Award and the Artists Gold Choice Award. 

David was one of the found­ing members of the Society of Inclu­sive Black­smiths, a small group of female, queer, trans­gen­der, people of color, and gender non-conform­ing metal­work­ers who support equity, diver­sity and inclu­sion in the field of blacksmithing.

As a part of this event, JRACraft will bestow the 2021 Chrysalis Award in recog­ni­tion of Rachel David’s inno­va­tion and excellence.

The Chrysalis Award was created by the James Renwick Alliance to promote and inspire US-based emerg­ing craft artists. Emerg­ing is defined as someone early in their profes­sional artis­tic career, with no regard to age, and has not had a solo museum exhi­bi­tion or exclu­sive repre­sen­ta­tion by a commer­cial gallery. The ideal candi­date demon­strates excel­lence in their work and a commit­ment to devel­op­ing in unique and dynamic ways.

This event is free and open to all who would like to attend!