Crafthaus

So far I have blogged about Etsy and Flickr as tools for jewelers to promote their work, so I thought now was a good time to discuss Crafthaus.

Crafthaus is a social network for artists.  I was introduced to it by Heather Skowood who I blogged about previously. It is not solely for jewelry artists, but includes many.  You can join Crafthaus free of charge - upload images of your work, talk to other artists about upcoming events, submission deadlines, inspiration, whatever.  I have found members to be very friendly and interested in a dialog.   I don't know, but am guessing that there are other like me who are using the network to find out about new artists and new work, rather than to showcase our own work.  In this way it could be an invaluable tool with which to expose your work to bloggers, gallery owners, curators etc.

I plan to do a series of posts about Crafthaus artists, so here goes:

Shana Kroiz was an exciting find.  She describes her work here:

I construct these three dimensional pieces using formed metals, 
transparent and opaque enamels, carved woods, and 
sometimes electroforming.  This lends my ideas a contextual 
medium.  I use color and texture to give personality and feeling 
to each form.  The combination of these elements allows each 
piece to express its individual personality while uniting the work 
through common materials and techniques.  

Her work has been shown in numerous places including the American Craft Museum and Mobilia as well as being included in many publications and she is currently the "Special Events and 

Workshop Coordinator, and founder of the Maryland Institute College of Art, Jewelry Center"

I am most taken by the seeming physical strength of her formed pieces.  They are so bold in their complex shapes and steely simple color which portrays an impenetrable skin for these animalistic pieces.

Further, I am very impressed with the variety of her work from the playfully textural pieces with striking colors

to the fanciful mixed medium boxes

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